Does this look like a broken wing?

[donnavee]

This is our 3yr old Black Star, Aretha.

Yesterday evening we noticed one of her wings is hanging lower than the other - there are no wounds or puncture marks. She doesn't really act like it bothers her and she got on the roost last night. It doesn't touch the ground, sort of hanging like chickens do when they are hot in the summer. It is the same this morning. We have 10 hens that free range in the woods in back of their coop during the day. We were outside all day yesterday and never heard any fights or other alarming noises.

If it is broken, how do we deal with it? We have wrapped feet before, but never wings.

She wouldn't pose very well so I had to take a pic of each side separately to show the difference:

Low hanging side

And the good side

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

hmmmmmm



How is she doing now?


I wonder if she sprained it some how.


Have you seen her flap her wings since it started to droop?

Does she resist when you try to fan it out?

 

[donnavee]

I actually meant to update this - she did flap both wings and continued taking dust baths, etc. Under normal circumstances, we would have checked her more thoroughly - but she seemed OK in every way except for the drooping wing and we had a lot of things going on at the time. Two days after I posted this, she was holding both wings normally again. So I am guessing she could have sprained it; DH confessed that he gave a rotting log full of termites to the gals on that day. The flock is normally very docile, but some of them can get a bit agressive when especially yummy insects are up for grabs. Possibly one of them could have jumped her?? I'll never know, but am grateful that it wasn't something serious.

Thanks for responding.

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

I am so glad it was nothing serious - other than to worry you (silly birds

).




Ah yes, the scramble for tasty tidbits can be................nasty!