9 week old toulouse goose has not eaten for 3 days. Very weak. I'm very concerned.

[dcobranding]

Hi. I'm getting quite concerned about my little guy. One of our 9 week old toulouse has stopped eating and is very lethargic.

About three days ago, I noticed that one of our 14 toulouse geese wasn't eating or even participating with the gaggle's activities. They still stick together for the most part, so this behavior seems alarming, though I am a novice to raising geese. He or she just stood there looking confused while the others devoured clover and other goodies from outside of their 1/8 acre grazing area. Then yesterday, he didn't even come out of their grazing area (and they LOVE to "escape the pin"). He didn't even stand up when they left.

This morning, there didn't appear to be any change, and because the temps were forecasted to be in the 95° range (who knows what the heat index would be), so we brought him inside the house. About all I have to give him is love and a cool space to recover. There are no vets around here who would see him.

First, we filled the whirlpool (it's just much deeper than a typical tub). He seemed to perk up a bit and "soaked" for a good long time. Then it seemed that he wanted onto dry land. We've kept him inside to avoid the heat (currently inside of a laundry basket in my office) to give him a fighting chance at overcoming whatever is going on. But, he has not eaten as of right now (06/17 @ 6p CST). He has had some liquids, but not enough as far as I'm concerned. He's still very lethargic.

Misc other factors (everything I can think of):
– his poop is clear or white, and he seems to be going a lot
– outside temps have been around 85° (high) w/ little rain, but we give them 5 gallons of rain water twice a day
– all of the other geese seem to be fine
– another reason we separated this one is to quarantine as a precaution
– maybe I'm overlaying my human understanding inappropriately, but he seems really miserable. I feel really helpless
– his bill looks kind of dirty (doesn't wash off), and it seems like it's shifted to be a little more red-ish in color

I appreciate any help. How long can they go without food? Without water? Should I feed him with a syringe? If yes, what?

David

 

[Goose and Fig]

It sounds like he might have "hardware syndrome" - like he swallowed something he shouldn't have and is blocked. I don't really know what you can do about it, except maybe like you said- try a turkey baster or syringe of water just to keep him hydrated. I hope he gets better for you.

 

[dcobranding]

Thank you HappyMtn for your wishes and your input. This is possible.

 

[zooweemama]

I'm sorry. I hope this remedies itself. <3

 

[crj]

You will have to force feed him if he isn't eating. You may have to make a shake for him and use a syringe to feed the gosling.

Get some chick starter grower. About a cup should do. Add to it an egg, vitamins and some water in a blender and blend it up. If you have any fruit add that as well. I no I'm forgetting something but this is a good start. It should be a bit thinner then a paste. Fill the syringe and find a place you can sit and force feed your gosling. It will be messy and you might want to wear a glove to pry open it's mouth. I know I have to wear one with an adult goose because they have tough mouths. Stick that syringe into it's throat and squirt some food into it. Not all of it at one time because it will be too much. Have a towel handy since he/she will shake it's head and spread the food around....... lol. Have a bowl of water next to you and use the syringe if you have to. They need to hydrate. This should help get the gosling started and feeling better.

good luck.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Just be careful it isn't going into the lungs.. Hope your gosling recovers..

 

[dcobranding]

Thanks to all for the well wishes.

A bit of an update (06/17 @ 11:30p CST)...

Our li'l guy has eaten a little and has had some more to drink. She (I think it's a girl) even stood up to stretch her wings a bit and I took her outside for some fresh air for a bit while her siblings grazed outside of their pin. Tomorrow, if she doesn't eat at least twice what she ate today, I think I'll follow your advise and force feed. I really want to avoid upsetting her right now because she needs rest too, but she HAS to eat.

Something tells me that she's on the mend and will recover 100%. We are keeping her inside tonight to avoid predators (somehow they can sense weakness). We already had one taken by presumably a fox so we now lock them up at night in their enclosure.

There is a chance that she ate potato plant greens from the garden. I didn't know this until this evening, but a rouge plant has been striped of its leaves. Either way, I am confident that she'll recover.

Thanks again for your support and kind words. I'll do my best to update.

 

[dcobranding]

I'm sorry to report that we lost our li'l buddy this morning. I still have to tell our kids when they wake up (not looking forward to that). All part of life, I suppose. Still, is kind of a bummer.

Thank you for all of your support, advise and encouragement.

 

[larkflying]

So sorry for your loss. Poor little goosey . . .

 

[dcobranding]

Most of the day, when she wasn't in the whirlpool, we kept her with us in a laundry basket with a couple of towels in the bottom. This might sound crazy, but I was concerned that she would hurt herself during the night in the basket either from getting her bill stuck in the holes or from trying to get out, so she slept on my arm all night. I wanted to be sure to wake up if she started having trouble. Needless to say, I didn't sleep well, but that's okay because she was well cared for. She had a restless night, but didn't seem to be getting worse. At some point, she went to sleep and didn't wake up. She was in head behind her sleeping position still. My wife (who should get a metal for being ultra cool for sharing her sleeping quarters with a sick goose) woke me up just before 6a with the bad news "she's gone". My heart sank hearing those words. We didn't get these geese to be pets, but they sure do know how to work themselves into our hearts. I'm glad she went peacefully and not alone. Sad day.