I decided to start this tread because a lot of people are asking what's wrong with my gosling. I know this question has been answered many times but I hope that by making a tread for it people can find it easier. I also hope that people with a lot more experience than me will chime in and help out.
To start I am new to geese, my eldest 2 geese are 8 weeks old today, I also have 2 4 week old geese and 2 3 week olds. Several weeks ago I lost a gosling, she started off with an impacted crop, we cleared that up after a few hours and got her bowls moving again but she did not improve. She could not stand, her legs were too weak to support her, that was caused by a niacin defiency. But what killed her was the seizures, her neck started to pull back and under her body and her jaw muscles locked up. She was unable to eat or drink because of it and died in a few hours. I found out that my feed store had switch my feed from non-medicated feed to medicated feed, and my baby died from poisoning and niacin deficiency combined.
So if your gosling can't walk, it most likely needs niacin, feed it Brewer's yeast, young grass and romaine lettuce. Don't forget to have grit available, free choice if feeding greens. You will see improvement quickly. (if adding Brewer's yeast only add for a few days) This is not to be confused with splayed legs, that is caused by slippery surfaces such as newspaper being used as their bedding.
If your gosling is seizing up, make sure it has not eaten anything poisonous, check your feed to make sure it is non-medicated.
If your goslings are grazing each other, causing bald spots, get them outside they are bored and need to nibble grass not each other.
if their eyes are dirty, give them a bucket or pool to dip their heads in for cleaning. Not only do geese love swimming, but we love watching their antics in the water so giving them a pool can be enjoyable for both parties. Just make sure to keep watch over swimming goslings under 3 weeks old, their oil gland isn't working yet and they can drown and will chill fast. Dry them off with a towel after their pool time.
If your gosling doesn't seem to be thriving, but doesn't have a noticeable problem, check your feed. Chicken starter is not good for goslings. Waterfowl feed is best. If you are like me, you can't find it, try looking for Flockraiser. If that too fails, try game bird feed, I am feeding Blubonnet game bird feed and have seen an amazing difference since I took them off the turkey starter.
Does your gosling have a hard ball at its neck/chest area? It may have an impacted crop, make sure the gosling is drinking, if it is not, syringe a few mL of water down it hourly. Message the crop gently, and see if that helps losen the impaction. You can also attempt to message the mass up the throat and out, but I was told, if done incorrectly can cause fluid to get into the lungs.
I know there are more issues goslings can run into, my hope is that more experienced goose keepers will join and add to this.
To start I am new to geese, my eldest 2 geese are 8 weeks old today, I also have 2 4 week old geese and 2 3 week olds. Several weeks ago I lost a gosling, she started off with an impacted crop, we cleared that up after a few hours and got her bowls moving again but she did not improve. She could not stand, her legs were too weak to support her, that was caused by a niacin defiency. But what killed her was the seizures, her neck started to pull back and under her body and her jaw muscles locked up. She was unable to eat or drink because of it and died in a few hours. I found out that my feed store had switch my feed from non-medicated feed to medicated feed, and my baby died from poisoning and niacin deficiency combined.
So if your gosling can't walk, it most likely needs niacin, feed it Brewer's yeast, young grass and romaine lettuce. Don't forget to have grit available, free choice if feeding greens. You will see improvement quickly. (if adding Brewer's yeast only add for a few days) This is not to be confused with splayed legs, that is caused by slippery surfaces such as newspaper being used as their bedding.
If your gosling is seizing up, make sure it has not eaten anything poisonous, check your feed to make sure it is non-medicated.
If your goslings are grazing each other, causing bald spots, get them outside they are bored and need to nibble grass not each other.
if their eyes are dirty, give them a bucket or pool to dip their heads in for cleaning. Not only do geese love swimming, but we love watching their antics in the water so giving them a pool can be enjoyable for both parties. Just make sure to keep watch over swimming goslings under 3 weeks old, their oil gland isn't working yet and they can drown and will chill fast. Dry them off with a towel after their pool time.
If your gosling doesn't seem to be thriving, but doesn't have a noticeable problem, check your feed. Chicken starter is not good for goslings. Waterfowl feed is best. If you are like me, you can't find it, try looking for Flockraiser. If that too fails, try game bird feed, I am feeding Blubonnet game bird feed and have seen an amazing difference since I took them off the turkey starter.
Does your gosling have a hard ball at its neck/chest area? It may have an impacted crop, make sure the gosling is drinking, if it is not, syringe a few mL of water down it hourly. Message the crop gently, and see if that helps losen the impaction. You can also attempt to message the mass up the throat and out, but I was told, if done incorrectly can cause fluid to get into the lungs.
I know there are more issues goslings can run into, my hope is that more experienced goose keepers will join and add to this.
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