Should I be concerned with these Austrolorp chicks wings?

[ChickNanny13]

Welcome, let us know what your results are...

 

[OilyChick]

I did look back at older photos and it seems their wings were turning out at about 4-6 days so very likely a defect.

 

[Wyatt0224]

Well if it is a defect if you wanted to is there any way you can get a refund?

 

[OilyChick]

I contacted the breeder and he said he had not had this problem with any other Australorps. He did offer some older chicks to replace these but I declined as they are 5 weeks older. I''m not comfortable integrating chicks that much older. I will just wait and see what happens with them.

 

[OilyChick]

And ChickNanny I did do a check of the wings. But since these are my first ever chicks I'm not sure what I'm looking for. They seem to be normal as compared to the others of the same breed whose wings lie flat against the body.

I'm starting to think that it is the feathers that are turned out rather than the wings... I guess time will tell

 

[Kerrismama]

I had several chicks that I hatched this year grow their first wing feathers in like that. They were from multiple sources and hatches, so not related in any way. From my observation, it seemed some of the longer primary feathers came in first. Without the feathers above them holding them down, they stick out at a weird angle. I'm not sure why they did that, but once the rest of the wing feathers came in they flattened out and were totally normal.

 

[OilyChick]

I had several chicks that I hatched this year grow their first wing feathers in like that. They were from multiple sources and hatches, so not related in any way. From my observation, it seemed some of the longer primary feathers came in first. Without the feathers above them holding them down, they stick out at a weird angle. I'm not sure why they did that, but once the rest of the wing feathers came in they flattened out and were totally normal.

oh thank you so much for your reply! Keeping fingers crossed it is the same with mine!

 

[drumstick diva]

Hope they will turn out okay.

 

[1nikki]

Hello. We have a chick with a similar problem - how did yours go? Ours is 2 days old, both wings hang down. Did you find out what it is and could you do anything? Thanks for any help.

 

[OilyChick]

Sorry for delay in posting

Hello. We have a chick with a similar problem - how did yours go? Ours is 2 days old, both wings hang down. Did you find out what it is and could you do anything? Thanks for any help.

Sorry for delay in posting 1nikki. I had 2 chicks with severe wing issues. They died (failure to thrive? just could not compete for food with the other birds that were growing faster) but the one with less of a problem survived and is doing very well. In fact she is a "frizzled" australorp. Not sure if she will keep the frizzles after her first molt but but she is a pretty bird

I did not attempt to do anything as I only could find people with adult ducks that would splint the wings. It is called "angel wings" in ducks. The problem seemed to be that the outer feathers were developing but the inner feathers never would grow. Not enough protein? Not sure the reason why but I'm thinking it was a defect in the birds as they never were good eaters.