Bloody wing feather on 1 year old Sebastopol

[NevadaEmma]

I noticed a few weeks ago that my male Sebastopol had a bloody area on his left wing. It was not bleeding but he has blood spots on his wings and the blood was still fresh.

He is the smallest goose and has a very large personality. He always likes to be involved in everything. Last night I separated the mated pair and put the other two males in a large protected area for the night. This morning my husband heard a very loud goose noise and when the two came out of the, hopefully, temporary home, his wing feather was showing fresh blood, but was not bleeding. I could not find any blood in the area they spent the night, but I did find the remains of a pin feather with what appears to be a bit of flesh on the bottom still attached.

I have sprayed the area, from a distance, with Rooster Booster Wound Spray. He will not let me get too close without a struggle. I do not want the area to start bleeding again.

Any advice? He does not seem to be sick, but I have noticed he is limping a bit. Plucky little guy. Thanks,

 

[NevadaEmma]

I posted before I was able to add the photo of the feather.

 

[Goosebaby]

Could you post a picture of his wing? I know he doesn’t like you getting near it so a picture from a distance will do.

Where exactly is the wound on his wing? Is it on the wrist joint?

If so it could be from fighting, ganders will beat on each other and the wrist joint often gets bloodied.

It’s a little crude but this is the area I’m talking about marked in red.

 

[NevadaEmma]

I took a few photos; these are some that I thought would show the blood.

 

[Goosebaby]

My guess is that the feather was damaged somehow while developing and broke off in a fight or he pulled it out himself because it was uncomfortable/ hurting him. It could have been ripped out in a fight by the other gander too.

The broken feather looks malformed so he might have pulled it out himself sometimes if he he hurt himself in that spot while he was growing his feather shaft it wound develop right, or he has something called a polycystic feather, if that’s the case it will grow back in like that every year. This condition has a potential of becoming cancerous so you’ll want to keep an eye on if his wing in that region starts balding over time.

I have a gander who had a polycystic feather that grew in wrong every year and it would irritate him until he ripped it out. Last year it didn’t come back so the issue somehow resolved itself after 4 years.

Sometimes geese will pull their own feathers out if they have mites, though that feather has something wrong by the looks of it so I’m leaning away from that.

The wound should heal up fine, it looks nastier than it probably is because of his white feathers, if it’s any consolation I’ve seen a lot worse.

 

[NevadaEmma]

My guess is that the feather was damaged somehow while developing and broke off in a fight or he pulled it out himself because it was uncomfortable/ hurting him. It could have been ripped out in a fight by the other gander too.

The broken feather looks malformed so he might have pulled it out himself sometimes if he he hurt himself in that spot while he was growing his feather shaft it wound develop right, or he has something called a polycystic feather, if that’s the case it will grow back in like that every year. This condition has a potential of becoming cancerous so you’ll want to keep an eye on if his wing in that region starts balding over time.

I have a gander who had a polycystic feather that grew in wrong every year and it would irritate him until he ripped it out. Last year it didn’t come back so the issue somehow resolved itself after 4 years.

Sometimes geese will pull their own feathers out if they have mites, though that feather has something wrong by the looks of it so I’m leaning away from that.

The wound should heal up fine, it looks nastier than it probably is because of his white feathers, if it’s any consolation I’ve seen a lot worse.

Thanks for the reply. Tonight while putting him away, I saw another bloody area on the same side of the wing. I held him while my husband gave him a good spray on all the damaged areas.

Interesting you mentioned the balding. He has a baldish spot above his right eye that has been there for a couple of months. I figured it was just from fighting, but it is getting larger. There is a balding spot above the bloody area I showed you which I had not noticed before.

He is very high strung, but so sweet. I wonder if Sebastopols are naturally high strung? this will be the second night he and the other bachelor will not be with the mated pair. The mated gander seems a bit calmer. Today all of them stayed near each other even though they had the chicken wire in between them.

Thanks again. I thought all this was from fighting which he seems always ready to do with the other two males. Time will tell.

Cara

 

[Goosebaby]

Thanks for the reply. Tonight while putting him away, I saw another bloody area on the same side of the wing. I held him while my husband gave him a good spray on all the damaged areas.

Interesting you mentioned the balding. He has a baldish spot above his right eye that has been there for a couple of months. I figured it was just from fighting, but it is getting larger. There is a balding spot above the bloody area I showed you which I had not noticed before.

He is very high strung, but so sweet. I wonder if Sebastopols are naturally high strung? this will be the second night he and the other bachelor will not be with the mated pair. The mated gander seems a bit calmer. Today all of them stayed near each other even though they had the chicken wire in between them.

Thanks again. I thought all this was from fighting which he seems always ready to do with the other two males. Time will tell.

Cara

Could you post a picture of the bald spot on his face? That could be mites too, and mites can be hard to notice during the day, have you noticed him itching a lot?

The only other reasons I can think of with balding is from mating aggression, sometimes they’ll pull feathers off of each other.

 

[NevadaEmma]

Could you post a picture of the bald spot on his face? That could be mites too, and mites can be hard to notice during the day, have you noticed him itching a lot?

The only other reasons I can think of with balding is from mating aggression, sometimes they’ll pull feathers off of each other.

I did take one photo yesterday, but it is not good. He and Leonard are not taking well to being separated from the mated pair. Especially Curley . All of them stay close even though the chicken wire is between them and the whimper when I come to see them. I am a softie and hate to see them like this. If the female does not attempt to sit on her nest over the next couple of days, I may give up on the separation.

I will also keep an eye out for mites. Curley is getting skittish about getting too close afraid I will pick him up and enclose him in the temporary night home.

Thanks again, Cara

 

[Goosebaby]

I did take one photo yesterday, but it is not good. He and Leonard are not taking well to being separated from the mated pair. Especially Curley . All of them stay close even though the chicken wire is between them and the whimper when I come to see them. I am a softie and hate to see them like this. If the female does not attempt to sit on her nest over the next couple of days, I may give up on the separation.

I will also keep an eye out for mites. Curley is getting skittish about getting too close afraid I will pick him up and enclose him in the temporary night home.

Thanks again, Cara

It’s hard to say but that almost looks like one of the others may have grabbed him by the face and pulled the feathers out, have you seen the other males trying to mount him?

 

[NevadaEmma]

It’s hard to say but that almost looks like one of the others may have grabbed him by the face and pulled the feathers out, have you seen the other males trying to mount him?

Yes, the mated gander seems to mates with Curley fairly often. One of the reasons I thought I should separate them. But Curley and Millard seem to want to be together. Millard usually tolerates Curley being around Lilly only occasionally seriously biting him. Usually the strongest aggression happens in the pools. Curley will often join the mated pair in which ever pool they are in. I do not know if he is standing by like the roosters do with the hens waiting for their chance to mate.

The fourth male, Leonard, does fight with Curley, usually when Curley trys to dominate the pool, which ever one Leonard is in. Leonard has been near the rest, but keeps his distance deferring to Millard and Lilly when I hand out treats. The last couple of days, Millard has enjoyed long bathing time in what ever pool he wants since Curley is preoccupied with staying near Millard and Lilly.

I think the majority of the damage is being caused by Millard against Curley.