Angel wings/growth spurt?

[nes]

My girl is around 7-8 weeks now, her flight feathers are just coming in on the edge of her wings & her wings are starting to really stick out (compared with her brothers); is this normal at her age? or do I need to start worrying about angel wings?

 

[Kschwartz]

One of my ducks was going through the same thing just last week! She is 6-7 wks old and her flight feathers are also coming in and this is my first time raising ducks so I really didn't know what to expect. Part of her wings looked like they were almost sticking up, so I was worried that it might be Angel's wing. I decided to wait a week or so, and now her wings look normal again. I think its just a bit of an illusion when the flight feathers are first coming in, so I wouldn't worry about it unless is persists for several weeks, then your duck may have angel wing.

 

[jbrown_14105]

Hello,
I just adopted a Pekin drake with a angel wing....I'll let you know.
Though he doesn't seem bothered by it.
Jim Brown
Lockport NY

 

[AdamD77]

A picture would really help when it comes to angel wing...

 

[Hattiegun]

yes its normal .. growth spurt... she should be okay.

 

[Czech's_chicks]

angel wing is normally caused to too high protein in the feed. It isn't self correcting, but is an easy fix...duct tape. I would wrap the affected wing(s) and then double over the tape and attach a little to the body so it's easily removed but still created a stable form for the wing to grow against. kind of like braces for teeth

 

[FenDruadin]

Duck wings will look peculiar when the flight feathers are coming in--sometimes alarmingly like angel wing even when it's not. But then, could be angel wing too, and the best way for us to help you is by looking at pics. Any chance you have some you could post? Also, it would help to know what she's been eating--both what you feed her directly (protein percentage, brand, type of feed, any treats she's offered regularly) and what she free ranges on (does she has grass & bushes, a garden area, bare dirt, pond, etc.).

 

[nes]

They are getting both better & worse day by day so it's hard for me to tell what is going on.

They have a run they "free range" in, lots of grass & bugs, etc. They are getting an unmedicated chick grower as well (probably no more then a 1/4 cup each a day? I don't know I just feed all of them together with the chicks) they DO live with turkey though, and even though I try to keep them separated at feed time, the ducks do love the turkey food so that could definitely be it.

I'm more worried that her brothers' wings came in just fine and looking normal.

"Girl"

"Boys"

 

[FenDruadin]

Yah, the duck looking at the camera in the first picture looks like she's got the start of angel wing. Can you arrange the turkey feed so that the turkeys can peck the food out, but the ducks can't fit their bills in to scoop it? Can the turkeys hop up on something that the ducks wouldn't be able to reach? Game birds need MUCH higher protein levels than ducks, and that super high protein is probably your problem.

At this point, if you lower the protein, there's a chance it may correct itself, but most likely you're going to need to treat it. If you do it before she's done growing, she can recover completely, but it's a pain. I've actually never been able to do it successfully, so hopefully someone will chip in and describe the technique. I know it involves wrapping it tightly with Vetwrap, but I can never get it so it doesn't fall off.

Of course, now that I keep their protein levels down after the first couple weeks, I never have that problem, so I never had to learn to do it properly.

Good luck. I hope she's able to recover, but even if she doesn't--it isn't life threatening. Just cosmetic--and maybe a bit uncomfortable.

 

[nes]

Thanks cat - I'll try to keep them separated a little better at meal time :S.

If I fed the ducks/chicks in the feeder, and threw the turkey feed out in the run, would that prevent the ducks from getting more of it?
They don't get very much feed anyway. They all get most of what they need out in the run, so the feed is more of a getting them friendly thing & I'm trying to bulk up the turkeys (we bought heritage & a little late)

Already this morning her left wing looks almost completely normal and only her right wing is traveling, so I'm worried about interfering where this might correct itself with more growth. But it'd far rather do something about it then let her grow up with misshapen wings. I do want my birds to be able to fly a little if they need.