Split wing--how early will it show up?

[dretd]

I hatch a set of Welsummer eggs about a week ago. The new primaries of 5 of 13 are slightly flipping out laterally instead of folding neatly under the secondaries as expected. It kind of reminds me of 'Angel Wing' in ducks.

At first I thought it was just a developmental stage where the primaries are just growing too quickly for the size of the wing, but then it occurred to me that there may be something else going on. I couldn't find anyone saying split wing shows up this early--I think that a reference to 3 weeks was the earliest I found.

Here are two examples:
Chick one--more her right than her left





Chick 2, more apparent:



There are small feathers in between his primaries and secondaries but they are not very long.

Have you all seen this in young (1 week old) chicks before and it not been something problematic?

 

[aoxa]

Yes I have seen that before, but they've outgrown it in my limited experience.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Yea, I wouldn't worry about it at this point, since the feathers are just starting to come in. Split wing is common in Silkies (unfortunately), which I breed. I don't start even looking for it until they're feathered out and after that it will sometimes fix itself after they complete other juvenile molts. I just keep an eye them and select accordingly.

 

[3riverschick]

Split wing--how early will it show up?
Hi,
I just finished discussing this on the thread below. Trying to figure out the difference for myself.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/882036/a-heritage-of-perfection-standard-bred-large-fowl
I wrote Post 33 which is illustrated with pics. Split wing is caused by the absence of the
axial feather. Slipped wing is different. Twisted feather is different still. So is Angel wing.
It's confusing because if you look around the Net, there seems to be a lot of error in thinking
that slipped wings and split wing are the same thing. Check it out. Slipped wing and twisted feather
have remedies, if caught early.
It starts on Page 4, post 33 with illustrated definitions and continues to post 63. Involved several elite breeders
explaining split wing, slipped wing, angel wing, and twisted feather. I went back and corrected post 33 at the end of the
conversation so it would reflect correct information. That's why it reads like I solved the problem before I asked
the questions. Turned out my bird had twisted feather, not angel wing. Tho after this conversation, I can see
how , in my ignorance, I made that misdiagnosis. What a great forum BYC is to learn from such neat teachers.
Best.
Karen in western PA, USA

 

[Happy Chooks]

Yea, I wouldn't worry about it at this point, since the feathers are just starting to come in. Split wing is common in Silkies (unfortunately), which I breed. I don't start even looking for it until they're feathered out and after that it will sometimes fix itself after they complete other juvenile molts. I just keep an eye them and select accordingly.

I agree. You need to wait until they are fully feathered and through their juvenile molt.


Here is what it looks like. This male was culled.

 

[Chicken Momma 27]

Split wing--how early will it show up?
Hi,
I just finished discussing this on the thread below. Trying to figure out the difference for myself.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/882036/a-heritage-of-perfection-standard-bred-large-fowl
I wrote Post 33 which is illustrated with pics. Split wing is caused by the absence of the
axial feather. Slipped wing is different. Twisted feather is different still. So is Angel wing.
It's confusing because if you look around the Net, there seems to be a lot of error in thinking
that slipped wings and split wing are the same thing. Check it out. Slipped wing and twisted feather
have remedies, if caught early.
It starts on Page 4, post 33 with illustrated definitions and continues to post 63. Involved several elite breeders
explaining split wing, slipped wing, angel wing, and twisted feather. I went back and corrected post 33 at the end of the
conversation so it would reflect correct information. That's why it reads like I solved the problem before I asked
the questions. Turned out my bird had twisted feather, not angel wing. Tho after this conversation, I can see
how , in my ignorance, I made that misdiagnosis. What a great forum BYC is to learn from such neat teachers.
Best.
Karen in western PA, USA

Thank you so much for this post. I have been researching deformities in chicken's wings. I have a chicken that has turned out feathers on her right wing. It's possible that it happened during an attack when she was about 3 months old and her playmates unexpectedly turned on her, but I suspect they might have turned on her due to this abnormality that became more apparent as she grew. I haven't had much success on finding anything other than angel wing. I will be looking into twisted feathers!