Help please! Angel wings?

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Shion

Shion

Chirping
6 Years
Feb 16, 2014
28
4
77
Sydney, Australia
Despite their name, the looks of it is causing me so much worry i feel like all my hair is going to fall out.

To be honest, I'm not entirely sure if this is a case of angel wings or not, but today and only today have one of my duck's wings begin to droop. At first I had thought that maybe it was an injury gained whilst I was outside at school, however my brother had stated that his wings were perfectly fine at approximately 3:30pm and now it is 7:20pm. I have realised that he also looked extremely thin today despite his daily big appetite, I had just tried to feed him and he would not even touch the food! I have then deduced that maybe he really was injured and perhaps didn't feel like eating. Though my brother soon found it odd thinking "Why was only one duck injured?" and shrugging off the idea, I went to search online and had found out there was a similar case but called "Angel wings". Looking at it carefully it really did look like angel wings, the term not the wing-malfunction-or-whatever, but just in case, I want to get another opinion.



his face has gone extremely thin and so has his body! He wont stretch and flap out his wings as though they were in pain and he would only sit for a mere minute before jerking up.
whats more is that his eyes appear to be wide open, normally he would have yawned and have taken small naps here and there however, his behavior entirely seems to be off..

I'm not sure if this is entirely related but lately he seems to suddenly jerk off and go into a frenzy, even if the whole room were to be quiet. After calling from the top of his lungs for a bit, he would suddenly choke or cough backwards. I'm extremely worried right now, so I'm sorry about myself being paranoid about every detail. But to find him in such a state when he was so happy and jolly yesterday makes me worried to no end.

If this really is the case of angel wings, how can i help him? Taking him to a vet isn't really an option available to me, so I would appreciate all the help I can get.
 
Is there any way you can post/upload a video of this behavior? Im sure this will help others understand the situation more clearly!

Ellie
 
Hi, sorry your duck is having problems. Can he walk at all? Check his legs over for injuries , sometimes ducks get a niacin deficiency. One or both of their legs may start turning in and they will use their wings to try balance. The quickest way to restore the niacin levels is to add brewers yeast to the feed ration.
 
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I had also tried to touch his wing and gently spread it but although he let me, it trembled greatly. Also I had remembered that I had recorded them for a good 2 minutes or so in the afternoon right after school (2:45pm) because they were in such a jolly and energetic mood. He was by fact much fatter then, his wings showed no drooping and there was none of this sick and slow behavior. I suspect everything had occured within the 2-4 hours my eyes were off of him. My ducks free-range all day with a bowl of pellets given to them once every 4-5 hours. (They pretty much ate all of our crops).

This is worrying me quite dearly because I had just separated him from the other duck to see if he was actually eating, I gave him a nice bowl of warm water and next to that, pellets soaked just like any other day, with his favourite green leaves and a splotch of rice. He had poked his bill into the food only to withdraw himself a second later. His poop has also been noticeable less and much more concentrated in comparison to the other duck as though he hasn't eaten at all.

This has also been a concern but he has clearly not eaten almost anything, and yet he has coughed up quite hard for a few times now. The sound is similar to a very sick person trying to clear their throat. One of those nasally coughs. I tried to listen in on his breathing since the first few coughs and even up until now, it is very broken? As though he has a blocked nose, however his nose is clearly clear from any down or feathers that may have been sucked inside. And if your wondering I do give him clean water daily to wash their eyes and nose ;_;

---

In reply to Ellie, if it will help I'm willing to try! I have managed to get some film of him twitching his wings, this time however it was whilst falling asleep, what worried me was the fact that he did not actually sleep! Normally, he would climb onto my lap voluntary and fall asleep even whilst standing. Not only that even when his sitting down, his eyes are not completely closing! I highly doubt he has hurt both his eyes, the poor baby keeps yawning and (almost) closing his eyes before opening it wide again. I'm worried that he may not get any sleep. He also appears to be a bit restless, he continuously moves about and shifts his position, going back and forth, turning in circles, my his even trembling a little!

---

In reply to FancyChookLady, Yes he can walk though there has been a slightly strange pattern as to how he does. I realised he has not jumped over some steps as he usually would but instead just stand idly. When he sits, he also would not tuck in his legs into his feathers (which I suspect is due to his wings being in such a way). I have but two ducks and this is still my first time, so I cannot really tell if they're injured, but as of the moment, they look perfectly fine. However he is walking extremely slow in comparison to normal and its quite obvious that he is now having issues lifting up one leg to stretch and scratch.

---

Also I just wanted to apologize, I know I am being over the top and paranoid, but I honestly just want them to live a long and healthy life, they are only just past 4 months old. I do not wish to see such cute adorable ducks fall because of my ignorance.
 
Don't apologise for loving your ducks. There is nothing wrong with that.:) This could be coccocidiosis . What does the poop look like? I would be inclined to get some amprolium into him. In the mean time if you get some buttermilk and offer it , it will help to relieve the symptoms and put a lining on the stomach. You may need to go to a pet shop and buy some ' baby parrot or bird formula ' make this into a slurry and syringe feed it to the duck. The formula will help him to regain his appetite. From the pic you posted it doesn't look like angel wing to me . In angel wing the first primary feathers will appear twisted in the opposite direction to the rest of the feathers in the wing. I just don't see that in your pic.
This online store has amprolium and poly aid plus with probiotic and it's in Australia .

http://www.littlevalleypoultry.com/poultry-medications
 
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I feared that may be the case and was hoping that it was just angel wings which can be treated. Oh my! I really hope it isn't coccidiosis, that sounds terribly and I wouldn't be able to bare watching him in pain, what worries me most though is the speed of this development.

The poop is very much like a watery brown-white liquid. I had guessed it was like this due to not eating much as it was once like this before when we had to change their food after running out. They didn't eat much and so their poop became more clear (from water) and with very little solid bits. It was the same this time, his poop was either a concentrated white liquid, 80% white liquid with brown in the middle, solid brown liquid, or white with a bit of brown solids in the center. In comparison, my other duck had only solid brown poop, the usual kind.

As a matter of fact, there are quite some similar symptoms, lost of appetite and well rather than watery, his poops are very liquid-y barely solid at all.
He is also feeling very weak, barely walking on his own, moving in slow motion, his not even calling out when I'm out of site now. He use to follow me up the steps into the house and now his so lifeless he just stands out there, not moving a muscle.

I have tried to "force feed" but he puts it into his mouth and spits it right out. Also do you know the cocci levels in the poop as that person has talked about? Although that's a symptom to be noted of, I do not know the difference between a normal poop and an abnormal one.

I have been saving up and getting some amprolium is almost no problem however, would it be safe to give him some if that was by chance not the source of the problem? I've read that there can be some side affects of some specific medication if taken at inappropriate times :\ and I'm worried the intake may deteriorate his health further
 
And thank you for your many advice, I will follow them wisely and carefully :)
and im terribly sorry but what do you mean by lining on the stomach?
 

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