Congested gander

[Dcb]

My 11 week old gander, Olai, has been congested this week. I'd thought it cleared up but this morning he sounds more congested than a few days ago. His eyes are clear and there is no nasal discharge. He kind of coughs and his chatter sounds are congested. He and his mate, Lupita, have been going outside for about 6 hours a day in bright sunshine with temps in the 40's- 50's during the day and down to mid twenties at night. They coop where they live with the chickens gets down to mid 40's at night. Their bedding is wood shavings. I freshen their water twice a day. I started giving them nutritional yeast about two weeks ago after learning their Grower/Finisher feed doesn't have recommended ratios of Niacin. Could the congestion come from the nutritional yeast? Lupita doesn't have any of the congestion, yet. Any ideas would be helpful. I do plan to reach out to local vets as well.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Do they have water deep enough to submerge their heads?

 

[Dcb]

Do they have water deep enough to submerge their heads?

Yes, every day when they are outside, they have a large tub to get their head and necks in and splash over their bodies. Next year I will give them something they can get their whole bodies in. I now suspect the culprit could be the deep litter (pine shavings) bedding I created in the coop. After speaking with a couple water fowl rescue folks here in VT, it seems that may not be healthy for geese. Along with the fact that I have been closing the coop up maybe too much at night resulting in poor air quality inside. I've been advised to get him on an antibiotic to address possible bacterial infection. So tomorrow I'll see if my dog/cat vet will prescribe one for me to have the waterfowl rescue person dose out for me. Large animal vets around her referred me to small animal vets. Small animal vets say they don't treat waterfowl. Now I have windows more open and will be picking up chicken poops until I can get the coop back down to about 2-3 inches of bedding only. Still am interested in your thoughts.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I use shavings, but I have a lot of ventilation. If you can get some antibiotics it might be worth seeing if they help. I give mine buckets to submerge their heads, and shallow pans to stand in. Their small pond fills if we have wet weather, otherwise we don't have a pool either most of the year.

 

[Goosebaby]

Asper is a possibility, generally it’s only an issue in poorly ventilated damp areas or if they’ve been eating moldy feed but if you have another underlying health issue that’s affecting the immune system a bird can also get it.

 

[Dcb]

I was able to get an antibiotic which I administered to both geese. They are both doing very well now. I am consistently keeping windows open now. I’ve been reading about the importance of ventilation. I hope to adapt the coop for winter so the ventilation comes from above so that I don’t have to keep the windows open through our cold Vermont winters.

 

[Dcb]

I am also planning to build a goose pen separate from the chicken coop but still inside my big old barn. About 5 days ago one of the chickens got into the goose pen and was severely injured either by the fall from the roost (the chickens jostle vigorously to be in the front row of their roosts that are all on the same level) or by being pecked by the geese or both. In the meantime I have now put chicken wire around the goose pen so no more chickens can get in there. I am nursing the injured hen which is alert, able to eat, drink and eliminate but cannot walk or hold herself up. She can move her head freely and her eyes are clear and able to focus. I have moved her into a box of hay in a cool bathroom in my house. The hay helps prop her up so she can eat/drink. Without the hay she’d be on her side. I can’t yet determine if the injury is leg related or between the legs or what. She can move both legs but struggles to shift positions, is clearly in pain when moving or moved and keeps one leg tucked close to her body. It doesn’t appear to be a neurological, or spine injury. I’ve consulted a vet but not taken her for an assessment. Does anyone have experience with a chicken healing successfully from bone fracture/break or the like? I alternate between having hope and thinking there is no way she’ll recover.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I have watched my geese be quite aggressive with a cornered chicken. I always have doors or windows open to the south, or the east. Prevailing winds generally come out of the northwest here. Your geese will probably want to be outside for most of the winter. They are quite hardy.

 

[Goosebaby]

I am also planning to build a goose pen separate from the chicken coop but still inside my big old barn. About 5 days ago one of the chickens got into the goose pen and was severely injured either by the fall from the roost (the chickens jostle vigorously to be in the front row of their roosts that are all on the same level) or by being pecked by the geese or both. In the meantime I have now put chicken wire around the goose pen so no more chickens can get in there. I am nursing the injured hen which is alert, able to eat, drink and eliminate but cannot walk or hold herself up. She can move her head freely and her eyes are clear and able to focus. I have moved her into a box of hay in a cool bathroom in my house. The hay helps prop her up so she can eat/drink. Without the hay she’d be on her side. I can’t yet determine if the injury is leg related or between the legs or what. She can move both legs but struggles to shift positions, is clearly in pain when moving or moved and keeps one leg tucked close to her body. It doesn’t appear to be a neurological, or spine injury. I’ve consulted a vet but not taken her for an assessment. Does anyone have experience with a chicken healing successfully from bone fracture/break or the like? I alternate between having hope and thinking there is no way she’ll recover.

Broken bones will heal in time, depending on the location and severity there could be other complications. I’ve only dealt wit’s one brake “a toe.” You could try posting in the chicken forum, there’s a lot more people there that have a better idea of how to treat her than I do.

 

[Goosebaby]

I was able to get an antibiotic which I administered to both geese. They are both doing very well now. I am consistently keeping windows open now. I’ve been reading about the importance of ventilation. I hope to adapt the coop for winter so the ventilation comes from above so that I don’t have to keep the windows open through our cold Vermont winters.

Glad to hear the good news on that front!