Also called slipped wing, the cause of angel wing is not conclusive. There are two basic theories, both concern overfeeding and proximity to humans. The first involves too much protein and the second involves too many sugars. To prevent angel wing, waterfowl should not be fed bread, popcorn or other human foodstuffs, especially in the first six weeks of life. As birds grow, the (wrist) joints can become retarded in their development relative to the rest of the wing, and possibly due to the weight of incoming flight feathers. If only one wing is affected it is usually the left one. The result is a wrist which is twisted outwards and unable to perform its usual function, with feathers that are out of alignment resulting in wings at odd angles. If caught early before young birds reach full growth, wrapping the wing and binding it against the bird's flank, together with feeding the bird a more natural diet, can mostly reverse the damage.
Our duckings will eat feed nonstop if youlet them.
Mine have access to food at all times. They also have a large grassy area, a compost pile full of worms to graze on, lots of slugs to eat, dandelions and plantains by the score, flies and whatever else they can get. Treats are frozen thawed veggies salad greens or other kitchen scraps. They also get occasionally high protein/low carb cat food, feeder gold fish, meal worms, etc... No fat ducks. No angel wing.
Some sources are implicating a lack of vitamin D as an issue as well. My ducks are out in the sun every day too.
While there are differences between wild ducks and domestic ducks, they are not different species. The closer you can mimic the natural macronutrient composition of their wild diet, the better off they are. This is the same issue facing dog and cat owners. This is why you have many dog owners feeding their dogs raw with GREAT results. In the case of my cats, 2 of them are elderly and are not the least bit interested in raw food. I have switched them to a low carbohydrate, high protein, no corn, soy or wheat food that they like, and if someone leaves open the screen door, the ducks will sneak in and steal
