Angel Wing?

[Steph21]

Today I noticed my Cayuga duckling's feathers seem to be growing in at an odd angle. Does this look like angel wing? It's never happened to any of my ducks and I just wanted to make completely sure before I treat it.

 

[Steph21]

Not exactly. There is a genetic component as well to angel wing. Feeding a good nutritionally appropriate diet is essential, but even those that do that have had birds with angel wing.

That might be what's happening with mine. The only treats they get are peas, grapes, and meal worms, and not very often. Besides that they get feed and free range during the day.

 

[shawluvsbirds]

Angel wing is not just a cosmetic issue in waterfowl. It's the result of improper feeding/diet. Feeding a lot of corn, bread, treats etc and not giving a good diet can cause them to develop angel wing.

You may want to supplement vitamins and avoid any treats for a while.

@Isaac 0

Improper feed is not the one all and end all culprit and is highly debatable imo.
What I mean by cosmetic is that having the angel wing in itsself is not a hazzard to their health.
That is assuming the bird is on a healthy diet.

Not exactly. There is a genetic component as well to angel wing. Feeding a good nutritionally appropriate diet is essential, but even those that do that have had birds with angel wing.

I believe there can be a genetic factor to it for sure.
I've hatched a lot of ducks. I feed them all the same way and have only had two cases of angel wing so far. One was a call duckling that I did feed a high protein game bird feed for the first week of her life.
The second one came from a mama Cayuga duck that had angel wing when I got her.

 

[shawluvsbirds]

Most breeders will cull a bird with angel wing out of their flock so that there is less chance it will continue down the line. If you're not a breeder, angel wing is no big deal if it can't be corrected. The studies on angel wing are minimal at best. I can control the feed my ducks eat, but what I can't control is all the high protein snacks (insects) they eat when they are out foraging.

Right. And the whole too much protein thing doesn't even make sense if ducks at parks and places are supposedly at high risk for it from eating too much bread and junk people feed them. Bread and junk foods doesn't have a lot of protein. I feel like if nutrition plays a role it is more just "improper" nutrition wether that be too much protein or not enough. I also feel like how much they eat in total and how much excercise they get could factor in. Both my angel wing birds were brooder babies and were piggies. I didn't even give treats other than what they could find on their own during outside foraging play time.

 

[Isadora]

It looks like it might be heading that direction. That's how my gosling's wings looked initially when they started coming in, and I've been struggling to correct her angel wing for a few weeks now.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

Improper feed is not the one all and end all culprit and is highly debatable imo.
What I mean by cosmetic is that having the angel wing in itsself is not a hazzard to their health.
That is assuming the bird is on a healthy diet.



I believe there can be a genetic factor to it for sure.
I've hatched a lot of ducks. I feed them all the same way and have only had two cases of angel wing so far. One was a call duckling that I did feed a high protein game bird feed for the first week of her life.
The second one came from a mama Cayuga duck that had angel wing when I got her.

Most breeders will cull a bird with angel wing out of their flock so that there is less chance it will continue down the line. If you're not a breeder, angel wing is no big deal if it can't be corrected. The studies on angel wing are minimal at best. I can control the feed my ducks eat, but what I can't control is all the high protein snacks (insects) they eat when they are out foraging.

 

[RosemaryDuck]

Right. And the whole too much protein thing doesn't even make sense if ducks at parks and places are supposedly at high risk for it from eating too much bread and junk people feed them. Bread and junk foods doesn't have a lot of protein. I feel like if nutrition plays a role it is more just "improper" nutrition wether that be too much protein or not enough. I also feel like how much they eat in total and how much excercise they get could factor in. Both my angel wing birds were brooder babies and were piggies. I didn't even give treats other than what they could find on their own during outside foraging play time.

The reason the bread effects the ducks and waterfowl at the parks is because it's the /only/ thing they're getting. People come constantly and feed them bread, so they get full and don't forage naturally. All they want is the bread. And bread has very little actual nutrition, so it leads to them becoming sickly/poorly and in turn having poorly young.

 

[shawluvsbirds]

It looks like it may be. But I would wait a few more days and see if it gets better. Sometimes the joint is just a little weak and the weight of those flights coming in make it stick out a bit until they grow out some more. I had one that looked just like that the other day and now it's not sticking out any more.

 

[shawluvsbirds]

It looks like it might be heading that direction. That's how my gosling's wings looked initially when they started coming in, and I've been struggling to correct her angel wing for a few weeks now.

How are you wrapping it do you do it this way?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/angel-wing-treatment.1252014/

 

[Isadora]

How are you wrapping it do you do it this way?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/angel-wing-treatment.1252014/

Thanks shaw, and yes, that's what I've been doing. First couple attempts were whole body wraps but she wriggled out pretty easily. Just wrapping the affected part like in the video keeps her together but I don't see any improvement after taking them off.