Drake Mallard 8wks, wing

[DuckLover9138]

Put them on a hardcore vegetable diet so it doesn't come back.

Edit: I think it might be a female. 8 weeks=yellow beak.

 

[2txmedics]

Duck Lover, was that edit for me? on the comment about it being a female?

Im pretty sure its a drake, has a dark bill, and very quite also

 

[FenDruadin]

That's normal, but leaning toward the "angel wing" danger zone. I'm glad it cleared up on its own--it often will. But for future reference, at about four weeks you should begin lowering the protein percentage in their feed to prevent this problem. You can add a handful of oats or wheat to the feed, gradually increasing it until it's about 25% of the total volume of their feed at around 6 weeks of age.

The reason that matters is that blood feathers (new feathers growing in, which are full of blood to fuel the growth) are extremely heavy. If they grow too fast, they outstrip the young bird's muscle strength, and the bird can't hold them up straight. This can twist the "ankle" joint in the wing, causing the wing to turn outward. It can cause permanent damage. In your case, the feathers were growing probably faster than they should, but fortunately not so fast that the muscles weren't strong enough to hold them up.

Why it was just the mallards I don't know, but I have noticed that some breeds are more susceptible than others. My runners almost never develop problems even from bad practices or bad luck (such as a bad batch of feed, or not lowering the protein percentage) whereas my magpies will. I think runners are just outstandingly hardy and resistant to problems in their maintenance.

Good luck with your birds. They're very pretty, and I'm glad the wings straightened themselves out.