Muscovy wing issue

[farmertank]

I'm not sure if he's sick, but my little chocolate muscovy(he's about 2 months old) has some wierd wing growth.

Ok first he has had a herd time growing from fuzz to wings right from the begining. But he now hangs his wings down and the flopp when he walks. he seems to have a skin growing over them. I tried to peal a little of the skin like thing back, but it bleeds. There is a wing in there all folded up. I didn't want to hurt him and really don't know what to do.

Has anyone seen this and know what to do?

Julie

**title edited for clarity**

 

[ChicknThief]

At first I was going to say hard moult, but those feather shafts do look awefully long.

But then at the same time, I don't know a thing about ducks, so maybe that is a normal duck thing?

 

[farmertank]

I know it's not normal I have had ducks for several years, but I have never seen this. He is way to young for molting. He seems to eat really well and drink well. I don't think that it's a nutrition thing, but I really don't know.
I'm a litttle woried about the little guy he's become quite a favorite.

 

[farmertank]

here is another pic. I don't know if this helps.

 

[ChicknThief]

Oh, so ducks don't go through the little "mini moult"? Here is some info I found, but I am not sure how helpful this is...

Abnormal moults Top
Occasionally, moulting can go wrong with the bird looking like a feather duster on a bad hair day. If all is progressing well, the new feathers should be shiny and neat but if the bird develops an untidy or ‘ratty’ appearance, with bald patches in it’s feathering, it may be experiencing an abnormal moult.

It is common for a moult to be prolonged, or for abnormal feathers to be produced. An abnormal moult will produce feathers that are discoloured, malformed, or that have retained sheaths. Stress lines can develop in feathers, which, like the rings on the trunk of a tree, indicate variation in the quality of growth of the feathers.

If the feathers become black and streaky, it may be a sign that the bird has been traumatised or that its normal cycle of daylight and darkness have been interrupted. This can occur if the bird spends a lot of time in the artificial light of a household rather than seeing the normal sunrise/ sunset rhythm of the natural environment.

Remember though, the commonest cause of an abnormal moult is poor nutrition as discussed earlier.


Here is the link that I got that from...

http://www.petalia.com.au/Templates/StoryTemplate_Process.cfm?specie=Birds&story_no=380#ct-6


I will keep looking and see what I can dig up.


edited to say: LOL, the above is useless if ducks don't go through the moult that chickens do withing their first few months.

 

[farmertank]

Thank you so much!
I feed him scratch grain with non medicated chick starter mixed in it. He free ranges and gets all the grass and bugs he could want. he also gets light all day long. I wonder if he has something wrong that is causing him to lack nutrition. I think I will feed him some dog food and more starter and see what that does.

I will appereciate any other info given.

 

[DuckLady]

That is perfectly normal. He is getting his first flight feathers in. It just looks odd with all the fluff from his babyness still on him.

There is nothing wrong with your duck.

He should be eating 16% protein all purpose feed. Dog food will give him too much protein which can cause angel wing.

 

[MissPrissy]

Instead of dog food please feed him a 26% or 28% protein gamebird feed.

 

[pips&peeps]

I agree it is normal. The wings hang down because the feathers are growing and there is a blood supply running through them which makes them heavier than normal.

Please don't pick at the sheaths, they will come off on their own.

 

[raindrop]

I was just reading on wing issues in ducklings in Storey's Guide, and "lazy" wings can be a sign of excessive protein intake, nutritional deficiencies, etc. I would get your duckling on 16% protein maximum and add brewer's yeast to the food (2 to 3 cups per 10 pounds feed) to supplement B vitamins as waterfowl have higher requirements for niacin in particular.
The feathers look fine, those are the primaries growing in.