Sebastopol Gosling with Droopy Wings

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i spoke too soon. This morning it looks like it's turning into angel wing. Going to Walmart this morning to get some medical tape. i wonder if i should eliminate all grain feed for a while and just give them lots of greens. They have grass all day and i can give them more romaine and green leaf lettuce.

i'm wondering, what happens if you don't fix angel wing when they're young?

 

[Diamond Wire Farms]

Angel wing is not dangerous. It is just undesirable. I have 14 goslings right now, and only had to tape one. So it may not always be caused by feed.
I would be mixing scratch in with your flock raiser. I also only feed these guys twice a day now, instead of having feed available all the time.
The babies are a bot lazy and rarely grazed if they had a feed pan available. Now they are encouraged to grazed from late morning until afternoon.

I had good luck with vet wrap from the feed-store, just make sure you don't wrap it too tight as it is stretchy and can be applied too tight.

 

[Denninmi]

Quote:
If you don't correct it, usually its just a cosmetic issue. In rare instances, according to a really great online vet manual I found a few weeks back and CANNOT find again, the wing can droop and twist so much it drags the ground and can become abraided on the edge, causing repeated infections. They can surgically remove the wing tip (pinioning) if necessary.

But, since it CAN be corrected when it starts, you should do so.

FWIW, I gave up on the medical tape -- it won't stay on, either. Hate to say this, I used duct tape on my little Jack. I think we're getting there finally -- I tried the conventional medical tape first, and it kept coming off. Then tried duct tape over that, and that didn't stay on. Last Sunday, I went with straight duct tape. It isn't nearly as bad as I thought. Sticks a little to the feathers, but I'm just trimming them off if it sticks too much. He'll moult out of these first feathers sooner or later anyway. I've been taking it off and changing it ever 2-3 days. It sort of loosens itself anyway because of the moisture, so not too bad to remove.

Last night, I took it off and let him play in the yard for an hour without any tape, and both are staying up and not twisting. I retaped him one last time, will take it off Saturday morning and then see what happens. I think we're over the worst of it (I hope!).

Also, I have to say, if the bird is tame and imprinted on you, it is SO easy to do this. I just get him up on my lap and tape him or untap him. He just sits there and preens while I do it. The only problem I have is he LOVES to grab hold of the tape and play with it. So, its usually 1 piece of tape for Jack, one for me, one for Jack, one for me.

 

[banter]

Just reduce the amount of feed and increase the grazing OR cut grass and feed in the pen. Dandelions are excellent, but going by now. You can offer kale, cabbage ect!
If you bind the wing do it for only 24-48 hours. Exercise and stretching of the wing is needed. I have a very curly buff goose who I was worried at year one was getting
a twisted wing tip. I cut back her feed to very little and grazed her and fed extra greens, and it corrected in 3 days. The more water play and flapping the better!

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Well, i've never had geese before and they are very interesting. i thought they would be like ducks, but they aren't at all. They're slow moving and much more interested in being around me. The ducks only want to be near me when i have treats. Otherwise, they are a suspicious lot and want to just hang with their duck friends.

i notice the geese spend a lot of time just resting in the goat pen. If i go out and run back and forth across the yard, they will follow me and hold their wings out. So i guess we will have to do that several times a day for exercise, for both of us.

Sounds like i should get a couple different kinds of tape at the store, and hopefully one of them will work.

i really appreciate all the input.

 

[goosemama]

Thank you from me as well for all the advice on angel wing. My one female Pilgrim's wing is started to skew sideways so I think I'll go the taping route too. Glad to hear your your advice of only taping for 24-48 hours at a time then exercise and retape. Dave Holderreads book says to tape for 10 to 14 days - that does sound like too much from the experience many of you have had with it. I will also remove their feed hopper from their indoor pen so they do not have it all night long. I do put a pan of this mixed feed on the lawn and my other gosling, 1 month old chicks and turkeys eat from it as well - but its been a surprise to me how much grazing they are all doing. We have had two weeks of no rain and high 80's temps here in Western NY and the grass is started to get sparse. I have another shady grassy area I can fence in and transfer them if I have to. Thanks for all the help guys.

 

[Denninmi]

Quote:
Obviously, he is the guru of geese, and I don't want to quibble with someone with that much experience and his reputation. I think the overall time period is fine 10- 14 days sounds about right. What I was concerned about was the fact that, during that period, the wing and feathers are constantly growing. I would hate to see the wing become messed up because it was trying to grow and was constricted -- as an avid gardener, I've seen what happens to various plants in this situation, such as when too much mulch is placed over something in the winter and it can't grow through it in the spring.

So, I thought that taking the tape off and redoing it every few days would avoid this issue, and also give the poor bird a little time to stretch its wings normally and run around without being bound up.

 

[Cottage Rose]

Droopy wings are not a problem unless they start to flip out.
You do not need to tape droopy wings if they are just hanging down.
What I've heard is you can leave them taped for a week.
I use that papery medical tape.
It doesn't stick to the feathers bad like other types of tape.
Only feed at night if on pasture during the day.
Keep protein at no more than 16 - 18%
Don't over feed.
I have a raising waterfowl tip page on my website you might find helpful.
Best Wishes, Vicky

 

[pete55]

From my experience it is not always due to diet etc. This year we had a young Toulouse that nibbled the down on the other goslings and unfortunately the emerging secondary feathers. The one that had no feather damage has feathered up fine. The others all suffered from excessive drooping of their wings. It appeared that the main problem was the absence of the secondary feathers. As these grow first they act as a guide and partial splint to tuck the end of the wing into with the heavy developing primaries. As CottageRose said we use a paper like surgical tape called Micropore. We use it as a brace and and wrap it from the joint near the body around the folded wing. It removes fairly easy without plucking out feathers and its changed every 3-4 days. Then retaped over a 2 week period until the new secondaries have grown in. The allows for fether growth and growth of emerging feathers.

Pete

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Hi Pete,

You may have hit the nail on the head. The one with the droopy wings (which are now turning outwards) is our oldest. The other two were constantly nibbling on and pulling her feathers when they were younger and in the house. i know it continued for a while once they were outside. i haven't seen any feather pulling lately, but it was an issue for a while. i'm going to wrap her wings this morning. Couldn't do it earlier as my husband wasn't home to help. Maybe i'll take a picture and you'all can tell me if i did it right.