female buff goose

[Supertive]

so last night when i put my buff geese away they were fine this morning the one is limping on the right leg and wings are really messed up this morning can anyone help me

 

[Goosebaby]

This looks neurological.

This could be lead or zinc poisoning, other possibilities could be botulism or Newcastle disease. Newcastle is rare in geese and if they do get it, they tend to have mild symptoms, but Newcastle does cause neurological issues.

Trauma to the brain or a stroke are another possibility. I had a gander that suffered a stroke after being grabbed by a dog, he had completly different symptoms to this but brain damage is a tricky thing that manifests in different ways according to the location of the injury. Only time can tell if they’re able to recover, they can with proper care and time in many cases.

Her symptoms are critical, this looks a lot like severe heavy metal poisoning “lead or zinc.” It causes their digestive system to slow down and become constipated while causing neurological issues.
You can give her activated charcoal and peanut butter to try and flush her system, make sure she gets lots of fluids with that though, and she should only be eating watery foods like fruit, berries, melon, or watery mash so that she has a better chance of passing any food or objects she may have swallowed.

Unfortunatly metal toxicity causes organ damage and can be difficult to treat. It can stay in the bloodstream for a long time so typical treatment is to give injections of a chelating agent once or twice a week for several weeks along with possible surgery to remove metal if it doesn’t leave her system naturally. Zinc leaves the system more easily than lead so it has a better prognosis.

Botulism can be treated if it’s treated immediately. Botulism is usually lethal in a short amount of time so I’m leaning away from this being the cause as she’s still alive, I am not a vet though so I may be wrong.

I know this is a lot to take in and I’m so sorry for you and your goose. I hope she pulls through.

 

[Supertive]

As long as she is able to feed and bathe herself she has a chance at recovery. It can take awhile for the brain to repair itself after a stroke but it can and does happen, especially in a young bird like her. It is a gradual process and sometimes it’s hard to notice improvement, her nervous system is rerouting and repairing itself, she’ll slowly relearn how to do everything like she used to. The fact that she can bend her neck down to the grass is an excellent sign that she is already recovering.
I’m hoping the best for her.

me too and i appreciate the kind words for her

 

[Miss Lydia]

Aww so sorry she’s had a stroke. Can you tell if she’s doing any better today. I agree with @Goosebaby she needs some special care right now.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I was just thinking when I was doing dog obedience trials I gave my dachshund some peanut butter an about chocked him to death. First an last time for that.

 

[Goosebaby]

it had a stroke from what a vet said so i don’t know what to do

I just wanted to say this in the hope it puts you at ease, while a stroke is a serious medical issue, she has a better chance at recovery than if it was metal poisoning like I originally thought.
From what I’ve seen myself, birds can amazingly bounce back from neurological damage with time and care.
Sadly organ damage from metal poisoning isn’t so easy to fix, and in many cases it usually isn’t.
She has a better chance at recovery and that’s the important thing.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Me too, that was many years ago and he recovered thankfully. Just really hard to get a dog to drink water if he doesn’t want too even if it will help him.

 

[Goosebaby]

I was under the impression that being in the crop would be a good thing, given that little digestive activity goes on in the crop, after it passes through the proventriculus the metal starts to release toxins due to the hydrochloric acid and pepsinogen, and that most internal puncture wounds occur in the ventriculus due to the strong grinding motion.

Exactly what I’ve heard, if it’s still in the crop giving them something to make it pass into the digestive track would be a bad thing, if it’s already in the digestive tract trying to get it out as fast as possible is important.
From what I’ve read about zinc toxicity though, high levels of zinc slows down their digestion and can cause them to become constipated, so forcing them to eat anything “goopy” or fibrous is dangerous because it could just compound the problem, but on the other hand they need something fiberous or “goopy” to push whatever it is out. A rock and a hard place situation.
When my gander wasn’t passing any food I was giving him only berries and fruit to eat, “honestly it was the only thing he would attempt to eat anyway,” really high water content food to try and keep his system moving, I also gave him dandelion and moringa powder in his water, both of those worked as a laxative for him and he was feeling a little better afterwards.

 

[Isaac 0]

Exactly what I’ve heard, if it’s still in the crop giving them something to make it pass into the digestive track would be a bad thing, if it’s already in the digestive tract trying to get it out as fast as possible is important.
From what I’ve read about zinc toxicity though, high levels of zinc slows down their digestion and can cause them to become constipated, so forcing them to eat anything “goopy” or fibrous is dangerous because it could just compound the problem, but on the other hand they need something fiberous or “goopy” to push whatever it is out. A rock and a hard place situation.
When my gander wasn’t passing any food I was giving him only berries and fruit to eat, “honestly it was the only thing he would attempt to eat anyway,” really high water content food to try and keep his system moving, I also gave him dandelion and moringa powder in his water, both of those worked as a laxative for him and he was feeling a little better afterwards.

Yep, I have the same information. . Once it passes into the digestive tract oral chelation therapy can be administered, I've also her of surgeries using magnets to get the metal.

 

[Goosebaby]

she is doing better but still has bad balance at times and her neck is always behind her body whilst walking or running, but when she grazes in the yard she can bend down fine and eat which is very good so i don’t know what else to do

As long as she is able to feed and bathe herself she has a chance at recovery. It can take awhile for the brain to repair itself after a stroke but it can and does happen, especially in a young bird like her. It is a gradual process and sometimes it’s hard to notice improvement, her nervous system is rerouting and repairing itself, she’ll slowly relearn how to do everything like she used to. The fact that she can bend her neck down to the grass is an excellent sign that she is already recovering.
I’m hoping the best for her.