Constant wing dropping in Tufted Roman Goose

[chickabella]

Greetings, all! I have a female Tufted Roman who is recovering from molting, with new wing feathers sprouting. I have noticed during the last few days (and it could have been happening even longer, hard to say) that she has trouble keeping her wings folded on her back. They drop almost as soon as she puts them back onto her back. None of the other geese are having this problem.

This happens whether she is walking or resting. Is it possible it is simply the result of immature wing feathers? I do plan to call the vet tomorrow for advice, but was wondering if other folks here have seen this issue, and if so, what was the cure/outcome? Thanks in advance!

[Geese are free-ranging during the day, and in addition to foraged greens, get a combination of commercial & organic crumbles. I put them in a large pen (electrified poultry netting) at night. They have several kiddie pools to use as well, in and out of the pen.]

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
Most of my geese have had this problem when getting their first feathers, Only one has ever showed it on molt (replacing feathers). My theory is that the new feathers are filled with blood and therefore much heavier than the dry feathers. In goslings the wing muscles aren't fully developed yet so they let the wings drop to give themselves a rest. On the one adult that showed the problem, she didn't droop before the molt and not after either. I just suspected she had weaker wing muscles than the rest of the flock. I would be interested to know what the vet has to say.

 

[Kim65]

Me too, about the vet.

I wonder if the quick new growth after a moult is painful, or if the tissues are congested from the increased activity of new feather growth.

 

[jojo@rolling acres farm]

I have the exact opposite situation going on. Last year, a freind of mine knew I had R T's. He gave me a female who's right wing sort of hung down and drug on the ground at times. It drove me crazy - so, I clipped the primary feathers and the wing still seemed to want to dip down a little bit. She is now going through a molt and both wings are full of new quills which are of course growing so they are all filled with blood. I have to really "study" the flock now to pick her out! Her wing - at the moment - is not "dipping" or hanging lower at all. I can't believe it - currently, she looks like a totally different goose. I hope it stays looking as nice as it does right now. My friend has no idea why her wing was damaged or how long it had been damaged.

I've hand raised parrots for years and know that the quills are super sensitive at certain stages of growth and can really bother them. Maybe your girl is more sensitive during this stage then the others in your flock?

 

[chickabella]

I've got an appointment to bring her into the avian vet on Thursday (tomorrow), so I hope to have some news to add to this thread afterward. Thanks for stopping in - it's much appreciated!

 

[chickabella]

Took Miss Cecily to vet - turns out she's barely skin & bones! I'm in shock, as she looks like the fattest goose in the flock. "It's all feathers", Doc says, and had me feel her keel bone. She has very little muscle, which is why she's having a hard time keeping her wings on her back. Doc asked me to bring in a couple of other geese to see if they had the same problem. They were on the thin side (laying season ended only a few weeks ago), but not unhealthy.

Unless bloodwork suggests doing anything different, I'm to fatten her up: more fresh greens, legumes (peas, etc), and squash like pumpkin. I'll also put up a second feeding station where they hang out in the shade during the day. They have free access to feed all day, but it could be it's just too hot to waddle over to the other side of the property every time they're hungry.

"Do you have a resource for feed vegetables?" Doc asked, and all I could do was shake my head and say "Costco?" Our budget is pretty tight, but I grimly vowed some way could be found. He turned to a woman waiting for her dog, and said "do you have leftover vegetable scraps at the end of the day?" "We sure do", she said - turns out, she owns a restaurant, and is willing to let me have the scraps at the end of the day. All I have to do is provide a bucket. I almost cried with gratitude.

If bloodwork comes back with anything, I'll report again.