extra protein for poorly gander?

[georgeandmildredgoose]

hi all

was just wondering if anyone has any experience dealing with geese with respiratory issues.
he is being treated with tylan 50 in the drinking water, still eating and drinking, behaving normally. shaking head more than usual , but no discharge noted from nostrils. he is making extra effort to breathe and if streesed (avoiding doing anything stressful) he will open beak to breathe more air in. awaiting lab results to see what this is.
in the meantime, can i offer him extra protein to ensure he keeps his weight up?.
he has been wormed recently too.
his friend mildred doesnt seem to have it yet........
thanks for reading.

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

Poor guy, hope the Vet calls soon with some answers and a treatment. I would think some egg and or oats and or yogurt may help keep his energy up while he is getting over this.

 

[pete55]

Hi

While he's got respiratory problems do keep stress to a minimum so he doesnt get unduly breathless or exhausted. Just regular diet including a good quality waterfowl pellet and lots of fresh water.

He may have a chest infection and if so should respond to antibitoic treatment. However it could also be two other things;

Gapeworm - typically the birds not ill but just a little under the weather. Often seen breathing with beak open (hence gape-worm) and shaking of the head to try and remove worms/debris which are in the windpipe. A good quality wormer will sort this out but will need full course and probably repeated for unhatched eggs.

Aspergillosis - this is a fungalin caused disease which causes inflammation and scarring of the air sacs. Antinbiotics are only of use for secondary infection. This often causes long term damage but the affected animal requires peace and very well ventilated accomadation.

Do keep us posted on his progress and I'll watch your thread with interest.

Best of luck and hope your Gander shows a response soon

Pete

 

[georgeandmildredgoose]

thankyou BOTH for your reply, i will keep you posted on progress / diagnosis

nice to bump into you again pete, spoke to you a few months ago when i got these geese

pete, im looking to try another medicine (through research and vet advise) on george the gander to help him breathe better and clear the muck from his chest. its called bisolvon. would love hear your thoughts. we ideally need a bodyweight if we proceed. the only thing i can think of is to weigh him and me on some bathroom scales, then deduct me!

unless there is a chart on standard goose weights?

i think he is slighty worse this morning, although eating and drinking. i am regularly creeping down to observe so not to be heard by the geese.....

the wormer i used recently was flubenvet.

mildred is still symptom free.

 

[pete55]

Hi

Yes nice to see you again. I wouldnt stress him weighing but simply take an average weight for the breed.

How long have you been treating with Tylan and how long did you give the Flubenet for?

Can you give more details of their history etc?

I'll keep a look out for any progress reports.

Pete

 

[georgeandmildredgoose]

hi pete

george is on the 3rd day of tylan soluble, dosage 0.5g per litre.
had 7 days of flubenvet, dosage 6g per 2kg of food.
history is un-known. i have had them since july.
i was told they were young (under 5 years old).
it is likely its something caught from chickens, they started showing respiratory symptoms when they shared a run with the geese. they were separated, but sadly not in time, as poor george is suffering too.

 

[pete55]

Ok, sounds like a contagious respiratory problem that's originated from the poultry. Think you can rule out gapeworm as you've treated for a week and aspergillosis. I'd advise antibiotics and assume George was prescribed Tylan by a Vet?

Pete

 

[georgeandmildredgoose]

in almost daily contact with a vet currently. although he has not been examined, there is no way i would put him in the car, with breathing like that .....
the mycoplasma test from a chicken should be back in a day or two.

 

[Oregon Blues]

His regular diet should be fine, unless he stops eating.

At my house you eat what you are given or you go hungry............. Unless you are sick. If livestock or pets are ill and off their feed, I might give them something that's considered a treat in order to get them to eat.

My geese love dry cat food, so they get extra dry cat food if they are refusing to eat. It's not so much the extra protein, it is to get them to eat anything.

Geese can actually go a long time without eating. They have a lot of fat stored that they can live off of.

 

[georgeandmildredgoose]

Quote:
hey thanks for your help