Treating Angel Wing

Angel Wing is a condition that affects waterfowl, ducks and geese. It is a wing deformity that causes the last "wrist joint" in the wing to develop more slowly than the rest of the wing. The result is that the wing is too heavy for the bird to tuck up against its body correctly and the tips of the wings stick outward at an awkward angle.

Scientists aren't really sure what causes Angel Wing to develop. There are some indications that it might be related to a diet that's too high in protein, and other indications that it might be genetic. Or it could be a combination of these factors. Fortunately, it is known how to treat it. Angel Wing can start to be seen as early as 6-8 weeks. By 10-12 weeks it's readily visible on ducks that have it. The sooner that you can treat it, the better. 

Most often Angel Wing occurs only in one wing, and it's typically the left wing. More rarely, as in the case of my duck, Keebler, it happens in both wings. The condition is not painful to the ducks, so if left untreated they will not suffer any discomfort, but it will render them completely flightless. In wild ducks, this is a death sentence. 

Treatment of Angel Wing is painless, but the ducks don't like it. In order to treat Angel Wing you have to wrap the duck's wings and bind them to its body. There are a lot of different ways that the wings can be wrapped. and a lot of different material can be used. VetWrap (commonly available from Tack and Feed stores) is a common choice. If you don't have any, gauze and athletic tape can be used as well. I read about one guy who used duct tape, but that wouldn't be my first choice. Ace bandages can also work in a pinch. 

Regardless of what material you use to wrap it, the wrap needs to be snug enough that the bird can't get it's wing out, but not so tight that it cuts off circulation as that can cause more injury. It's not as easy as it looks and takes practice. Keebler should have been named Houdini based on how many times he slipped his wrap. 

Be sure to position the duck's wing(s) correctly before wrapping them up. For optimal healing, the duck needs to stay in the wraps for 7-10 days. Do not take the wrap off every day to let the duck "stretch". Removing and re-applying the wrap can be traumatizing to the duck and hinders the healing process. Once you get the wrap on, leave it on. Sometimes they can heal faster if the condition isn't that bad. Keebler healed up in about 5 days. 

Wrapping the duck's wings will allow the tendons and muscles in the affected joint to strengthen and get used to the weight of the wing. You should also be aware that there is a different condition called "Droop Wing" where the tips of the wings will sag. This is a temporary condition that happens during molting. The birds feathers are full of blood making them heavier than normal and their muscles get tired. As the feathers grow the blood leaves the wings and the wings return to normal weight and position. It is not necessary to bind those wings. That usually only lasts a few days during molting.

The image above shows a good example of Angel Wing. These mallards are not my ducks, but the one on the right shows what Angel Wing looks like in a late adolescent duck. The next few images are also not my ducks, but they do show Angel Wing in ducklings. Since it's important to identify this early on and treat it as soon as possible, it's important to know how it appears in ducklings. If the condition is not treated while the ducks are young, it will be impossible to correct. 

The blue "ink pen" shafts at the ends of this duck's wing is a tell-tale sign of Angel Wing. When birds first start displaying Angel Wing, these unusual blue shafts also appear and the feathers don't grow normally. This is not one of my ducks, but a good example of the disorder that I borrowed from the internet. 

This picture shows another duckling with Angel Wing. Again, not my duck, but a clear example of the condition. Notice the blue "ink shafts" that I mentioned in the first image? See how the wing sticks out at an odd angel? Also notice that this bird seems to have it only on one side, the left side. 

Here's a somewhat more mature duck with Angel Wing on both sides. This Mallard Hen (also not my duck), eventually did grow feathers, but you can still see the blue shafts underneath. This poor duck is too old to undergo the treatment effectively. Binding her at this stage may help some, but it is not likely to correct it completely. 

This handsome fellow is Keebler. He's one of my adolescent Rouens. He hasn't molted into his adult feathers yet. He looks less-than-thrilled because this is the third time that we've rapped him because he kept slipping his wraps. 

Wrapping the ducks is only part of the solution. It's also extremely helpful to change their diets. Cut down on their protein intake. Also, supplement their Vitamin D, Vitamin E, and Manganese. I took the liberty of concocting a special Angel Wing diet that will give them the nutrients they need to recover. 

Ol' McJohnny's Angel Wing Diet:
To correct ducks with Angel Wing you need to feed them foods that are high in Vitamin D, Vitamin E and Manganese.

Vitamin D:
-Eggs (Chicken Eggs)
-Milk
-Fish (Mackerel, Salmon, Herring, Sardines, Tuna, Catfish, & Cod)
-Feeder Fish

Vitamin E:
-Kale
-Fish (Herring, Salmon)
-Broccoli
-Squash
-Kiwi
-Feeder Fish

Manganese:
-Cooked Lima Beans (small amounts)
-Cooked oatmeal (small amounts)

For our duck we made a dish of cooked oatmeal mixed with Tuna (I actually tried a little bit - it's not as bad as it sounds. If I were starving in the wilderness I would totally eat that). We also gave them a side of kale. That covered all of the bases and Mr. Keebler has made a full recovery. Feel free to mix and match as you see fit, just make sure that they get the nutrition that they need.

On Keeping Chickens

In this article we're going to talk about keeping Chickens.

First, let's answer some basic questions about Eggs. 
1. No, you don't need a rooster to get eggs. Hens will lay eggs regardless. But, without a rooster the eggs will never be fertilized and will never hatch (if you wanted to hatch them). 
2. Yes, you can eat fertilized eggs, it's fine for you. However, be sure to collect the eggs as quickly after they are laid as possible and put them into the fridge as fast as you can. This will stop the development of the eggs and will prevent the egg from growing. 

Rooster/Hen Ratio- If you decide to keep a rooster, which is entirely optional, then you should have between 6-10 hens per rooster. You can have flocks that are smaller than that, but as the rooster matures he will frustrate the hens with his constant desire to mate, so having more hens is easier on them. Be very careful when keeping more than one rooster. Some breeds, like game cocks, will fight other roosters, sometimes to the death, if they feel threatened. Roosters can be very territorial. If you do keep more than one rooster, try to raise them together as chicks and look for breeds that get along with each other. You could also consider keeping two separate areas (one for each rooster). If you do keep them in areas side by side, make sure that there's more than just chicken wire separating them. They will try to fight each other through the fence and this can result in serious injuries, including broken toes, broken wings, and broken beaks. 

Food & Scratch - Even if you giving your chickens store-bought food such as lay crumble, you will want to give them additional food on top of that. Lay Crumble is a good basic food base, but chickens will require additional nutrients and vitamins not found in Lay Crumble in order to have optimal health. Chicken Scratch, aka Cracked Corn, is a very good supplement. Don't put it in a bowl, just sprinkle it around on the ground and let them "hunt" for it. In the wild many chickens hunt for worms and bugs and eating cracked corn in this manner helps them to satisfy the need to hunt and makes for happier chickens. You can also freeze certain fruits and vegetables into ice cubes and put it in their water as a tasty way to help them cool off during the summer. 

Clipping Wings - Clipping a chicken's wing is a good way to keep it from getting out of your yard. It inhibits their ability to fly. You clip the primary flight feathers of one wing, and that makes the unbalanced and able to fly away. This is completely painless. It feels much like clipping your fingernail. This process is not permanent and the feathers will grow back when the bird molts. Keep in mind that if you are hoping to show your chickens in a poultry show the wings cannot be clipped. Also keep in mind that if you live in an area where predators might get to your birds, clipping their wings might impede their ability to escape. It's really a judgment call on whether or not you clip their wings. It doesn't hurt them, it's similar to clipping our fingernails. The questions to ask yourself are why are you doing it, for your benefit, or theirs? If you lived in an urban area and had dogs on the other side of the wall from you, it might be a good idea to help keep them safe. 

Dubbing Roosters - Many poultry shows require roosters to be dubbed (having the wattles and combs removed) in order to be shown in a show. This process is painful and has lasting health problems for the bird, especially in birds that live in the desert or other hot climates. The process is irreversible. We do not support this barbaric practice and have been petitioning to get it stopped. You can sign our petition here: https://www.change.org/p/stop-the-mutilation-of-roosters-at-poultry-shows 

Noise - Hens are pretty quiet. Even hens laying eggs are only about 60 decibels, which is about as loud as a typical human conversation. Roosters, not so much. Roosters are very loud. I recorded my rooster, Chanticleer, and he clocked in at 99.74 decibels, which is loud. I have another page specifically dedicated to roosters, so I'll talk more about that there. But hens are no problem at all. 

Health - I'm going to talk about health from both perspectives. Chickens, in general, are pretty healthy animals. They don't get too many diseases or medical conditions that you have to worry about. You may need to trim their toes periodically if they can't find anything to scratch, especially the back claw. You will likely need to supplement their regular food with fresh fruits and veggies in order to give them a healthy diet. The biggest thing you can do to help the health of a chicken is to get more than one. If you are thinking to yourself "I'll start with just one and see how it goes", stop right there. Get two, minimum. In for a penny, in for a pound. Chickens are flock animals and need company and companionship to thrive. Also, if you are adding new birds to your flock you should consider quarantining those birds, if possible. This will help ensure that the newcomer isn't passing along sickness or disease to your existing flock. As for humans health, there's a rumor that chickens are unsanitary. This is largely exaggerated. According to the CDC, less than 0.00054% of Salmonella cases can be traced back to chickens. 46% of all Salmonella cases come from vegetables. You are statistically far more likely to get sick from eating vegetables than touching a chicken. That being said, you can mitigate your risks by washing your hands with soap and water after touching the chickens, especially before you eat anything. 

Growing your Flock - There are basically 3 ways to grow your flock and each comes with a different set of risks and challenges.
1. Introduce new adult chickens to your flock.  Maybe you know someone who was moving or had to get rid of theirs for some reason. And maybe you've agreed to take them on. Sure, why not? What's 4 more chickens? This is certainly the fastest way to grow your flock, especially with regards to egg production. However, this will invariably create at least a temporary upset in your flock. Chickens have a strict social order, a literal pecking order. Roosters will fight with each other. But sometimes hens do too. Whether you know it or not, one of your hens is the "mother hen", the leader of the flock (aside from the rooster). If you bring new hens in and she feels threatened by them, she might fight them to establish her superiority. Not all chickens will fight, but they are all capable of fighting. Like people, chickens have their own personalities. All breeds of game birds are more likely to fight each other, and sometimes can fight to the death. If you introduce adult birds it's a good idea to keep an eye on them for a while and see how they are getting along. 
2. Incubate from eggs - This process is one way that you can grow your flock using your existing chickens. You can pick and choose which chickens you'd like to breed, or you can just choose randomly. Not every egg will fertilize. Usually by about 10 days you can tell if an egg is viable for hatching or not, but by that point, it's no longer safe to eat. The biggest downside to this is that you will need your own incubator. There are plenty that you can buy, and lots of plans and explanations on how to make them. If you do incubate, don't let them go back to the flock too soon. Sometimes the adult chickens are less-than-caring and the young chicks might not survive. Instead, keep them in a brooding box until they are somewhat older. 
3. Raise store-bought chicks - This is a good alternative to incubating. It requires less equipment as all you need is a brooding box. As with incubated chicks, be careful not to let them into the flock too soon. Unlike incubated chicks, you can buy chicks pre-sexed to ensure that you get the types of birds that you want. This can also be helpful in the very-long-term health of your flock because you would be introducing new DNA strands into your flock with these new chicks, so if you had a desire to grow the flock via incubation, then this would be a good choice to choice now and then. 

Ol' McJohnny's Waterfowl Identification Tool

This post is merely to serve as an update into my progress on this project. On our main website I'm forecasting a 2017 release date. This project is a lot of work and takes a long time.

But let me back up a minute. You might not have heard of this project before. So what is it? Imagine that you're looking at a bird, but you have no idea what it is. It's some kind of duck-goose-swan, thing, but you don't know anything about it.

Now, imagine that there was something that could ask you a couple of quick questions about the bird you see and then identify that bird for you. That is what my identification tool does. ...hypothetically.

Why am I posting this update now? Because I just finished version 0.15 of this tool and I felt like sharing.

Version 0.1 of this tool included about 20 species of domesticated ducks.

I've now been expanding that to include both domestic and wild ducks, as well as geese and swans. Version 0.15 has 55 species of fowl encoded into the tool.

I'm already at work on the next expansion, version 0.2, which will expand that capacity to 142 species of duck, geese, and swan. You won't even have to know what you are looking at, the tool will sort it out for you.

After that, I'll add some pictures, update the visual appearance of the tool, and then I'll release it into the wild. of the internet.

By version 2.0 of the tool I'll add chickens, turkeys, and peafowl to it as well.

Planned upgrades for version 3.0 include the ability to cut to a specific type of bird and search just that.

I'll keep you posted on my progress in random spurts as I have news.