When does angel wing develop? Geese holding wings weird.

[Puddle Foot Farm]

Hey guys! I just got home from college, and while none of my geese have glaringly obvious angel wing, I'm a bit concerned about the wings - they seem to be drooping sometimes, and then when they actually have them up, the wing feathers cross on their backs. I've seen it on my toulouse and one or two of my chinese. Is this normal?

Crossing wing tips can be seen here.. The white feather that's sticking out is a wing feather from the other wing.

Another view of wings.. Crossing is apparent on both birds in question in this picture. (Toulouse and the front left chinese)

 

[smileysal]

I've tried asking this question about crossing wings tips before but unfortunately didn't get any replies.

Our chinese grey has crossing wing tips too, I was trying to find out if it was a fault, particualrly since we are hoping to show him.

It's not angel wing cos that goes out almost at right angles to the body. Our Jack showed signs of that when he was really young so we taped his wings for a while and it solved the problem but I wondered if that caused the crossing wing tips???

Anyone got any clues on this please???

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
Yes if you have long wings on a small or narrow bodied goose the wing tips have to cross when they they carry them nonmally. I am no expert on the APA Standards but I doubt this would be considered a fault. Since I like geese that can fly I look for crossed wing tips as a sign that the bird has the wings and body of a flight capable bird.~gd

 

[smileysal]

Brill thanks GD that's sounds like good news for Jack!

WE love him either way!!!

 

[shelleyd2008]

That is not angel wing. Angel wing is where the wing tip turns out, like at a right angle to the body. So instead of it laying nicely on the goose's back, it sticks out to the side. My embden's wings cross like that too, and it's just fine. I have an american with bad angel wing, but I don't have any pics of the wing. If I remember I'll try to get one

 

[Wifezilla]

THIS is angel wing...

 

[Puddle Foot Farm]

Thanks guys! I just like to err on the side of caution, and would feel horrible if I came home from college to 5 geese with angel wing(I thought it might be an early sign). It makes sense though - all my geese can fly and are pretty slim.

 

[shelleyd2008]

It usually starts around 6 weeks or so, when their wing feathers are coming in real well. Mine was about 4 weeks, but the first signs are of the wing tips not folding under the back feathers. If that doesn't get corrected, the weight of the flight feathers will eventually pull the wing tips out to look like the above pic.

 

[Thamnophis]

It is caused by too much protein in the diet, no?
Also - does it go away with a molt?

 

[Wifezilla]

No (well, no in my opinion) and
No.

There are 2 theories as to why angel wing develops. One is excess protein, the other is excess carbohydrates. I say it is the carbohydrates.

"When a young bird eats calorie-dense, nutritionally poor foods — like bread — the growth of its feathers outpaces the development of its wing bones. Gravity pulls the heavy feathers down, and the growing bones twist outward, resulting in a syndrome known as “Angel Wing.” Bandages and physical therapy can correct the condition in young birds, but it is incurable in adults, and affected birds lose the ability to fly."

http://www.spokanecity.org/services/articles/?ArticleID=1850

And for the other no, it effects the bone growth, so it wont get better after a molt.