Angel wing?

[Horsefly]

I have two cayugas who are roughly 4-5 weeks old. I think one of them is developing angel wing. The pin feathers stick out alittle bit and aren't held up under the wing like her other wing and the other ducks wing. I first noticed this a few days ago but didn't think anything of it at first. They are fed 18% protein nonmedicated chick starter grower and I haven't supplemented niacin or anything. They are in an outside cage on the ground so they can eat grass as well as being able to freerange and swim an hour a day for the past 2 weeks. I have looked up pictures of angel wing and it doesn't look to bad compared to some but I think I am going to wrap it just because I don't want such a pretty duck to be deformed if I can help it. Does anyone have pictures of their ducklings angling and how they wrapped it? It is just one wing so I think I am going to wrap the wing up in place how it should be and then pass the vetwrap around the ducks body leaving the other wing out but keeping the effected wing imobilized. Is this the best way? If it isn't angel wing would wrapping hurt? Also what causes it exactly? Is it poor genes, these ducks came from Ideal and I am not impressed with the quality at all (they have white feathering already)? I'm going to try and put up a picture tonight if I get time. Thanks

 

[70%cocoa]

I'd wrap the wing as your description does sound like the start of angel wing. The main thing is to position the wing in a normal folded position with the pin feathers tucked where they should be under the 'elbow'. Try to tape the wing independently of the body (ie tape the wing shut but don't tape it to the body).

It probably does have a genetic component. Taping should fix the appearance of it though. Sounds like you have caught it early.

 

[Horsefly]

Well I tried. I first vet-wrapped just the wing in place and one attempted flap sent the bandage flying. So then I wrapped the wing and then passed the vet-wrap around her body leaving the other wing free still. It lasted about an hour before it came loose too. We had company then so I couldn't fool with it anymore today. Tomorrow I may try medical paper tape along with the vet wrap.

 

[70%cocoa]

Medical paper tape will probably work better. It is sticky without being too hard to pull off when you want to remove it. Use a lot, kind of in a 'figure of 8' round the wing.

I have used Elastoplast (not sure if you have that in th US) and that sticks extremely well - very hard for the bird to get off but the downside is its equally hard for the human. Still, consider it as a last resort if the medical tape doesn't stay on.

 

[down2roots]

I know this original question was posted several months ago, but here is some useful information on how to correct the problem of Angel Wing:

http://www.duckrescuenetwork.org/DRNBoard/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=54&t=435

Also, 18% protein feed is high, I think. Anything over 15% at that age is said to promote Angel Wing. Also, it is very important not to feed bread to them at any point, as it has been shown to directly cause Angel Wing due to its high (empty) calorie count and excessive sugars.

I have 2 Anconas who developed the condition at about 4-5 weeks. They were the only ones who developed it in a brood of 5, and they are almost identical (whereas the other 3 are quite different-looking), so I suspect it may be a genetic tendency (their parents may be siblings, I don't know for sure). One of the affected ones, 'Spot', now has perfectly normal wings - they healed on their own. His sister, 'Fee', had the right wing heal fine on its own, while the left one has gotten worse. I am going to use the pantyhose method on her, and hopefully it's not too late for it to heal properly. They are now almost 8 weeks old.

 

[bayyjayy]

Check out my post about my Cayugas and Angel Wing:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=556290&p=1

 

[Horsefly]

Thanks for the links y'all. I eventually gave up on trying to wrap and just watched her. All the feathers grew in normally and she is a gorgous adult duck now. It must of just been the droopy wing stage. Her wings looked just like the pictures in bayyjayy's link, thanks. I hope something in this thread can help someone else out now.