Mild Angel Wing or Nothing to Worry About?

[MisaF]

Hi all,

Duckens, 3 month old female runner, has a few feathers on one wing that (left side) that don’t seem to lay the same as those on the other wing. I’ve heard about angel wing and was wondering if this maybe a mild case or maybe this is normal? I’m attaching some photos.

As always, you guys rock! Thank you in advance!!

Best
Melissa

 

[NoFlyBackFarm]

Ummmmm... This is a question I cannot answer sorry.

 

[ChickenDoctor145]

It looks like it could be the beginning of angelwing, try giving her some niacin supplement and/or other foods high in niacin. Peas and cat food in the right amounts can help. If it gets worse then you might want to find some vet wrap tape to help it grow in the right position. Have you noticed any leg problems or limping?

 

[MisaF]

She has no leg problems and has been walking and running well. Only weird thing is this one wing. We give her brewer's yeast in her food and have since she was just a few days old. I'm wondering if she just isn't getting as much now because the chickens and ducks all share the same food and maybe the chickens are getting the majority of it. There is really no way for me to know who is getting enough of it.

 

[ChickenDoctor145]

Maybe try taking her inside for a bit and giving her a personal bowl with the yeast so you can make sure she's getting some. It's a very mild case at the moment so there's not too big of a worry, but prevention is better then fixing it. Good job for giving them the yeast at a younger age, that helps a lot. So maybe try to give her a bit more and then just keep a close eye on it. If the wings start to splay out more then get the vet wrap and more brewers yeast in her diet

 

[casportpony]

In this picture it does look a little like angel wing. FYI, for some reason, angel wing is more common in the left wing. One article I read said something like "more common in left or both wings, rarely the right". I think they also said it was more common in drakes.

 

[MisaF]

Since we’ve got two ducks moving one inside would be a quacking nightmare. Lol. My plan is to keep the ducks in the run when I let everyone out in the morning. They eat the most when I first let them out of the duck house so I’ll make sure the only option is packed with nutritional yeast. After an hour or so I’ll let them join the rest of the flock.

So if we can get more niacin into her how long do we need to keep that up for? I figured she was out of the woods already but we never stopped giving her the yeast.

Should I wrap her wing now or should we wait? Not like she had any chance of ever flying but still, want to do the best thing for her.

Thanks!!
Melissa

 

[casportpony]

I don't think that niacin will help with angel wing, but it won't hurt.

 

[MisaF]

I don't think that niacin will help with angel wing, but it won't hurt.
View attachment 1557222

Well, crap! Lol!

So I should be wrapping the wing? Any good resources for how to best do that? She will not be pleased but she’ll get over it. I’ll get some vet wrap from my tack trunk tomorrow and get on it. She’s such a punk it should be fun.

We were so careful with the protein levels and the niacin being added but I guess sometimes stuff happens either way.

Right now I can put the wing in the correct position so it matches the other but then she goes and flaps them like she has some hope of getting off the ground and when she puts them back those feathers are again all out of place. It also seems like the feathers on that wing are not as long as the ones on the normal wing.

As always, you guys are awesome. Thank you!

 

[casportpony]

Have you seen these:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/angel-wing-treatment.1252014/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/cayuga-angel-wing.1203339/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ucks-how-we-wrap-to-mend-it-pictorial.644239/