There’s so much excitement from the moment the eggs start pipping. Chicks, ducklings, they’re all so adorable. Watching them grow during those first weeks is probably one of the most exciting times of the year. I swear they double in size overnight!
Then it happens. One morning you head out to the coop and see the very thing you don’t want to. On one particular bird, the wings seeming to bend outwards, the feathers at the tip turning sideways. Angel Wing.
What is Angel Wing?
Angel Wing is a term used to describe a condition with waterfowl where the final joint bends outward. While considered a problem primarily with ducks, chickens, can have the same condition. With chickens, this abnormal bending of the wing is called “slipped wing,” but as they are nearly the same in appearance, and the treatment and prevention are identical, we’ll use the term “Angel Wing” for the purposes of this article.
Angel Wing is a condition, while not immediately life-threatening, which can leave the bird unable to use the wing. Worse, it can cause higher susceptibility to disease and shorten a bird’s life. The good news is that it’s easy to treat, provided you catch it early.
At least this particular problem is easy to spot, as it’s characterized by the strange way the feathers stick out at an angle rather than lying flat against the side of the bird as it’s supposed to.
How serious is it? Just because your bird has it, doesn’t mean it’s condemned to suffer from it. Generally, Angel Wing is easily avoidable in young fowl, and treatable should it develop, so long as the treatment is made before the bird reaches maturity.
What Causes Angel Wing?
Before you start worrying there’s something terribly wrong with your bird, remember this: your duck is not sick and cannot infect other creatures with this condition. In fact, those birds that do get Angel Wing very often either have a genetic predisposition toward having it or have been eating an extremely high-fat diet.
Usually, genetic predisposition alone isn’t enough to trigger Angel Wing as this condition does tend to rest on a recessive gene. But couple this genetic predisposition with poor feeding and you’re going to have problems. What’s the wrong diet? Anything high calorie, usually combined with a low amount of protein fed during the crucial development phase of a young bird’s life.
To understand why remember, this diet causes growth to happen too fast, and when the feather’s growth outstrips the growth of the wing, the final-most joint in the wing becomes somewhat twisted. This causes the wing to “stick out” as the feathers become too heavy for the developing wing structure to support. The joint becomes twisted under the weight, and the wing cannot return to laying flat over the body as it should.
How serious is this?
Angel Wing is largely a cosmetic issue, but the consequences of the condition can be serious, with life-threatening consequences if the bird is allowed to roam unprotected. Chickens need to roost, and any bird will use their wings to get to safety to avoid predators. When they suffer from Angel Wing, they cannot do either of these easily.
So, how do ducks in the wild manage?
Ducks in the wild use flight to find and forage for food. Angel Wing rarely affects wild ducks unless they’re being fed too many snacks they shouldn’t have by well-meaning humans. Angel Wing is more a result of human interference with the development of the duck, in the form of improper diet, which is just one of many reasons not to feed bread to ducks at the park.
How to Prevent Angel Wing
It is easier to prevent Angel Wing from forming in the first place than it is to correct it. Start with a good diet that is lower in protein. For ducklings, a feed that is 18% – 22% protein for the first two weeks of the duck’s life and then dropping that down further is ideal. Don’t use feed meant for broilers and meat birds, which are meant to fatten the foul, especially if you’re raising layers.
For chickens, chicks under 10 weeks should get a diet of somewhere from 15-20% protein. After 10 weeks until chickens are ready to lay. At this point, switch them to grower feed at 15-16% protein, and then when your layers are grown, go to about 16% protein with added calcium to assure good shells on the eggs.
For meat birds, start with a slightly higher concentration. Use 21-24% protein for the starter. As I said, this is a bit much for layers, but for game birds and meat birds, this will fatten them nicely.
The other problem with high-protein diets is that it causes life-long foot and leg injuries, so you might want to keep this in mind as well. A good diet really does matter!
How can you be sure what you’re getting? Read the bag of feed to be sure you’re giving them the correct nutrition they need for healthy growth. There’s a lot of information provided right in the nutrition facts. When in doubt, talk to your feed supplier. These are experts who know and can guide you toward what’s best for your specific birds.
There is also mounting evidence that plenty of exercise can prevent Angel Wing from occurring. For ducks, try a little supervised swim. For chickens and ducks both, a chance to run around a pen will not only help prevent Angel Wing but, like for humans, will bring about better general health for your birds. Everyone likes a chance to move around, and besides, it’s fun to watch them enjoy themselves.
As a side benefit, foul that get out and exercise are more likely to find grasses and fresh foods that will help complete a healthy diet. To give them better access to what nature already offers, think about using a mobile pen to keep them together and safe from predators, but still offer them a chance to move around the yard.
So, What if Angel Wing is Already a Problem?
If your chicken or duck already has Angel Wing, there is something you can do to fix the condition, but it needs to be done before the bird is fully grown.
When birds are young, in the first weeks after they hatch, their bones are still malleable, and the bones can be “trained” into place through taping the wing into the position you want.
You don’t need a lot of special equipment. In fact, a strip of Vetrap, or a veterinarian’s bandage will do the trick. It’s inexpensive and easy to use. Gently wrap the Vetrap around the bird, holding the wing in its proper place for a week or two, so the developing bones have a chance to set correctly. As an alternative, you can use medical micropore tape, which is easier to find.
You may have to gently arrange the feathers so they fold correctly, but all you need to do is carefully bind the wing in place. Be sure to examine the wing before beginning, though. If the wing is calcified and there is no blood in the feathers, you may be too late to correct the problem. We did this using medical tape and it only took two days to fix the angel wing!
Conclusion
For the most part, Angel Wing is not a serious issue, although often it will attract the attention of the other birds, and the afflicted fowl can be victimized by the others. It shouldn’t cause the bird any pain or discomfort, but the fix is an easy and inexpensive one if caught before the wing hardens.
No matter what, if you spot Angel Wing in your bird, you’re going to want to do something to treat it. Whether chick or duckling, it’s better for the bird if you correct the issue by taping it and let nature heal the twist once the wing is correctly positioned.
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