Does my goose have angel wing?

[MotherGoose99]

Hi, I'm a bit worried about my Embden goose, Angel...

Her wing feathers are hanging low and I think she may have developed angel wing. My geese often look a bit tatty like this when they are moulting, but it is late in the year for her to still look like this.

She seems fine in herself, although she is going to be 10 next spring and does not wash and preen herself as obsessively as when she was a young bird! My geese have a varied diet with plenty of grass and fancy feed pellets, so it's certainly not a lack of nutrition (although potentially high protein/carb diets can cause angel wing?)

Any suggestions would be so helpful, and is there anything I can do to help her?

Thanks in advance!

 

[sourland]

Angel wing usually develops in young rapidly growing birds. I would guess that her feather condition has something to do with her age.

 

[KathiQuacks]

Angel wing is something that occurs in young waterfowl when they’re first growing in their wings. So, she’s well past the age to develop that.
Her wing feathers do look rather ratty though, yes. I just had a ducky with similar-looking wings. Took her a long while to molt, but she finally did a few weeks ago.

Perhaps the delay in molt, her older age, and her reduced preening / bathing may have just weakened the feather shafts. I know the feathers can look out of place when they’re approaching molt, too.

You say she’s acting well, and she looks pretty good overall to me. I think I’d just keep her protein up and make sure she can still bathe & dry whenever needed. Maybe add some kind of vitamin / electrolyte booster in their drinking water for a while.