elderly goose

[samboni95]

My 15 year old male goose is losing its feathers around his eyes. Our indiana winter has been very harsh. Could it be weather related?

 

[Miss Lydia]

My 15 year old male goose is losing its feathers around his eyes. Our indiana winter has been very harsh. Could it be weather related?

Maybe, are you able to give your geese plenty of head dunking water during the harsh winter? very important they can wash their faces as often as they want to, you can try adding some ACV to their drinking head washing water to see if that helps, it's a good tonic and it's antibacterial as well. What about mites? see any lil critters crawling around on his face? Even in the dead of winter they could be a problem since they love warm blooded animals, but that would be my last thought since geese like to bathe so often. on the Apple Cider Vinegar add 1-2 tablespoons of ACV to 1 gallon of water. any discharge coming out of his eyes?

 

[samboni95]

Thank you for the reply. I give him and my ducks a fresh 5 gallon bucket of water everyday. It doesn't take long for it to freeze. I'll try the ACV. His eyes look good. I'll try to get a picture of him.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Thank you for the reply. I give him and my ducks a fresh 5 gallon bucket of water everyday. It doesn't take long for it to freeze. I'll try the ACV. His eyes look good. I'll try to get a picture of him.

Love to see him and forgot my manners

I have to use heated buckets in the winter here, Carrying buckets outside every 2 hrs got to be old fast. love your avatar too.

 

[samboni95]

. Here is a picture of Ricky. The other side of his face is a little worse but I couldn't get a good pic. I've been adding ACV to his water bucket. Anything else I can do for him?

 

[The goose girl]

It's not easy to see in the picture, but it seems his skin is fine?

I've noticed that water droplets on geese freeze when it's really cold, causing their feathers to clump. Also, their eyes can get a little runny when the wind is cold. Maybe that's what has happened to Ricky?

If he's had little ice drops near his eyes, he may have been bothered by them and tried to scratch them off, taking the tiny feathers with him. And with the eye area more exposed, water will get to his skin and cause irritation.

Also, sharing a water bucket with messy ducks tends to get the water muddy in no time. With his skin exposed, it may add to the effect, making him scratch the area even more.

My goose is a house goose, I just take her inside when she's been bathing in the winter, so she can dry off completely before going back outside. In good weather she's outside almost all the time, but when it's freezing outside she gets bored and wants company. So I haven't experienced any long time effects of "iced plumage".

And, of course, this is just a guess. But if it's true, he should look better quickly after the weather turns.

 

[servpolice]

I have a 8 year old embden gander with the exact same problem but i think its to do with the age and he kind of looks like your gander there

 

[servpolice]

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