Advice Please - Struggling goose.

[dwink2]

I am at my wit's end. I have posted about Gabby before and things just keep getting more and more confusing to me about what is happening to her. I will try to make this as short as possible. Gabby is a 12 week old Embden goose. About 3 weeks ago she appeared to be struggling to swallow and had a lump in her throat. I could not see any obstruction. I took her to the vet and they couldn't really see anything either without putting her to sleep to take a better look. They sent her home with meds to try to take any swelling out so if there was something it could break loose. Well, it worked because she spit out a long piece of kite string and a wad of grass a 8 days ago. I thought everything was fine and hoped that she would recover without any problems. She had become a little thin but was still trying to eat and doing well. We left for the weekend and I had my daughter looking after my flock for me. She called on Friday night to say that she thought that Gabby was dying. She could not walk and was in bad shape. My vet made a house call on Saturday morning and started her on more meds to try to help. By the time that we got home on Sunday she was not eating or drinking. I was really afraid that we were going to have to put her down.

I began brainstorming on what could have happened. Did something tear loose in her stomach, throat, neck, or mouth when the string and grass came up or what? I also worried that she had become Niacin deficient since she couldn't get her proper nutrition. I started her with Niacin in her water and also electrolytes. I had to make a mush of her food and force feed her. I have taken time off of work to be with her this week and try to nurse her back to health. She has slowly gotten a little better but now I am seeing other strange things with her. She is finally standing again but she just stands there and does not bother to walk. One of her wings is kind of drooping too. She tried to eat and drink but I notice that she looses a lot of it out of her mouth. I know that geese are messy so maybe that is natural. Every day I see a little improvement with her but I fear that she has had some time of damage take place that I can not fix. I don't want her be in pain or unhappy. She has gotten really thin but I do think that she is getting stronger now and has put on a little bit of weight. I make sure she takes water and food every few hours.

Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas about what could be going on or what I could do differently. Is what I am seeing caused by Niacin deficiency and it will just take a little while to get her back to normal. Does that affect their thinking ability too or just their ability to walk? I welcome any advice.

Thanks so much!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I am at my wit's end. I have posted about Gabby before and things just keep getting more and more confusing to me about what is happening to her. I will try to make this as short as possible. Gabby is a 12 week old Embden goose. About 3 weeks ago she appeared to be struggling to swallow and had a lump in her throat. I could not see any obstruction. I took her to the vet and they couldn't really see anything either without putting her to sleep to take a better look. They sent her home with meds to try to take any swelling out so if there was something it could break loose. Well, it worked because she spit out a long piece of kite string and a wad of grass a 8 days ago. I thought everything was fine and hoped that she would recover without any problems. She had become a little thin but was still trying to eat and doing well. We left for the weekend and I had my daughter looking after my flock for me. She called on Friday night to say that she thought that Gabby was dying. She could not walk and was in bad shape. My vet made a house call on Saturday morning and started her on more meds to try to help. By the time that we got home on Sunday she was not eating or drinking. I was really afraid that we were going to have to put her down.

I began brainstorming on what could have happened. Did something tear loose in her stomach, throat, neck, or mouth when the string and grass came up or what? I also worried that she had become Niacin deficient since she couldn't get her proper nutrition. I started her with Niacin in her water and also electrolytes. I had to make a mush of her food and force feed her. I have taken time off of work to be with her this week and try to nurse her back to health. She has slowly gotten a little better but now I am seeing other strange things with her. She is finally standing again but she just stands there and does not bother to walk. One of her wings is kind of drooping too. She tried to eat and drink but I notice that she looses a lot of it out of her mouth. I know that geese are messy so maybe that is natural. Every day I see a little improvement with her but I fear that she has had some time of damage take place that I can not fix. I don't want her be in pain or unhappy. She has gotten really thin but I do think that she is getting stronger now and has put on a little bit of weight. I make sure she takes water and food every few hours.

Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas about what could be going on or what I could do differently. Is what I am seeing caused by Niacin deficiency and it will just take a little while to get her back to normal. Does that affect their thinking ability too or just their ability to walk? I welcome any advice.

Thanks so much!

I'm so sorry Gabby is still not feeling better, she may be niacin deficient since it will cause weakness in the legs and also Neurological problems. at 12 weeks probably 500-750 megs to 1 gallon of water. sounds like she is improving but because she went so long with this string and grass she probably wasn't able to eat properly which is the weight loss so it will take some time for her to get back to normal . Can you hang on a little longer with her as long as your seeing improvement? Hopefully the niacin will take care of it, Sounds like from what you have posted you are doing a great job with her. Wish I knew more to say but honestly as long as you see improvement I'd keep going with her.

 

[dwink2]

Thanks Miss Lydia. I am not about to give up on her as long as she does not seem to be in pain and not declining. I just wish there was more I could do to help her. She did seem a little more alert when I just fed her a few minutes ago. She ate better and didn't seem to just peck on the ground. I have been making sure that she is getting her Niacin in her water. Her vet will stop by again on Sunday and look her over again. She has been calling everyday to check on her. She admits that she doesn't know too much about geese but sure is studying and trying to learn.

I will try to keep you updated on her progress. I will just take more vacation time and give her more TLC.

 

[RURU]

Keep up the good work dwink. I am so pleased to know that the vet is studing up on geese. This is wonderful. Make sure to tell her learn all she can and even learn from here what we do because many many people on here have so much experience and can some times teach vets too!!!
Tell her you have geese and plan on keeping them so she needs to know as much as she can to help you when needed....

 

[Miss Lydia]

Thanks Miss Lydia. I am not about to give up on her as long as she does not seem to be in pain and not declining. I just wish there was more I could do to help her. She did seem a little more alert when I just fed her a few minutes ago. She ate better and didn't seem to just peck on the ground. I have been making sure that she is getting her Niacin in her water. Her vet will stop by again on Sunday and look her over again. She has been calling everyday to check on her. She admits that she doesn't know too much about geese but sure is studying and trying to learn.

I will try to keep you updated on her progress. I will just take more vacation time and give her more TLC.

We're pulling for you both. That's awesome about your vet too.

 

[dwink2]

I am pleased to report that Gabby is walking around today. She is still really dazed and confused but at least she is moving. That being said it does pose a bit of a problem for me. At the moment we have the run fence torn down to make room for our new poultry shed/barn that will be delivered Wednesday. The birds all free range so it is not much of a problem but now I am constantly looking for Gabby to make sure that she doesn't wander too far. I don't fear any predators here but don't want her to get lost. I think that in a couple of days she will hopefully be walking with more of a "purpose" instead of just aimlessly. I can always just lock her back up in the chicken house when we are gone. Her wing is still drooping but I am hoping that it is just a lack of muscle and it will improve. I looked at pictures of angel wings and they don't look like hers. It just looks like her's are just too heavy to hold up on that weak little body. She did eat great for me today and even ate the dry food by herself out of a food bowl. It is so great to see her progress. I just feel so bad that I did not think about needing to supplement Niacin when her grazing and eating was compromised.

I do love my vet and think that she is wonderful. However, I may be a little biased because she also just so happens to be my youngest daughter. I am lucky enough to have her practicing in the area. She just graduated in May and is loving her chosen profession. She admits that she still has LOADS to learn but welcomes the challenge.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I am pleased to report that Gabby is walking around today. She is still really dazed and confused but at least she is moving. That being said it does pose a bit of a problem for me. At the moment we have the run fence torn down to make room for our new poultry shed/barn that will be delivered Wednesday. The birds all free range so it is not much of a problem but now I am constantly looking for Gabby to make sure that she doesn't wander too far. I don't fear any predators here but don't want her to get lost. I think that in a couple of days she will hopefully be walking with more of a "purpose" instead of just aimlessly. I can always just lock her back up in the chicken house when we are gone. Her wing is still drooping but I am hoping that it is just a lack of muscle and it will improve. I looked at pictures of angel wings and they don't look like hers. It just looks like her's are just too heavy to hold up on that weak little body. She did eat great for me today and even ate the dry food by herself out of a food bowl. It is so great to see her progress. I just feel so bad that I did not think about needing to supplement Niacin when her grazing and eating was compromised.

I do love my vet and think that she is wonderful. However, I may be a little biased because she also just so happens to be my youngest daughter. I am lucky enough to have her practicing in the area. She just graduated in May and is loving her chosen profession. She admits that she still has LOADS to learn but welcomes the challenge.

Yay can't tell you how awesome it is to hear Gabby is doing so much better. I think until Gabby is so much improved that she knows where she is going you might want to keep her penned up especially when you can't keep an eye out for her. Be such a shame if you found her injured or lost her. And the wing will correct itself when those blood feathers are coming in they are very heavy and in her weakened condition even more so I would think. So glad to hear she has perked up on her eating too. That's is so cool that your dd is your vet. I'm sure she'll do an excellent job in caring for Gabby and all the other animals entrusted in her care. Thanks so much for the update..

 

[RURU]

Good to hear that Gabby is coming around some and eating better. It does take a bit of time for them to come around when they lack something but once they get it respond well to treatment. How nice to have a vet in the family!

Tell her we are proud of her making sure to learn all she can about geese and waterfowl. Tell her to make sure she learns all birds because you just never know when you are going to get birds in besides they regular clients.