Help! Goslings with respiratory infection

[Goose in the snake room]

I have 2 7 week old Chinese goslings showing signs of early respiratory infections. One gosling started showing signs almost 2 weeks ago with one eye tearing up and I treated with terramycin thinking it was only an eye issue. He now has a runny nose occasionally, excessive saliva, and some wheezing, and the other gosling is starting to show signs as well. I’ve done a lot of research on here and the internet in general and still unsure of what medication I can get/use, dosage, etc. What medications are available OTC and recommended? I would prefer something water soluble and something I can pick up from a pet/feed store vs order online so I can begin treatment in the morning. They’re still eating, pooping, and playing normally, just the occasional wheeze and runny nose and eyes, but I want to be proactive and treat this as necessary.

 

[AGeese]

I don't know much about the dosing or effectiveness of meds on geese, I'm sure someone else here does. Maybe you could give them a dash of ACV in their water?

 

[Goosebaby]

I have 2 7 week old Chinese goslings showing signs of early respiratory infections. One gosling started showing signs almost 2 weeks ago with one eye tearing up and I treated with terramycin thinking it was only an eye issue. He now has a runny nose occasionally, excessive saliva, and some wheezing, and the other gosling is starting to show signs as well. I’ve done a lot of research on here and the internet in general and still unsure of what medication I can get/use, dosage, etc. What medications are available OTC and recommended? I would prefer something water soluble and something I can pick up from a pet/feed store vs order online so I can begin treatment in the morning. They’re still eating, pooping, and playing normally, just the occasional wheeze and runny nose and eyes, but I want to be proactive and treat this as necessary.

What feed are they on?
What kind of bedding are they on?
Do you have chickens also?
Have you noticed unusual droppings, yellow, orange, pink, red, lots of mucous, lots of white, or liquid with bubbles in it?

Is the bedding and food changed out regularly? Have you seen mold anywhere around or are they in a damp environment where mold could be or has been at one time?

Have you noticed any facial swelling? It can be very slight in geese.

 

[Goosebaby]

Also is a vet visit possible? If not that’s pretty typical, there aren’t a lot of avian vets, and far less that are experienced with poultry let alone geese.


If it isn’t mold then it’s likely a bacterial infection, “a virus is usually more fast acting and spreads quicker.” Testing to determine what bacteria is at fault and sensitivity testing is preferred but if that isn’t an option you can try Baytril, it’s a common go to because it’s broad spectrum and usually effective, if it’s something like mycoplasma, “in poultry it’s usually CRD” it’s less effective and tylan/Tylosin is more effective.
CRD is technically incurable, once it’s present in a flock you can’t get rid of it, antibiotics will make it go away but it will re-emerge whenever the bird(s) are physically or emotionally stressed, and males and larger birds tend to be affected worse.

https://birdpalproducts.com/products/enrofloxacin-10-liquid-for-birds?_pos=1&_sid=ffb0c7fb4&_ss=r

https://birdpalproducts.com/products/tylosin-powder-for-birds?_pos=1&_sid=d66f17502&_ss=r

 

[Goose in the snake room]

What feed are they on?
What kind of bedding are they on?
Do you have chickens also?
Have you noticed unusual droppings, yellow, orange, pink, red, lots of mucous, lots of white, or liquid with bubbles in it?

Is the bedding and food changed out regularly? Have you seen mold anywhere around or are they in a damp environment where mold could be or has been at one time?

Have you noticed any facial swelling? It can be very slight in geese.

They’re on flock raiser and and grass, and on towels that are changed at least daily. I have chickens but they are not together. No abnormal droppings, changes from dark (from the grass) and light brown (from the flock raiser). Their bedding gets damp from their water spilling but doesn’t stay damp. They have good air flow/air quality where they are being kept. Symptoms show more when outside and warm. Haven’t noticed any facial swelling. I do believe it is bacterial vs fungal.

 

[Goose in the snake room]

Also is a vet visit possible? If not that’s pretty typical, there aren’t a lot of avian vets, and far less that are experienced with poultry let alone geese.


If it isn’t mold then it’s likely a bacterial infection, “a virus is usually more fast acting and spreads quicker.” Testing to determine what bacteria is at fault and sensitivity testing is preferred but if that isn’t an option you can try Baytril, it’s a common go to because it’s broad spectrum and usually effective, if it’s something like mycoplasma, “in poultry it’s usually CRD” it’s less effective and tylan/Tylosin is more effective.
CRD is technically incurable, once it’s present in a flock you can’t get rid of it, antibiotics will make it go away but it will re-emerge whenever the bird(s) are physically or emotionally stressed, and males and larger birds tend to be affected worse.

https://birdpalproducts.com/products/enrofloxacin-10-liquid-for-birds?_pos=1&_sid=ffb0c7fb4&_ss=r

https://birdpalproducts.com/products/tylosin-powder-for-birds?_pos=1&_sid=d66f17502&_ss=r

Is there a specific reason/preference for enrofloxacin vs doxycycline or other antibiotics?

 

[Goosebaby]

Baytril is fairly broad spectrum so that’s why it’s a go to when it isn’t clear what might be causing an illness, though it really depends on the bacteria and strain for what it’s most sensitive to, doxy will work better for some things, Baytril or tylan for others.

Without lab testing it pretty much comes down to guess work which to choose, and fairly often you’ll end up trying different antibiotics until one works. You could end up spending more than you would by just going to the vet, unless you end up with a vet like the last few I encountered and you end up giving them $400+ just to have them guess themselves because they somehow left vet school not knowing what giardia or a gram stain is…

There are doxy tylan or amoxitylan mixes which gives an even broader scope for what they’ll treat, the issue with those is often they don’t give a clear indication of what percentage of each antibiotic is actually in the mix, even more so if they’re mixed with vitamins which makes effective dosing near impossible to determine, they rely on mass dosing into a water source, usually for pigeons, a much smaller bird that doesn’t frequently dirty it’s water requiring more multiple times a day, which is why for geese it’s far more economical and effective to just measure out the correct amount and administer it as a crop dosage every day anyway. Antibiotics like Tylosin/ tylan taste so foul anyway they just won’t drink it if you mix it in their water.

 

[Goosebaby]

They’re on flock raiser and and grass, and on towels that are changed at least daily. I have chickens but they are not together. No abnormal droppings, changes from dark (from the grass) and light brown (from the flock raiser). Their bedding gets damp from their water spilling but doesn’t stay damp. They have good air flow/air quality where they are being kept. Symptoms show more when outside and warm. Haven’t noticed any facial swelling. I do believe it is bacterial vs fungal.

If your chickens have chronic respiratory disease (MS or MG) that’s probably what it is and where the goslings caught it, it spreads slowly, then Tylosin would be better. Usually it affects chickens pretty bad but there are more subtle strains. I’m not sure where you are but some countries outside of the U.S.A actually use one of the gentler strains as a live vaccine for it. Baby birds will have a stronger reaction to it than birds with mature immune systems.

considering that their symptoms worsen outside it could be something environmental. I don’t know if you live in an area with industrial fumes or something else in the air but it’s something to consider.
Respiratory illnesses can worsen sometimes if there’s an irritant in the air or from just an increase in activity, kinda like if you’ve ever had pneumonia and you try to get up and do anything you’ll start coughing pretty bad as a result because everything in the airways is loosening up, so it could still be an infection.

 

[Goose in the snake room]

If your chickens have chronic respiratory disease (MS or MG) that’s probably what it is and where the goslings caught it, it spreads slowly, then Tylosin would be better. Usually it affects chickens pretty bad but there are more subtle strains. I’m not sure where you are but some countries outside of the U.S.A actually use one of the gentler strains as a live vaccine for it. Baby birds will have a stronger reaction to it than birds with mature immune systems.

considering that their symptoms worsen outside it could be something environmental. I don’t know if you live in an area with industrial fumes or something else in the air but it’s something to consider.
Respiratory illnesses can worsen sometimes if there’s an irritant in the air or from just an increase in activity, kinda like if you’ve ever had pneumonia and you try to get up and do anything you’ll start coughing pretty bad as a result because everything in the airways is loosening up, so it could still be an infection.

Thank you for your explanation on the antibiotics, that is very helpful. All my chickens are healthy, not showing any signs/symptoms of illness, and they are not kept together so it’s just my geese. I got chicks 8-9 weeks ago and hatched my geese about 7 weeks ago. I purchased the enrofloxacin and it’ll be shipped in 2 days, so we’ll get this treated. Thank you so much!

 

[Goose in the snake room]

Also is a vet visit possible? If not that’s pretty typical, there aren’t a lot of avian vets, and far less that are experienced with poultry let alone geese.


If it isn’t mold then it’s likely a bacterial infection, “a virus is usually more fast acting and spreads quicker.” Testing to determine what bacteria is at fault and sensitivity testing is preferred but if that isn’t an option you can try Baytril, it’s a common go to because it’s broad spectrum and usually effective, if it’s something like mycoplasma, “in poultry it’s usually CRD” it’s less effective and tylan/Tylosin is more effective.
CRD is technically incurable, once it’s present in a flock you can’t get rid of it, antibiotics will make it go away but it will re-emerge whenever the bird(s) are physically or emotionally stressed, and males and larger birds tend to be affected worse.

https://birdpalproducts.com/products/enrofloxacin-10-liquid-for-birds?_pos=1&_sid=ffb0c7fb4&_ss=r

https://birdpalproducts.com/products/tylosin-powder-for-birds?_pos=1&_sid=d66f17502&_ss=r

I received the enrofloxacin in the mail today and I’m currently doing the math for dosage.
(Forgive my wording my brain has stopped working as efficiently)
It’s enrofloxacin 10% powder, so 10g of enrofloxacin per 100g. I’m wanting to directly give my goslings their meds measured out twice a day vs hoping they drink the correct amount from their water.
I read the correct dosage is 10 mg of enrofloxacin per kg, so 100mg of the powder I have per kg.
My geese weigh 6.8 and 6.6 lbs so 3.08 kg and 2.99 kg, and would require “308” mg of powder and “299” of powder. I would probably just treat both with 300mg of powder.
If I plan on giving this directly orally, would I just mix with distilled water until it’s at a good consistency then “feed” them via a syringe (no needle obviously).
Is this the correct dosage, and is my math somewhat right? Is there something I’m not taking into consideration?