3 day old gosling

[hillbillymom]

We are looking for some information on how to care for our 3 day old gosling. This is our first time incubating/hatching eggs, and we are unsure of the needs of our little gosling. We also hatched 4 chicks and 2 turkey poults that we are keeping in a separate brooder.
Our little gosling is so sweet, and we want to make sure we take good care of him/her. At three days old it still seems very wobbly on its feet. Is this normal? It doesn't really walk around a lot.
At what point do we need to introduce it to water for swimming? It has a dish of water to drink from, but it is not really big enough for it to get into.
We are feeding it turkey feed. The feed store recommended it, because it is high in protein. Should we be feeding it grass/weeds too? It doesn't seem to eat much, especially compared to the chicks.

I am including a couple of pics of our sweet little Lucy Goosey. Please let me know if any of you have any words of wisdom.
Thanks!

 

[nutmeggie]

How cute!!!

 

[raindrop]

It may be hard this time of year, but I would try to find another gosling and raise them together. Geese need company.
The Book of Geese by Dave Holderread is the best book on raising geese. It was highly recommended to me by folks on this forum and has been quite helpful to me this spring as I raise my new pair of goslings.

In a nutshell:
Feed Purina Flock Raiser or other non-medicated, niacin enriched 20-22% protein starter for the first 3-4 weeks. Chick starter does not have enough niacin (but can supplement with brewers yeast).
Have water available for drinking (NOT deep enough to swim in) at all times. There are good threads to search for on waterers in the the "Other Poultry, Birds.." forum.
Provide chopped fresh greens on water and near food free choice.
Goslings can and often will drown or freeze if they get waterlogged. I started letting them splash around in a pyrex dish at about 4-5 days old, once they were steady on their feet (some wobbliness for the first few days is normal). They got to play in water while I cleaned the brooder (5-10 minutes), then I would pat them dry with a towel and back in the clean, warm brooder.
Use a heat lamp but make sure they have space in the brooder to get away if they want to. 90 degrees the first week, then 5 degrees cooler per week. Mine are outside and doing fine overnight in 48-55 degree weather.
They grow FAST. Be prepared for brooder needs. Get them (I say them since you are getting another, right?

) out on nice days to graze and follow you around. Very cute.
I used pine shavings in the brooder, and put old towels over the shavings for the first few days until they learned what food was and their footing improved.

Here is a picture of my geese in the brooder at about 2 weeks old.

p.s. edited to add (remembered when I saw the picture) have chick grit available free choice, but you may need to limit intake a little at first to prevent gorging