duckmama23
Hatching
- Jun 3, 2016
- 2
- 0
- 7
Hi there everyone!
I have 2 injured geese that are not fairing so well... hoping some of you could give me some good advice or suggestions.
Chinese geese, one male (Jack) and one female (Jill) - 2.5 years old. They were attacked by a neighborhood dog.
Jill was severely injured. She had multiple puncture wounds in her back, lower back area above her tail feathers (air sac/lung area). She also is limping, looks like left leg was injured however no puncture wounds. Legs look okay, not swollen & they don't appear to be broken - but you can tell it hurts.
Jack did not have any open wounds however he is very sore and limps badly. Does not appear to have any life-threatening injuries, from what we can tell...nothing external anyway. He was extremely stressed and traumatized when we found him.
We called every vet in the area, even the livestock vet.... not one would take them. Very frustrating. I found an avian vet but even she would not treat 'farm geese'. These geese are not just farm animals - they are our pets!
Anyway - Its been 10 days since the attack. We have treated both birds with penicillin (7 days) to fight infection & electrolytes in their water to help with dehydration. We cleaned out & rinsed Jill's wounds and have been treating them with antibiotic ointments & creams. The wounds themselves have healed up quite a bit.
My concerns... are their behaviors. Jack still seems very traumatized. Since the attack, we keep them in their goose house at night so they are warm and safe from predators. When I herd them in at night, Jake immediately goes into the corner and just stares at the wall. When I go to let them out in the morning.... he is still standing there, staring at the wall. I have to coax him out. He has stopped honking, He hasn't honked since the attack. He doesn't use his kiddie pool anymore. He is eating but I hardly ever see him drink. He used to be very protective of Jill, always hovering over her. Now he just wanders off aimlessly... like he is totally lost.
He still limps badly and will trip and fall easily.
Jill hardly eats or drinks. We have to hold up a Tupperware to her beak for her to drink. She hardly eats a thing. She wont use her kiddie pool. She has lost a considerable amount of weight. Her wounds however have healed up pretty nice... they are scabbed over and no sign of infection. She is still limping pretty bad. She also has not honked since the attack. She seems to be 'more alert' than Jack.
We stopped the penicillin on day 7 thinking that may be why they weren't eating. Didn't help.
Jill has bright green watery poop - worried it is stomach bile because she is slowly starving.
Both birds stay outside all day and mostly sleep. But - their necks are up, eyes are clear. They preen themselves. They will stretch and flap their wings. Those seem like good signs to me... however the lack of eating/drinking, lack of honking & using their pool just worries me. These geese do not like treats like our chickens and ducks.... the only thing they will eat is what they find foraging (grass/weeds) and occasionally some crumbles. I have tried EVERYTHING I can think of to get them to eat. We ended up giving Jill some baby formula (had to force it down) - just so she wouldn't starve to death & in hopes of giving her some strength so her appetite would come back. Didn't work. We have physically picked up her & Jack and put them in their pool... but they just sit there, looking bewildered, and then climb out (we rigged the pools so they can get in & out easily since their legs are injured).
Any advice is appreciated - supplements? Food/drink ideas? Experience?
I just want them to start honking and chasing me in the yard again :-(
I have 2 injured geese that are not fairing so well... hoping some of you could give me some good advice or suggestions.
Chinese geese, one male (Jack) and one female (Jill) - 2.5 years old. They were attacked by a neighborhood dog.
Jill was severely injured. She had multiple puncture wounds in her back, lower back area above her tail feathers (air sac/lung area). She also is limping, looks like left leg was injured however no puncture wounds. Legs look okay, not swollen & they don't appear to be broken - but you can tell it hurts.
Jack did not have any open wounds however he is very sore and limps badly. Does not appear to have any life-threatening injuries, from what we can tell...nothing external anyway. He was extremely stressed and traumatized when we found him.
We called every vet in the area, even the livestock vet.... not one would take them. Very frustrating. I found an avian vet but even she would not treat 'farm geese'. These geese are not just farm animals - they are our pets!
Anyway - Its been 10 days since the attack. We have treated both birds with penicillin (7 days) to fight infection & electrolytes in their water to help with dehydration. We cleaned out & rinsed Jill's wounds and have been treating them with antibiotic ointments & creams. The wounds themselves have healed up quite a bit.
My concerns... are their behaviors. Jack still seems very traumatized. Since the attack, we keep them in their goose house at night so they are warm and safe from predators. When I herd them in at night, Jake immediately goes into the corner and just stares at the wall. When I go to let them out in the morning.... he is still standing there, staring at the wall. I have to coax him out. He has stopped honking, He hasn't honked since the attack. He doesn't use his kiddie pool anymore. He is eating but I hardly ever see him drink. He used to be very protective of Jill, always hovering over her. Now he just wanders off aimlessly... like he is totally lost.
He still limps badly and will trip and fall easily.
Jill hardly eats or drinks. We have to hold up a Tupperware to her beak for her to drink. She hardly eats a thing. She wont use her kiddie pool. She has lost a considerable amount of weight. Her wounds however have healed up pretty nice... they are scabbed over and no sign of infection. She is still limping pretty bad. She also has not honked since the attack. She seems to be 'more alert' than Jack.
We stopped the penicillin on day 7 thinking that may be why they weren't eating. Didn't help.
Jill has bright green watery poop - worried it is stomach bile because she is slowly starving.
Both birds stay outside all day and mostly sleep. But - their necks are up, eyes are clear. They preen themselves. They will stretch and flap their wings. Those seem like good signs to me... however the lack of eating/drinking, lack of honking & using their pool just worries me. These geese do not like treats like our chickens and ducks.... the only thing they will eat is what they find foraging (grass/weeds) and occasionally some crumbles. I have tried EVERYTHING I can think of to get them to eat. We ended up giving Jill some baby formula (had to force it down) - just so she wouldn't starve to death & in hopes of giving her some strength so her appetite would come back. Didn't work. We have physically picked up her & Jack and put them in their pool... but they just sit there, looking bewildered, and then climb out (we rigged the pools so they can get in & out easily since their legs are injured).
Any advice is appreciated - supplements? Food/drink ideas? Experience?
I just want them to start honking and chasing me in the yard again :-(
