Gander losing weight, pale beak

[Goosebaby]

I’m reposting here at the suggestion of others.

My 7 year old gander has a pale beak and is losing weight.
He is a French Toulouse.
His apatite seems fine, he’s eating a lot
his food is digested, no whole bits passing through.
No blood in his droppings
Droppings are brown and a little watery.
I have 7 geese and 4 ducks total, only Parsnip is expieriencing this.

He’s on a diet of mixed grains, corn, wheat, barley, millet, milo.
He gets access to pasture grass most of the day but isn’t much interested in grazing compared to his grain.

Parsnip has had no prior health issues but lost his brother a year ago, I tried pairing him with two females but he was uninterested in them and instead wanted to be with his dad Leo. Leo was hostile until about two months ago and then they decided to be friends.
So basically Parsnip has been stressed most of the year until now, he’s now happy and relaxed living with Leo, but he has these health issues.

Does anyone know what might be going on with him?

A vet isn’t an option at the moment, “can’t afford it just now.”

I fed him a dose of nutri-drench last night.

 

[Iain Utah]

My 2 cents.... First, do not feed grapes. They contain low levels of arsenic, which birds cannot tolerate. Dark green veggies are better than fruits. Broccoli is a very good veggie to feed him.

Your grain mix seems good, but if you can get mazuri waterfowl maintenance, that is ideal. Birds love it, it provides complete nutrition, and it floats on water to encourage eating when first switching to it.

My normal feeding regime is 1/3 mazuri, 1/3 whole corn and 1/3 flockraiser. I double the corn amount in late fall/early winter. They also get grass hay when our pasture gets covered in snow.

Best of luck with your gander!!!

 

[DiYMama540]

Replied on the emergency forum, but I will tag some goose experts to see what they say.

@Miss Lydia @blackandtan @bluemerle @ColtHandorf @N ID Goose mom @The goose girl @Pyxis
Hopefully they will have some additional advice for you!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I hope @casportpony will look at the poop pics she’s our poop expert. Have you ever wormed your geese? What part of the world are you in? Nutri drench is great to give him I wouldn’t just give it once though. And his dad is not picking on him and stressing him?

 

[Goosebaby]

@Miss Lydia thank you for replying, casportpony has been helping me out on my previous post, I actually have never wormed my geese, could that be a possible cause? I’m in the foothills of Northern California and so far he’s had one dose of the nutridrench so I’ll hold off on any more of it.
His dad isn’t bullying him from what I can see, I actually think Parsnip is the more dominant of the two, I only put them together around the end of October.
Parsnip lost his brother to renal failure from battling asper/ complications from his meds a year ago, I tried pairing him with two new girls I got just for him but he hasn’t quite clicked with them and he kept obsessively stressing about trying to get to Leo for months but they would just end up fighting, and it got nasty. I think he really just wanted that bond he had with Thor and Leo was the closest he could come to it when they weren’t fighting.
I ended up removing Parsnip’s sister Friday who was in with Leo and now Leo and Parsnip are two peas in a pod, I think she was starting drama between the two. Parsnip seems relaxed and happy with Leo now.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Talk to @casportpony about worming since she is more familiar with where you live and how prevalent they may be there. I am just tossing things out to see if anything clicks. I have a 12 yr old gander. I am glad Leo and Parsnip have bonded but you still have breeding season to go through next year then you may have to give your boys a female each. I would continue with the Nutri drench unless casportpony says other wise it’s really a good way to get some extra things in him that may help for now. Immune support.

 

[Goosebaby]

@Miss Lydia Thank you for the advice, it means so much!

 

[ColtHandorf]

He is definitely pale in the face and the feet as well as underweight. I haven't followed the emergency thread, so obviously follow any advice given there. I'm not sure what their set-up is like, but I would move them to pasture during the day with only a scoop or two of grain/pellets and see if you can't get him more interested in eating some greens to put on some weight. If they have access to a kiddie pool, the next time you empty it you might try tossing a few handfuls of a frozen veggie mix with peas, carrots, corn, and green beans onto the surface of the water for him to bob for.

 

[DiYMama540]

Agreed...as long as he has had feed before and knows what it is, he won't intentionally let himself starve. I think with the results coming back negative for parasites he just needs a tweak in his diet.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Look up citrus I think that one they shouldn’t eat.