Duck w/ drooping wing?

[Miss Lydia]

I have no idea if this scovy is sick but I can say I have never had a female Muscovy hold her wings like that. Only my drakes have problems holding their wings normal when the feathers are full of blood. I don't know why that is unless the females wings just aren't as heavy. I hope the OP will answer @casportpony questions. With having Muscovy's for a few years now that doesn't look normal to me. Not saying she could be sick but may there is an injury to that wing?

 

[hblovesclemson]

I thinking she's probably not eating, drinking, pooping normally. I have 30 juvenile Muscovies that just went through this phase and none of them ever looked like that.

Maybe I'm overreacting, but the last time a bunch of people said the bird was normal and "it's just a phase" or whatever, that bird died later that day.

She is definitely eating, drinking, and pooping very normally! She acts like a healthy duck and has a really fun, energetic personality. She dabbles, hunts for bugs and snails... does all the typical things. The only thing off is the wings.

I am surrounded by ducks 24/7 and have cared for sick and dying ones before, so I know what it looks like when a duck is ill. My girl here is definitely not.

Also I'd like to remind you that one of the wings has evened out normally. I just don't know what it was that helped it do so. I'm thinking it is more about wing strength but I posted here just wanting to be sure it wasn't some kind of nutritional deficiency.

 

[hblovesclemson]

Blood feathers hurt on first molt And it wears them out. The second pic looks like she is tired and napping. She is beautiful. I would separate her for a little while. She may be going into a heavier molt. I see heavy blood feathers growing out like that and we lightly wrap the tip in correct position to the part growing feathers with vet wrap. Take it off once a week until fixed, lay off extra protein and get her a pillow. Lol
she is also getting ready for shorter days. I am ready for bed at 5 lol.

She is using tail feathers until wing can balance her.

Think of blood feathers like this. Have you ever gotten a spiral perm with the long rods and if so, they hung on your head heavy. Same feeling. She needs wrapping because she most likely flaps wings to stretch and to keep them from becoming broken by whatever and getting them to stop bleeding is rough and a feather follicle infection can develop if broken, so wrap.

Thanks for your reply! I'm keeping a close eye on how she moves and stretches the wings and tbh I don't think she is working them enough.

 

[hblovesclemson]

In the first picture yeah, the eyes look good, but it's still standing funny with it's tail pointing up. A picture of the poop and answers to my other questions will be very helpful.

She looks like she might be very sick. See how she's standing in the second picture with her eyes closed, head tucked in, and drooped wings? This is not normal. Can you take her to a vet? If not, can you post a picture of her poop? Are you sure she's eating and drinking normally?

Edited to add:
Do you have a scale that you can weigh her on? If she were mine I would start weighing her daily. Since she's young she's still growing and should make daily weight gains.

To answer your question about how she's standing, in the second pic I'd like to point out that she is standing up against a screen. Her chest is almost flush against it which is why her head is tucked inwards like that. The reason is because there are ducks on the other side of the screen that she interacts with. In the first pic her butt is up against the screen and her tail feathers are curved up it

She doesn't actually nap standing up very often at all. I was cleaning the area she usually claims as her favorite and I was taking too long for her and she busied herself with talking to the other ducks. Those ducks settled in for a nap and she followed suit. Not a minute after taking the picture she actually sat down and tucked her head under her wing for a proper nap. She is a very energetic and happy little duck. I just thought I'd show you guys that when she is asleep and her muscles are at their most relaxed, the wings droop. Meaning that holding them up is probably a conscious effort on her part and that it could be something regarding the strength of those muscles that is the problem.

 

[casportpony]

Glad to hear that she's eating, drinking, and pooping fine. That said, have you examined each wing swelling and bruising? And would it be possible for you to post some close ups of her primary wing feathers so we can get an idea on how long they've been growing?

 

[hblovesclemson]

Glad to hear that she's eating, drinking, and pooping fine. That said, have you examined each wing swelling and bruising? And would it be possible for you to post some close ups of her primary wing feathers so we can get an idea on how long they've been growing?

I have examined both wings from joint to feathers and can't find anything wrong. There's no swelling, no bruising, everything looks normal physically. And of course the day I post about her wing, it's the day after that it starts to look better -- she's been holding both wings more strongly today and I saw her stretching that affected one out more. So that's promising I think.

I'll try to get a good picture of the feathers for you. She feisty and stubborn so it might take some effort, but I'll give it a try!

Also I apologize for the initial delay of getting back to you... After I created the thread I found myself suddenly busy and I couldn't check the responses right away. I really appreciate your help and concern over my little duck

 

[Miss Lydia]

Are you keeping this cutie? Great to hear her wing is looking better.

 

[hblovesclemson]

Are you keeping this cutie? Great to hear her wing is looking better.

Nope, she's being reintroduced back into the wild little by little! Which is basically just on the other side of the screen lol. She's getting there.

 

[Protect little creatures]

I just noticed your problem with drooping wings on your Muscovy last year and wonder how how she is doing since then? I googled this problem as I now have two three month old wildMuscovy ducklings exhibiting the same problem. There are 8 others that are fine. These two eat quite well, and run around eating flies, grubs and roots. Do you think their wings are too heavy with blood feathers?

 

[casportpony]

I just noticed your problem with drooping wings on your Muscovy last year and wonder how how she is doing since then? I googled this problem as I now have two three month old wildMuscovy ducklings exhibiting the same problem. There are 8 others that are fine. These two eat quite well, and run around eating flies, grubs and roots. Do you think their wings are too heavy with blood feathers?

Welcome to BYC!
Can you post some pictures of your ducklings?