I have a 2-year-old pair of Embden geese and 7 of their almost-grown children from this spring's eggs. Yesterday when I let them all out of their pen I noticed that one of the youngsters was acting puny. He kept his neck tucked in, had a very slight clear discharge from his nostrils (his chest feathers were a little dirty from the drips), and a slight wheezy sound to his breathing.
The vet advised me over the phone to administer antibiotics for what was probably a respiratory infection. I gave the goose an injection of 1cc of Tylan 50 yesterday. He was just standing still, looking sorry for himself. I kept him in the laundry room last night, he drank a little but wasn't interested in food.
This morning he was looking a tiny bit better, I took him outside to benefit from some fresh air and sunshine, and maybe eat some grass. He was hanging out near his family and walking around the yard with them. At 1pm I told my son to go get him so we could give him his next shot of Tylan 50.
My son found him standing near a tree and brought him in. As he was holding the goose in his lap, the goose bent his head and about a cup of clear somewhat mucus-y stuff came out his beak. He didn't seem to be pushing it out, it just flowed. I gave him the shot and set him back in the box in the laundry room. He didn't stand but fell to his chest. He lay there with his beak touching the bottom of the box, some discharge still coming out, but not as much. I sat next to him patting him and telling him what a good goose he was. Within minutes his eyes glazed over and he died.
Okay, what did I do wrong? And more importantly, what should I do to keep the other geese from following him Across The Road? Should I start giving them the antibiotic just in case? What signs/symptoms should I be on the lookout for? Please advise, we're heartbroken over losing this young goose, he was of course our favorite of the youngsters. We'd be devastated if we lost any others, especially the parents which we love like family.
The vet advised me over the phone to administer antibiotics for what was probably a respiratory infection. I gave the goose an injection of 1cc of Tylan 50 yesterday. He was just standing still, looking sorry for himself. I kept him in the laundry room last night, he drank a little but wasn't interested in food.
This morning he was looking a tiny bit better, I took him outside to benefit from some fresh air and sunshine, and maybe eat some grass. He was hanging out near his family and walking around the yard with them. At 1pm I told my son to go get him so we could give him his next shot of Tylan 50.
My son found him standing near a tree and brought him in. As he was holding the goose in his lap, the goose bent his head and about a cup of clear somewhat mucus-y stuff came out his beak. He didn't seem to be pushing it out, it just flowed. I gave him the shot and set him back in the box in the laundry room. He didn't stand but fell to his chest. He lay there with his beak touching the bottom of the box, some discharge still coming out, but not as much. I sat next to him patting him and telling him what a good goose he was. Within minutes his eyes glazed over and he died.
Okay, what did I do wrong? And more importantly, what should I do to keep the other geese from following him Across The Road? Should I start giving them the antibiotic just in case? What signs/symptoms should I be on the lookout for? Please advise, we're heartbroken over losing this young goose, he was of course our favorite of the youngsters. We'd be devastated if we lost any others, especially the parents which we love like family.