First things first, if you have a goose that is drunk/wobbly, can't walk, waving its head around, holding its head tight up against its neck, drooping its head, do all that you can to get it to a vet. Vets ALWAYS know best, and even though you may "fix" the problem, a vet can tell you exactly why/how it happened, and how to prevent it. Two of my geese died last year after exhibiting these "drunken" behaviors. Wobbly, not walking, waving their heads around. I feel like this could've been prevented if I had just taken them to the vet. I learned from him a few things I could do, so if you can't get to a vet, or there isn't one in your area that does birds, here's a few things I've learned and done that work pretty well when it comes to these "drunk" geese who can't walk that a few people have posted about lately.
If is a young goose, you should check the feed you have and see if it contains niacin(B-3), a very important vitamin for growing waterfowl. Brewers yeast has niacin in it and is pretty easy to find, you can order it online or get it in containers at vitamin and supplement stores. The local vitamin store here called Vitamin Shoppe sells it. Local feed stores usually sell a small packet of power you can add to your goose's water called Sav-a-chick Electrolyte and Vitamin Supplement, and if you read the back, it has niacin(B-3).
I personally only add this to the water when the geese are very young. 1day-3weeks. I've had to deal with three different "drunk" geese that were wobbly on their feet or couldn't walk at all, so I would add the sav-a-chick and after a day they would still be sick, and if that was the case, the goose may have a blocked crop because it was not eating enough grit on its own. When this happens I go through a process.
I'll take whichever goose is acting sick and sit him down in my lap or right in front of my legs facing me and I'll massage the crop and their underbelly area for about 5/10 minutes, after that time, I pick him up and tilt him upside down until his beak is pointing straight to the ground. A few times I've done this and the bird has thrown up whatever was causing blockage. If he didn't, I would run a warm bath just high enough to where he could float and let him soak for another 5/10 minutes.
Usually if I have come to the soaking phase, the goose has not pooped in a few hours, and the warm water can, I guess, soften things up. This has worked for me a few times as well.
After soaking, if the goose didn't poop, I would take him out and massage his crop for a few more minutes and try the tipping again.
If you've gone through all of this and nothing has worked, you can feed the goose again but sprinkle grit along the very top of their food so they have to eat it. My geese have a bowl of grit out with them, but that doesn't mean they always use it. If it is on top of their feed, they have to eat it.
Usually after eating, the goose poops out something disgusting and fierce, and starts acting normal within a few hours or by the next day. I haven't had a goose yet that went through all of this that didn't get better.
If is a young goose, you should check the feed you have and see if it contains niacin(B-3), a very important vitamin for growing waterfowl. Brewers yeast has niacin in it and is pretty easy to find, you can order it online or get it in containers at vitamin and supplement stores. The local vitamin store here called Vitamin Shoppe sells it. Local feed stores usually sell a small packet of power you can add to your goose's water called Sav-a-chick Electrolyte and Vitamin Supplement, and if you read the back, it has niacin(B-3).
I personally only add this to the water when the geese are very young. 1day-3weeks. I've had to deal with three different "drunk" geese that were wobbly on their feet or couldn't walk at all, so I would add the sav-a-chick and after a day they would still be sick, and if that was the case, the goose may have a blocked crop because it was not eating enough grit on its own. When this happens I go through a process.
I'll take whichever goose is acting sick and sit him down in my lap or right in front of my legs facing me and I'll massage the crop and their underbelly area for about 5/10 minutes, after that time, I pick him up and tilt him upside down until his beak is pointing straight to the ground. A few times I've done this and the bird has thrown up whatever was causing blockage. If he didn't, I would run a warm bath just high enough to where he could float and let him soak for another 5/10 minutes.
Usually if I have come to the soaking phase, the goose has not pooped in a few hours, and the warm water can, I guess, soften things up. This has worked for me a few times as well.
After soaking, if the goose didn't poop, I would take him out and massage his crop for a few more minutes and try the tipping again.
If you've gone through all of this and nothing has worked, you can feed the goose again but sprinkle grit along the very top of their food so they have to eat it. My geese have a bowl of grit out with them, but that doesn't mean they always use it. If it is on top of their feed, they have to eat it.
Usually after eating, the goose poops out something disgusting and fierce, and starts acting normal within a few hours or by the next day. I haven't had a goose yet that went through all of this that didn't get better.
