Slappy... Cross Beak and Angel Wing

[GreatGranny]

My poor Slappy... She is five weeks old and has an extreme cross beak... but she has been holding her own. We have noticed her left wing is now turning out at the end and my hubby and I believe this to be Angel Wing. I have been told it is genetics, and I have been told it is her food...

She is on waterfowl starter feed at 18% protein but she is rarely able to eat it because of her cross beak. Most of her diet is grass and other types of greens including Kale. Our other geese are healthy and in great shape with their feed and greens! Problem is, our vet advised us to euthanize Slappy because she has other defects on her left side that he says will probably be her demise over the long run but we love her and just wanted to give her a fighting chance.

So the question is... Is angel wing genetic or due to protein in the food, because with Slappy's left side issues I would have to say that in her case it is genetic. But could both be a factor? Could the sensitivity to the protein in their diet be a genetic issue in some geese because not all have that problem?

 

[Miss Lydia]

I'd say in Slappy's case it's probably genetic since it can be either nutritional or genetic and Slappy isn't eating a high protein/carbohydrate diet.

It can be fixed though if you do it asap. Is she able to eat her greens okay. Bless her heart.

 

[GreatGranny]

Thank you so much for your reply! We are in the process of having her wear a piece of pantyhose to hold her wings in! (Her problem has now spread to both wings) but she is having a very hard time eating. We are feeding her grass but she is now managing to eat some Timothy hay, as it is easier for her to pick up and take in. She has gotten weaker, thinner since I wrote this but she is a fighter! I watched her use a rainstorm yesterday to take in water with her head straight up in the air catching the raindrops! We are now using the hose to give her water as she is having problems with putting her face in the buckets we have for them all over their run!

Gerdie, Slappy's sister, is always giving her loving support. I have never seen this in any bird! She is so loving and caring and stays right by Slappy's side... Our geese are so special to us and have become an extension of our family!

We are all together, a gaggle

 

[Miss Lydia]

Only other option would be to tube feed her so she is getting the right amount of nutrients. @casportpony has the info on that.

 

[vivaciouswoman]

I've got a question about your Slappy's eating behavior: when pecking or at least aiming for food, does she aim straight forward (more aligned with her bottom beak) or does she aim in the direction of her top beak (to her left)?

 

[vivaciouswoman]

I've got a question about your Slappy's eating behavior: when pecking or at least aiming for food, does she aim straight forward (more aligned with her bottom beak) or does she aim in the direction of her top beak (to her left)?

In your second picture, it looks like she's foraging straight forward, which may be very good. It's aligned with her bottom beak, which will allow her to scoop and get things down her throat. My cross beak's bottom beak is off to her left, and that's proving to be tragic because she approaches food straight on (aligned with her top beak), which rarely gets her any food. I wonder if it's possible to train chickens to forage/peck/eat in a direction other than straight forward.

 

[GreatGranny]

In your second picture, it looks like she's foraging straight forward, which may be very good. It's aligned with her bottom beak, which will allow her to scoop and get things down her throat. My cross beak's bottom beak is off to her left, and that's proving to be tragic because she approaches food straight on (aligned with her top beak), which rarely gets her any food. I wonder if it's possible to train chickens to forage/peck/eat in a direction other than straight forward.

Excellent question and thanks for your reply, vivaciouswoman! I have actually seen her do both! We have changed her food over the past two weeks and she is doing much much better with it! The nuggets are larger and actually crunchy, not hard, and she is able to scoop the food into her throat using the bottom half of her beak! She will pull grass straightforward but I noticed she gets very little that way because her top beak is so extremely pushed to the left! Even her head leading up from her beak is starting to turn as well... It is so crazy... and I have never seen this sort of cross beak before, not to this extream. We have helped her get the most from her right side but her whole body is strangely taking a turn to the left in places. Our vet has never seen this before. He is an Agri vet for our farming area and has been one for some time. He wants us to put her down but she is coming back when he said she would not!

Slappy was just dealt a terrible hand at birth and we are doing what we can to help her (not extremely and not tube feeding) carry on. We are sure to have deep buckets of water all over the yard for her to drink from and my hubby makes puddles of water for her to sit in! The other geese have a deep pool to swim in but Slappy will not climb the ramp. She will not even try to get into the kiddie wading pool we got for them when they were smaller!

She seems happy and coos when she tries to preen her feathers and she is an important part of the gaggle... we are trying to let her fit in as natural as possible. True she is not a pretty goose to look at but to me she is beautiful and she is trying so hard to make it all work for her!