Something is not quite "Wright" with one of our ducklings.
I've thought of naming this guy Orville.
He looks like he's ready to take off any minute.
In actuality, though, this duckling has a condition known as Angel Wing.
It is a condition that arises when ducks eat a diet too high in protein.
We are thinking that this might be due to the ducks consuming fish food
that is thrown into the pond to feed the fish.
The fish food smells like fish, so I imagine it has a high concentration of fish in it...
thus a higher concentration of protein than the ducks are used to.
The cure for angel wing is to decrease the protein in the duck's diet.
I will start supplementing their diet with cracked corn, a carbohydrate,
and stop feeding the fish.
It seems we never stop learning from our life here on the farm.
Hopefully, our little duck's wings will return to normal very soon!
Comments
That may not fix it. It looks like that duckling's wings are pretty well developed and may not go back. You can buy some Vetwrap and wrap them back to its body, if you want to try to retrain the wings to go the right way. The changing of the diet from high protein to low seems to only work when the wings are first forming the flight feathers, not when they are already formed. I can't tell from the pictures, but if the flights are as long as they look, they may be done growing. The wrap may be your best bet.
Just my personal experience. Hope you get your little duck all settled! Have a great day!
I just read Sid's story and it made me cry! All the animals that manage to cross paths with you are so blessed...and they seem to know it. What a beautiful horse he has become. His joy is obvious in every shining inch of him! Becky is his angel.
Have a most lovely day...
Kathy
Thanks for sharing the 'protein cure.' Very nice to know.
I continue to enjoy your blog, every day! I always learn something new.
Farmer
Maura :)