oviduct infection lead to dead goose - was interrupted laying the sign

[ShellySA]

I am new to this site and forum and have joined in the hope of getting some "first-hand" information from all the goose-lovers out there. We recently lost our beloved pet goose, Honk, to what the vet diagnosed as an oviduct infection.

We treated with Baytril antibiotic for 3 days but she slowly got weaker and died in my husband's arms on the third night. We are gutted, as is our gander, and her sibling/mate, Toot. We first noticed something wrong when she stopped laying after only two eggs, yet seemed not to be ill. We assumed she was opting for a "two egg season". After another 2 weeks or so she laid one more egg, then stopped again, but was still eating well, bathing, etc. However she seemed to rest a lot and about 3 days later stopped eating her normal amount of food and just stood on the nest as though waiting for something to happen. We suspected egg-binding and took her to our avian vet who said he couldn't feel an egg, but that she had an oviduct infection. He immediately injected her with Baytril and vitamin B, and gave us tablet antibiotics for the next 5 days. We are now so upset that we didn't take her to the vet immediately that the egg laying pattern was interrupted. She was 5 yrs old and has layed in the previous years without problems. She ate waterfowl food produced by our avian vet. The eggs are infertile, so we would usually let her sit for a month until she gave up, in order to not start her on more laying if we removed eggs.
Has anyone else had a goose that stopped in the middle of laying? Is this ever "normal" or always a sign of a problem? At the time I spent hours searching the internet for info on this phenomenon, but could find nothing other than egg-binding, which she didn't appear to have as she seemed healthy. Please, everybody, give me your experiences with this sort of problem - we would love to get Tootles another female next year when more goslings are ready, but I'm afraid of getting another female with the risk of laying-associated death. We don't feel we could go through such a heart-wrenching loss again.

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[pete55]

Hi there

So sorry to hear about the loss of your much loved goose.

We had similar problems with a 4 year old who appeared as though she was going to lay but didnt. Eventually she gave up nesting and then just hung about until one day we found an egg without a shell in the straw. Her laying was erratic and another malformed egg appeared 4 days later. Like you we treated with Baytril and she looked a little better. In the meantime other geese were laying normally as she had done in the past. The diet was good and grit and oystershell were readily available. After a few weeks she died and the diagnosis was infected oviduct which was the cause of the malformed eggs.

I suspect there was little more we could have done as we tried to stop further laying. Im afriad like your goose it was 'one of those things'.

On the whole it doesnt happen often and there's no reason to think you'd have to go through this scenario again with another goose. Im sure your gander would be happy to have another mate.

Once again so sorry to hear about your loss

Pete

 

[georgeandmildredgoose]

im afraid i cant really help on sharing any experience or advice, im fairly new to geese. but i just wanted to say sorry for your loss, sounds like honk was much loved. you did all you could, i dont think anyone would want to rush a goose to the vets, and like you said she didnt appear ill to start with. there are lots of lovely people on here who can be of more hlp im sure.

 

[FarmrGirl]

Hi Shelly,

Welcome to BYC. So sorry to hear about your loss though

I can't offer any advice regarding the infection except to say that it's rare. I certainly hope that you're able to find a new mate for Mr. Toot as I'm certain he's feeling just as sad as you are and lonely to boot. I'm not sure where you're located, but right now is a good time to buy adult geese from local sellers. All those goslings they hatched this spring will be grown and folks will be deciding which to keep and which to sell. It will be a quicker resolution for your gander and I'm sure it will do your heart some good to see your boy happy again soon.

Best of luck!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I agree !00%, Knowing how heartbroken you are by loosing her, just imagine how heartbreaking it is for Mr. Toot. I know my Gander would be torn in 2 if he lost his mate. I know it has to be hard to even think along these lines but like FarmrGirl said this is the perfect time of year to find him a mate and companion, and trust me they help heal the heart ache you are feeling. Bless you for caring for Honk and loving her so much. All the best at this sad time. and

 

[ShellySA]

Thanks everyone for your kind words, info and support. We are so glad we've joined this site - what a wealth of knowledge and experience (not to mention the support and hilarious stories). Geese are such wonderful characters, no wonder they enrich our lives so much. We have come to terms with the loss of Honkers - perhaps we were just unlucky in the little gosling that we chose; it was from a "backyard" "breeder" and I suspect a lot of inbreeding had occurred. We will definitely attempt to get a gosling from a "fitter" looking flock in future.
Unfortunately we live in a country (South Africa) that does not have the readily available waterfowl resources that USA has, so we will have to take some time to find our next gozzie. We would also like to get a baby so that she imprints on us as well as Toot. We know that we gave Honkie 5 very good years - she was one of the smallest of the goslings in the group that we chose from, and that night 17 of her peers died because the owner kept them in too small a box and they trampled one another. Small consolation, but there it is.
To all those who replied to us, Thanks again. And what gorgeous birds you have - we looked at your home pages! (I think "Shadow" the duck is particularly beautiful

)
Shelly & Eric (& Toot)

 

[The goose girl]

I'm so sorry for your loss!

Has anyone else had a goose that stopped in the middle of laying?

My goose (16 months old now) started laying in the middle of January until mid June. I didn't keep count, but there must have been at least 40-50 eggs during those five months. Sometimes the eggs would be regular, two days apart, sometimes there were week-long breaks, once a three-week break between eggs. They were especially irregular in the beginning, and every time I was really worried that something was wrong.

She laid a few shellless eggs too. Once she laid two of those within one hour, another time the egg was the size of a golf ball.

She has started laying again now, and the eggs are enormous. Some are twice the size of the spring eggs (10 oz.+). 3 out of 8 were more or less shellless. Most have been three days apart, but they haven't been completely regular.

I have no idea whether it's normal, but so far she seems healthy, happy, and active. I do keep an eye on her, and I'll surely rush to the vet if she loses her vigour. But it doesn't seem that the irregular egglaying in itself influences her health. I got her from an old experienced breeder, and he told me that eggs are not necessarily regular. He never had any problems with oviduct infections.

An acquaintance of mine has a pair of geese. They are now three years old. At the end of the first laying season (around May 2010), the goose stopped laying and swelled up. The owner is an old farmer lady who thinks taking a goose to the vet is ridiculously expensive and unnecessary. The goose is almost dragging her swollen belly/behind, but other than that she is active and displaying normal goose behaviour. She hasn't laid any eggs since then (none this season), and the swelling is absolutely not normal.​