Gander losing weight and losing feathers

[Idealchickduckgeese]

I have a 1.5-2 year old assumed gander that suddenly started losing weight then this morning I noticed that he was losing feathers on his chest area, he seems to be the leader of the gaggle. I looked at a taping of his feathers under the microscope but I didn't really notice anything, I will add pictures. He just looks and feels like he has lost weight, I don't know if he is crossed or full embden his beak looks different from the others. I am currently feeding a mix of corn, soybean meal, oats, wheat, wheat bran, brewer's yeast and kelp meal. Everyone else seems to be doing fine on it. The mix I found online since no one seems to make a mix for geese around where I live.


Some background on Aug of 2021 I purchased this gander and 3 others as a group of "embdens", 2 females and 2 males. The assumed female had a problem with her eye so I took her to the vet, she ended up having a mature cataract in one eye and an immature one in the other one that was giving her issues at only 1 year of age. Then went mostly blind and she got very aggressive towards everything. So the vet recommended that we euthanize her, so we did and much to our surprise she was actually a he. Then the other female is a Chinese goose who is very nice but not an embden.

So question, could the beak be a birth defect? Or is he a Chinese mix?
Is he running himself ragged due to having 5 females to 2 males?
Is he actually a she?Or is he just multing?

 

[Bochama]

looks like molting to be honest. For the weight loss, check for internal parasites.

 

[Goosebaby]

A few of my boys have lost some chest feathers right now, it’s not abnormal unless you notice that they’re losing down and you see bare skin.

As for his knob, he isn’t a mutant and doesn’t look like a mixed breed, he just has an extra manly crest, often in less strict breeding programs you’ll see more individuality and less of the “show” look. I have two Toulouse boys that have pronounced structures at the base of their bills too, it isn’t breed standard but it isn’t an issue if you’re not planning on showing.

As for weight loss, does his keel feel pronounced, like it juts out from his breast muscle? If so he definitely has weight loss.
Weight loss can be from malnutrition, malnutrition from being bullied out of his share, stress, parasites, cold or an underlying illness that hasn’t shown more obvious symptoms yet.
You could try boosting his protein by getting him soldier fly larva, grubblies can be ordered online and delivered, or you can give him some cat food, it isn’t good for him long term but it will put some weight on him for now.

 

[Goosebaby]

My Strawberry almost has a double knob thing going on.

 

[Idealchickduckgeese]

looks like molting to be honest. For the weight loss, check for internal parasites.

Thank you

 

[Idealchickduckgeese]

A few of my boys have lost some chest feathers right now, it’s not abnormal unless you notice that they’re losing down and you see bare skin.

As for his knob, he isn’t a mutant and doesn’t look like a mixed breed, he just has an extra manly crest, often in less strict breeding programs you’ll see more individuality and less of the “show” look. I have two Toulouse boys that have pronounced structures at the base of their bills too, it isn’t breed standard but it isn’t an issue if you’re not planning on showing.

As for weight loss, does his keel feel pronounced, like it juts out from his breast muscle? If so he definitely has weight loss.
Weight loss can be from malnutrition, malnutrition from being bullied out of his share, stress, parasites, cold or an underlying illness that hasn’t shown more obvious symptoms yet.
You could try boosting his protein by getting him soldier fly larva, grubblies can be ordered online and delivered, or you can give him some cat food, it isn’t good for him long term but it will put some weight on him for now.

His keel feels very pronounced compared to the others, but my others are normal to overweight. I have herbivore critical care and I have BSFL, alfalfa meal, cat food, and fish meal. Is better to give the critical care or BSFL? I don't want to add it to all of their food because of my others being on the heavier side.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Look for an all fock to use for a feed. I don't think what you feeding is giving this one especially the nutrients it needs. An all flock is formulated for all poultry. Sometimes it's hard to tell how good of flesh they are in with all the feathers. I have an Embden gander and your looks Embden.

 

[Idealchickduckgeese]

Look for an all fock to use for a feed. I don't think what you feeding is giving this one especially the nutrients it needs. An all flock is formulated for all poultry. Sometimes it's hard to tell how good of flesh they are in with all the feathers. I have an Embden gander and your looks Embden.

This mix was created by NC State and like I said there isn't a mix that is formulated for geese that I found. All the rest of them are very heavy and have good body scores. He seems to be eating a lot and he eats the duck pellet as well, that we feed to the ducks.

 

[Goosebaby]

His keel feels very pronounced compared to the others, but my others are normal to overweight. I have herbivore critical care and I have BSFL, alfalfa meal, cat food, and fish meal. Is better to give the critical care or BSFL? I don't want to add it to all of their food because of my others being on the heavier side.

Whichever you can get him to eat, sometimes geese can be picky if they’ve never tried something before so it can be easier to introduce something if you offer it in water for them to play with it.

You can try giving him a handful of whatever as a treat a few times a day until his weight goes up, it will keep the others from putting on any more weight.

 

[Goosebaby]

This mix was created by NC State and like I said there isn't a mix that is formulated for geese that I found. All the rest of them are very heavy and have good body scores. He seems to be eating a lot and he eats the duck pellet as well, that we feed to the ducks.

Maybe try worming? If he’s eating well then maybe something else is going on, what do his droppings look like?