Sick Goose

[Jmurcks]

Thanks in advance for any help!
I have an African Grey Goose, approximately 6-7 months old.
(S)he has a giant pond and has been living there for about a month.
She eats food from an automatic feeder because we are gone all but weekends.

I noticed this weekend she didn't want to come out of the water to meet me. Every weekend we have our bonding time and she comes and gives me a goosie hug and I give her some treats.
I threw her treats into the water and she didn't seem to want to eat it. I waded out and brought her up and she could not stand on her own. She was incredibly weak.

Her stool looks normal. She is shaking her head quite a bit. I checked inside her mouth and felt/saw nothing in her mouth or throat. She has no visible wounds. She does have Angel Wing and I noticed the larger feathers on that wing looked weepy and were slow to dry so I pulled them. There was no resistance to them coming out. She is incredibly lethargic and seems to have lost a ton of weight from last week. She does seem to have trouble keeping her eyes open, like she is sleepy. Her face also looks a tad swollen but being an African Grey her face always looks a tad swollen to me. Also her feet looked pale but it may have been from being in the water so long.
She is alone and has no access to other birds other than wild critters that may visit the pond. She had a mate but I lost him a week prior to a coyote.

I carried her to the cabin and put her in a pet carrier and took a trip to Tractor Supply.
I bought B12 liquid, Liquamycin, chick saver packets and Wazine.
I gave her a 1cc shot of Liquamycin and orally 3ccs of the B12.
I mixed her up a gallon of water with chick saver and Wazine in case worms were the issue.
She ate some last night but doesn't seem as interested this morning.

Last night she stood on her own but this morning she is back barely holding up her head.
I have ZERO idea of what she may have.
A sick chickens would be on my cull list but I can't help trying to save this goose... She's my bud
Thanks for any advice!

 

[jtn42248]

First I am sorry to hear you goose is ill. There are so many things that come into mind. But first and foremost is being alone. If she recently lost her mate then she is definitely mourning. Geese form VERY tight relationship with one another. Some argue even that they mate for life and while that may not be totally true it is more so for the female than for the male. Add to that being totally alone with you gone except for a couple of days a week and she may have just given up.

You have taken some very important steps in attempting to correct/improve her health but she is still alone.

My first suggestion would be to try to find a place where she can have other goose contact that is not threatening to her. That is going to be really hard to do, but try. Then, and this is probably the most important, you need to find her some goose companionship. I would suggest at least one other female if not more.

Next, and I may be misreading your post, but it appears that they are alone in a pond in a rural area with at least cayotes and probably other predators. You lost her mate to an attack and she is probably very lucky to be alive herself. What kind of secure shelter is available to her? A pond is not safe, not secure and not shelter. I am sorry but that is just a fact. Besides the land predators that you know are there it is also very probable that there are air predators and water predators that exists as well. If I am not misreading your post then you really should address that issue as soon as possible.

Please keep us posted on any progress or change. Best of luck.

 

[Jmurcks]

Thank you for the advice!! Geese are a new thing to me. Someone had given me two- 1 day old chicks that I raised. She does have a small coop here but it isn't as secure as my at home chicken pen, as I lock them up at night. This is at our weekend spot because at home I have no source of water so I thought they would be happier here... I definitely misjudged that one!
She is coming home with me so I can nurse her and will not return probably ever. I'm going to start a search to find her another goose buddy.

I did forget to mention this part, she drinks a lot of water. I have never owned a goose before so I'm not sure if this is normal or not but it seems excessive to me. Also, she slings water out of her mouth whenever she shakes her head, which she does quite often. Her nostrils are dry and clear, though.

 

[jtn42248]

Thank you for the advice!! Geese are a new thing to me. Someone had given me two- 1 day old chicks that I raised. She does have a small coop here but it isn't as secure as my at home chicken pen, as I lock them up at night. This is at our weekend spot because at home I have no source of water so I thought they would be happier here...

I definitely misjudged that one!
She is coming home with me so I can nurse her and will not return probably ever. I'm going to start a search to find her another goose buddy.

I did forget to mention this part, she drinks a lot of water. I have never owned a goose before so I'm not sure if this is normal or not but it seems excessive to me. Also, she slings water out of her mouth whenever she shakes her head, which she does quite often. Her nostrils are dry and clear, though.

That actually sounds like normal behavior. Mine all go munch some grass then fly back to their water. Splash, dip their heads and sling water everywhere. In that way they are not unlike ducks. She should do fine with you at home. If she has a safe place to live and if you can get her some goose companionship. She really does not need water to swim in so much as just be able to bathe a bit several times a day. I have 11 Toulouse and they do fine with four tubs that are actually feed tubs for horses. Big black rubber things I got at Tractor Supply for about 20 buck each. If you are able to find another female goose that would be great. Just do an introduction that is slow and supervised. She may be overcome to find another goose and the new goose may feel threatened. So take it slow.

Please keep us updated. Thanks

 

[Miss Lydia]

What about Botulism? could she have come in contact with anything dead or decaying in water or out? I read recently of someone having a pond and because of the heat it had become very stagnant which can mean nasty bacteria. you might consider a flush since she is drinking water I'll get you the link

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/700526/flushes-for-aiding-in-toxin-removal#post_9508213 these have to be followed correctly and if you can pick up activated charcoal that would be my choice.

 

[Miss Lydia]

What feed do you use and does she have a food source during the week? other than foraging? I'm glad your taking her home.

 

[Jmurcks]

Thanks for the info! I don't think there is anything dead in there but it's a huge pond. About 30-40 feet deep and maybe 400x150 feet. It's spring fed so rarely gets icky

If I did do the flush as a precaution would it hurt her?

We fill a fish feeder with her feed. It's Dumor feed. It's not starter... It's the other type... Maintenance I think it's called.
There is another feeder there with fish food that she may be eating, too. I hope that didn't make her sick.

I'm back home now and have her a bed set up in the kitchen. She is still acting sleepy and is still not standing but I'm going to try to carry her to my vet tomorrow. He's not a poultry vet but hopefully he can help!

Do I need to try to find a goose that is already close to her size or maybe a younger one?

 

[jtn42248]

I know that our vet has no real bird experience but what she does is call the Vet School at TX A&M where she graduated and gets advice and suggestions.

As for another goose. If you can find one that is close to her in size you will probably be better off. A younger one might require her to kick in with maternal instincts and it is so far off season now that might not happen and end up confusing both of them. Plus, if she did not accept it she could injure it if it was very young.

Maybe, while at your vet, ask if they know anyone who has geese and/or have they heard of any geese needing rehoming or rescuing.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Thanks for the info! I don't think there is anything dead in there but it's a huge pond. About 30-40 feet deep and maybe 400x150 feet. It's spring fed so rarely gets icky

If I did do the flush as a precaution would it hurt her?

We fill a fish feeder with her feed. It's Dumor feed. It's not starter... It's the other type... Maintenance I think it's called.
There is another feeder there with fish food that she may be eating, too. I hope that didn't make her sick.

I'm back home now and have her a bed set up in the kitchen. She is still acting sleepy and is still not standing but I'm going to try to carry her to my vet tomorrow. He's not a poultry vet but hopefully he can help!

Do I need to try to find a goose that is already close to her size or maybe a younger one?

For now just good fresh water until you have talked to your vet then ask him what he thinks. There are any number of things what about hardware disease. that is where water fowl pick up metal and swallow it they are attracted to shiny object so any one fish in your pond that may have dropped sinkers? hooks? things like that I would mention to your vet and about botulisim also then if she/he thinks a flush is in order you'll be going by that advise.

Let me ask you this, if you keep feed out for her through the week how do you keep it fresh and dry asking because feed can spoil and mold pretty quick in just a few days here.Could she have eaten moldy feed? Not pointing a finger just trying to help solve this problem and hopefully see if we can help you get her back 100% as for getting another goose jtn suggestion is right on, and this time of year folks are looking at their flocks and deciding who stays who goes so finding a gander shouldn't be too hard. Hopefully. But please don't take them back up there with out someone to care for them, domestic geese aren't like their wild cousins they really need protection and care. I have 4 geese they love their kiddy pools.

 

[Jmurcks]

I definitely learned my lesson about leaving one there unattended. I felt so guilty about them not having a body of water here at home and there seemed like it would be a goose paradise at the time but I suppose that worked out terribly!

I don't think the food could have been moldy and I did take a look at the container with the goose food (didn't remember to check the fish food feeder) and it looked ok and dry. It's one of those gallon containers that go off in the morning and afternoon. It has a snap on top.
Of course if the food was bad I probably would not have been able to tell.

I tried cooking her scrambled eggs and oats but she seems to not have much of an appetite. I hope it's because she's getting a boost from the water I'm giving her with the chick saver in it and the bit of B12 boost stuff I've been giving her.

I don't think she could have found a hook... Our family doesn't fish there often but a few months back we did catch a neighbor on the game cams fishing without permission.
Unfortunately we moved the game cam last weekend to a nearby greenfield. So if anything was around this week we missed it.

Thanks again for all the help and advice everyone!!! I'll keep you updated.