Sick Sebastopol goose, head/mouth

[Holly31]

My 8 year old goose is acting odd. She's normally agressive and flighty. The last day or two she is passive, isolating herself, making soft sad sounds when I talk to her, and her head and throat are puffy. Normally she's agressive and runs from me. Today I huddled her and looked in her mouth. No foreign object visible. It seems to have a pale yellowish greenish coating inside, all over, and I think there is a local infection as the area just caudal to her lower bill is warm. Anyone seen this before? The others are okay, acting like Springtime geese ready to breed. She is not bathing, is drinking a little, not interested in food. Is this a trip to the veterinarian, if I can find one who will see a goose? Does she need nystatin or vinegar? She is not herself without any doubt. I don't think I've ever huddled with her in her whole life since she was a few days old.
Any ideas, thoughts, priors, would be helpful. I'm very worried. Thank you.

 

[Goosebaby]

That could be candida, maybe. If it’s possible I think you should take her to the vet, candida usually isn’t an issue in geese unless something else is very wrong, and I’m concerned that the green part you saw could actually be a fungal infection.

 

[Holly31]

That could be candida, maybe. If it’s possible I think you should take her to the vet, candida usually isn’t an issue in geese unless something else is very wrong, and I’m concerned that the green part you saw could actually be a fungal infection.

I mistook my gander for his sister, so update: not a female. Regardless, we saw the vet this morning. An aspirate produced only clear stringy substance. Vet seems baffled. She gave him an extended release antibiotics, took blood (no results yet), and a prescription food for garbage as he’s dehydrated and his droppings are watery rates, no fecal matter (he’s not eating).
I am wondering if he got a bee sting or some kind of salivary gland congestion.
In the meantime, I gavashed him with applesauce and juice from dandelion leaves, plus meloxicam. Would a raw egg be too much protein? Would watery malt o meal be a reasonable option? 40 mls of the nutrient mix doesn’t seem to be enough food.
He’s a tiny bit more energetic after the visit this morning but still swollen and not normal.
Vet didn’t seem concerned about the color of his mouth.
I really hate when they grab your pet and disappear so you aren’t privy to the exam. But finding a vet that will see a goose…

 

[Goosebaby]

I mistook my gander for his sister, so update: not a female. Regardless, we saw the vet this morning. An aspirate produced only clear stringy substance. Vet seems baffled. She gave him an extended release antibiotics, took blood (no results yet), and a prescription food for garbage as he’s dehydrated and his droppings are watery rates, no fecal matter (he’s not eating).
I am wondering if he got a bee sting or some kind of salivary gland congestion.
In the meantime, I gavashed him with applesauce and juice from dandelion leaves, plus meloxicam. Would a raw egg be too much protein? Would watery malt o meal be a reasonable option? 40 mls of the nutrient mix doesn’t seem to be enough food.
He’s a tiny bit more energetic after the visit this morning but still swollen and not normal.
Vet didn’t seem concerned about the color of his mouth.
I really hate when they grab your pet and disappear so you aren’t privy to the exam. But finding a vet that will see a goose…

A raw egg will be fine, there is always a risk of salmonella though but geese do eat raw egg now and then anyway wether it be a stolen duck or chicken egg or one of their own.
You can also grind down some dry cat food in a food processor or purchase 30% game bird start from tractor supply and use that as gavage feed, most vets use Harrison’s recovery formula which is great stuff but it is made in amounts for parrots and will last only a day if you’re using it for a goose.

What breed is your goose? A heavy weight breed like a Toulouse can be kept alive with 3 to 4 60ml of formula a day. A medium to small breed can do with 2 to 3, it can also depend on how much weight they’ve lost.

He could have a bee sting, you could actually give him a benedryl if you think that might be the case, I can’t remember the dosage off hand but I think @Jenbirdee does.

Have you seen him shake his head and spit out liquid or heard any coughing, sneezing, squeaking, or snicking? Besides a sting or spider bite causes of swelling can be a severe upper respiratory infection.

Another thing to try is putting some apple cider vinegar in his water. It won’t treat an underlying condition but it can help clean out whatever gunk you saw in his throat. I don’t know why your vet isn’t concerned by that green substance but it isn’t normal for a goose. It could still be a fungal issue, but it might be some sort of bacterial infection discharge or accumulating fluid and gunk from the swelling.

One final thing, what antibiotics was he prescribed?

 

[Goosebaby]

Never mind about the breed, it’s in the title… Sebbies are smaller breeds.

 

[Jenbirdee]

Get the liquid childrens benadryl, unflavored if possible (all they had was bubblegum or grape flavor when I got mine, she didnt mind)

five ML of children’s Benadryl has 12.5 mg Benadryl which I gave to my goose because she weighs about 12.5 pounds.

Give 1 mg per pound.
the liquid is 2.5 mg per 1 ml

if your goose is 15 lbs give 6 ml etctetc

 

[Holly31]

A raw egg will be fine, there is always a risk of salmonella though but geese do eat raw egg now and then anyway wether it be a stolen duck or chicken egg or one of their own.
You can also grind down some dry cat food in a food processor or purchase 30% game bird start from tractor supply and use that as gavage feed, most vets use Harrison’s recovery formula which is great stuff but it is made in amounts for parrots and will last only a day if you’re using it for a goose.

What breed is your goose? A heavy weight breed like a Toulouse can be kept alive with 3 to 4 60ml of formula a day. A medium to small breed can do with 2 to 3, it can also depend on how much weight they’ve lost.

He could have a bee sting, you could actually give him a benedryl if you think that might be the case, I can’t remember the dosage off hand but I think @Jenbirdee does.

Have you seen him shake his head and spit out liquid or heard any coughing, sneezing, squeaking, or snicking? Besides a sting or spider bite causes of swelling can be a severe upper respiratory infection.

Another thing to try is putting some apple cider vinegar in his water. It won’t treat an underlying condition but it can help clean out whatever gunk you saw in his throat. I don’t know why your vet isn’t concerned by that green substance but it isn’t normal for a goose. It could still be a fungal issue, but it might be some sort of bacterial infection discharge or accumulating fluid and gunk from the swelling.

One final thing, what antibiotics was he prescribed?

Thanks for the help! It was a long release injection of doxycycline. He’s a Sevastopol. I will see if I can get a pic of the inside of his mouth. I didn’t get a great look but I expect to see pale pink, and it wasn’t that.
All the discharge from his nostril and eye is clear and watery. The photo is from Thursday afternoon.
I’ll send raw addled egg (no shell ) down with a little fruit juice and the therapeutic diet also as prescribed. Maybe another syringe of water and dribble a few mls of apple cider vinegar in his mouth at the end.
I don’t mean to sound ignorant. I’m actually a licensed veterinary technician, and have been keeping geese for years. This is the first time one has ever had anything but a bumble foot.

 

[Holly31]

Get the liquid childrens benadryl, unflavored if possible (all they had was bubblegum or grape flavor when I got mine, she didnt mind)

five ML of children’s Benadryl has 12.5 mg Benadryl which I gave to my goose because she weighs about 12.5 pounds.

Give 1 mg per pound.
the liquid is 2.5 mg per 1 ml

if your goose is 15 lbs give 6 ml etctetc

Thank you! I couldn’t find info about Benadryl! I will try it.

 

[Goosebaby]

Thanks for the help! It was a long release injection of doxycycline. He’s a Sevastopol. I will see if I can get a pic of the inside of his mouth. I didn’t get a great look but I expect to see pale pink, and it wasn’t that.
All the discharge from his nostril and eye is clear and watery. The photo is from Thursday afternoon.
I’ll send raw addled egg (no shell ) down with a little fruit juice and the therapeutic diet also as prescribed. Maybe another syringe of water and dribble a few mls of apple cider vinegar in his mouth at the end.
I don’t mean to sound ignorant. I’m actually a licensed veterinary technician, and have been keeping geese for years. This is the first time one has ever had anything but a bumble foot. View attachment 3756118

Yeah geese are generally pretty tough and not prone to diseases, I went years without having any illnesses also and then out of nowhere it was one thing after another which sucked but it is where I learned most of what I know now.

The problem is there isn’t a lot of information out there about geese compared to exotics or even chickens, because geese aren’t exactly common pets or backyard poultry. That basically leaves us owners and even vets doing some educated guesswork with comparing symptoms we’re seeing and medication dosages with chickens, or sometimes even with parrots “if it comes to that” along with experience from other experienced goose owners, and don’t necessarily trust anyone, people can say they’re an experienced owner and that doesn’t mean they know what they’re talking about, including me, I’m just a voice on the internet, which is why it’s always important to do your own research and consider alot of different advice.
I do recommend avoiding goose or poultry group’s on Facebook for advice on anything however. There’s a lot of insanity there…and I’ve seen things….

 

[Holly31]

The greenish color may have been my imagination. Here are pics from this morning. Vet called with labs: normal wbc and rbc, reduced kidney function likely from dehydration. Low glycemic. Probably from not eating. Going to add clavamox and continue gavage. He is a bit more robust today, hanging with flock, but still in the woods. I included his good left side for comparison. I have always gotten sincere help here, so thank you all again.
Last question: vet said he can have meloxicam for inflammation 5 mg every 12 hours. Is there another anti inflammatory that is safe to give, an over the counter? The costs are mounting fast.