Angel Wing questions for an 11 week old goose…

[jennserra]

Hi, all!

Our Ducks and Goose developed Angel wing. We changed their diet and the Ducks Angel wing corrected itself. Our Goose is a bit younger than the Ducks, and unfortunately, the diet change alone was insufficient to fix the issue.

We watched multiple videos on YouTube about how to fix Angel Wing, and we have attempted to do the techniques we saw demonstrated. We carefully splayed out the wing and tucked it under. Then, we wrapped it with vet wrap followed by a waterproof medical tape.

Unfortunately, the wings are not laying flat nor are they doing the crossover in the back. We saw that some people used harnesses or tied t-shirts on their goose to help during this process. Unfortunately, the harness I bought was too small, but we did find a thin T-shirt that has seemed to work.

Our questions include;
1) Is it normal in the beginning for the wings to have trouble laying completely flat (and/or not crossing over in the back)?

2) We have seen that some people leave the wings taped all day, some during the day and off at night, and some off during the day but taped at night. What do you recommmend that has worked well for your Goose family?

Our Goose, Big Bird, is eleven weeks old and very dear to us, so we want to help with this condition. However, we want to avoid hurting our Big Bird. Any advice would be appreciated.

Many thanks for your time and consideration in this matter.

Duck Duck Goose Mom (Jenn) and Dad (Jeremy)

 

[Goosebaby]

Judging by the fact that the pinion feathers are upside down and curving up the wrist bones are twisted even in the way you’ve wrapped them. If you can gently correct the twist I would do so ASAP, if you can’t, then it means that the twist has become permanent, which is probably why the wings still aren’t sitting correctly.

Out of curiosity what kind of feed were they on and what kind of feed are they on now?


Many people attribute angel wing to eating high levels of protein and carbohydrates, others say it’s genetics. In my opinion it’s both.
Some babies will get angel wing while their siblings won’t. Geese like us can have different metabolisms, especialy if they’re of different sizes or breeds or mixed breeds. What’s good for one might be too much or not enough for another.
Angel wing itself is caused by the rapid growth of flight feathers, while they’re growing they fill with blood and the sudden increase in weight can be to much to support for the gosling’s muscles, and so the wrist begins to twist. If left unchecked the twist becomes permanent.

I’ve also suspected that nutrient deficiencies could also cause angel wing, if the bones are weak from malnourishment they might not be strong enough for normal development, to hold the wing correctly without bending.

 

[jennserra]

Judging by the fact that the pinion feathers are upside down and curving up the wrist bones are twisted even in the way you’ve wrapped them. If you can gently correct the twist I would do so ASAP, if you can’t, then it means that the twist has become permanent, which is probably why the wings still aren’t sitting correctly.

Out of curiosity what kind of feed were they on and what kind of feed are they on now?


Many people attribute angel wing to eating high levels of protein and carbohydrates, others say it’s genetics. In my opinion it’s both.
Some babies will get angel wing while their siblings won’t. Geese like us can have different metabolisms, especialy if they’re of different sizes or breeds or mixed breeds. What’s good for one might be too much or not enough for another.
Angel wing itself is caused by the rapid growth of flight feathers, while they’re growing they fill with blood and the sudden increase in weight can be to much to support for the gosling’s muscles, and so the wrist begins to twist. If left unchecked the twist becomes permanent.

I’ve also suspected that nutrient deficiencies could also cause angel wing, if the bones are weak from malnourishment they might not be strong enough for normal development, to hold the wing correctly without bending.

Thanks, Goosebaby.

They began on Purina Duck Pellets and greens. Once we learned that the high protein feeds were mostly for waterfowl that were being sold for meat, we added Producer’s Pride Scratch Grains since we just want them to be healthy and happy. We plan on keeping them.

The original ratio I used was 3 parts Duck Pellets 1 part Scratch with 1% DE. However, I eventually did closer to a half and half ratio of Duck Pellets to Scratch. Since they were about six weeks old, they began to free range the entire backyard all day so I no longer picks greens for them.

At the time of the switch to adding Scratch, we were unaware of Angel Wing but had seen the ducks seemed to have some small wings growing outward. Their small outward growing wings went away within a week or two, so we just kind of thought it was an awkward part of them growing up (like the early teens). However, now we suspect that since it was when we had changed their food and they were foraging on their own, that may have at least helped, if not completely resolved the issue with them.

Originally, we thought Big Bird was going through a similar awkward phase with the wings. However, they never self-corrected, so we began to research and found out about Angel Wing.

Since learning about Angel Wing, we added in Alfalfa Pellets to the feed. The current proportion in the feeder is 4 parts Alfalfa Pellets, 3 parts Scratch, 1 part Duck Pellets with 1% DE.

We are going to try to re-wrap the wing now that we have a better idea what to look for when setting/wrapping. Thanks!

Would you suggest we keep it continuously wrapped, if we are able to have it lay flat?

Originally, we were considering having it wrapped all day but taking it off in the evening while we sleep. That way we can have eyes on Big Bird whenever wrapped.

 

[Goosebaby]

Usually with angel wing wrapping it all day and night, or just during the day for 3 to five days is enough to correct it.
If you can’t corect the twisted wrist to lay flat with gentle manipulation I think it’s too late to fix it and I wouldn’t attempt to because it could injure her.

As for what you’re feeding your goose, it could have been the scratch that caused this, I doubt it was the duck pellets.

If your goose is a brown chinese, which is a light weight breed 10% protein is just fine, ducklings and goslings in general should be on 20 to 22% protein, 19% is fine if they’re getting added nutrition.
If she’s an African she should be on something with 22% protein, especially while growing, molting, and laying, heavier breeds are heavy feeders compared to smaller breeds.

For example my flock is mostly Toulouse and Toulouse Buff crosses (heavy breeds) a buff (medium to light) and Roman and Roman cross (light) + my ducks “Cayuga, welsh harlequin, and buff duck.
I feed all of mine Purina flock raiser year round, the ducks never developed angel wing, now that they’re adults mostly forage, so they don’t have free access to feed so their weight is kept in check.
The geese never developed it besides my Roman toulouse cross, she has the metabolism of a large breed but the body of a tiny Roman. My buff and Roman never developed it but as adults the food is a little rich for like my Roman cross so they put on weight very easily, so I have to watch their weight. My Toulouse and Toulouse buff crosses do just fine on it, if they’re struggling I actually have to put them on 30% feed briefly to get their weight back up to a healthy weight.

I think the issue you had was offering the scratch while they were growing. As adults giving free access to the duck pellets won’t effect them negatively. If they have available grass for grazing the alfalfa is unnecessary, usually that’s a substitute feed when there is no grass in winter.

 

[JRies]

I agree with goosebaby. The feed is not always the issue but with geese something to consider if there being raised by mom or dad. they hit pasture very early like day 3. There parents keep them very bizzy and when the get really hungry guide them back to there feed. But naturally there getting there protein cut. Got angel wing in 2 Babies I raised this year. wrapped them the minute I saw what was happening re-wrapped 2 times a day for 2 days and they were both ok. I was little scratched up. They were on purina duck pellets but I hadn't given them pasture or hay or any yard time. Geese are grazers so they take the whole day nibbling on this or that. Sometimes because there hungry sometimes because its just something to do. So things like hay, grass clipping are a much better supplement.

 

[jennserra]

Update; Between you all’s advice and watching more videos on YouTube, we started re-wrapping it a couple times a day. Even after the first half day, we could see progress.

Today, we got a thundershirt and that has helped a lot. Here are some of the pictures from today - day 1.5 of Angel Wing treatment.

We are hoping for progress each day for our beloved Big Bird

 

[JRies]

Update; Between you all’s advice and watching more videos on YouTube, we started re-wrapping it a couple times a day. Even after the first half day, we could see progress.

Today, we got a thundershirt and that has helped a lot. Here are some of the pictures from today - day 1.5 of Angel Wing treatment.

We are hoping for progress each day for our beloved Big Bird

So cool your doing a great job. Angel wing in my opinion is just one part of the body trying to develop faster than another part. Wing tips and feathers wanting to grow faster. Love what your doing never thought of a thunder shirt where did you get it?

 

[jennserra]

So cool your doing a great job. Angel wing in my opinion is just one part of the body trying to develop faster than another part. Wing tips and feathers wanting to grow faster. Love what your doing never thought of a thunder shirt where did you get it?

First, I tried an old t-shirt but worried when it rained that it is heavy and takes too long to dry. Then, I tried a thin workout shirt (that had wicking) I bought that had a tie for around my waist. The shirt was $5 and I have only worn it a couple times. That worked alright but Big Bird was able to move the tie around and it began to loosen too soon so I kept an eye out for other solutions.

On a post or a YouTube video comment, I read that someone used an XS Thundershirt for their ducks with great success to hold the wings in place. I looked it up on Amazon and got an Large for Big Bird that arrived the same day! Woot, woot!

It is a little big in the neck area and the rest was secured on the smallest velcro. Big Bird has moved it a bit due to the large neck area having some give for yanking, but the wings seemed to still be in place. I just ordered a Medium that arrives between 4-8 am (woot!)

I figure, we can put the Medium on tomorrow and I can adjust the Large’s neck possibly. That way we have two for when we have to wash one.

We have kept both pools with only about an inch of water while Big Bird is bundled to ensure he doesn’t get stuck upside down underwater. The Ducks and Big Bird also have a couple deep bowls that they can fully dip their heads in to rinse their little nostrils and such. So, even if we have clear skies, Big Bird does get the wraps wet. The fabric of the Thundershirt seems like it may dry fairly quickly though. We shall see.

Thanks again!