Gander losing weight, pale beak

[DiYMama540]

He's looking much better these days! Happy to hear he's packing on the pounds!

 

[Goosebaby]

@Miss Lydia Thats the stuff!

 

[Goosebaby]

Just giving an update.
Parsnip’s beak has gotten oranger but still isn’t persimmon orange like it used to be, his feet are still pale. After all this time I thought he’d show more improvement. He’s the one to the right, his dad is on the left.
He’s about 17 pounds now but still feels a little thin, he doesn’t have the same muscle thickness around his keel as his brother Strawberry.
I’m using Strawberry as a comparison because that’s Parsnip’s full brother and they have the same body type. Leo’s built large but lean. Leo though he’s the biggest gander, he’s always been one of the lightest, he’s never been a big eater.

Parsnip’s being fed his all flock, lettuce, blueberries, and usually an apple daily. I’m also continuing to give him vitamins.

I think Parsnip has more water retention than before, it isn’t extream like in a bird with heart, liver, and kidney failure, but his lobes I think are a bit bigger than normal and he doesn’t seem to have enough muscle to account for the weight.

The last two weeks his appetites been greatly reduced. Parsnip normally is a big eater, now it’s a struggle to get him to eat anything other than his blueberries.
He also seems a little subdued.

His droppings when I can find them after I’ve managed to get him to eat don’t look all that abnormal, bluish green logs, white on the end. When he hasn’t eaten it’s watery. I’ll try to get a pick if I can.

The last few days I’ve started giving him Harrison’s Fauna Flora along with pinches of turmeric, milk thistle, and COQ10 in his berries.

After all I’ve read the last several months I know his symptoms can be caused by all sorts of things, anything that effects one organ affects the rest and manifests the same symptoms as cancer more or less. I have a new respect for how hard it is for a vet to pinpoint the cause of an issue without running every test under the sun. That optimistic side of me is starting to fade with despair replacing it. After all we’ve been through over the years, every time I think things are finally looking up I’m dealt a new devastating blow. I just don’t understand why life is so hard.

 

[Goosebaby]

Parsnips droppings from this morning after I dissected them. The lighting in the garage is pretty terrible and the flash kinda distorts the color.

Initially it was a little over two inches long, blueish green, with a little urates at one end. That’s the only solid one I could find that I’m 100% sure is his.

Currently he’s in the garage right now playing with one of the girl’s eggs that I gave him. He likes making nests and acting broody with them. I’m hoping it keeps his spirits up.

 

[Goosebaby]

This is his dropping from around 2pm yesterday. As you can see it’s runny and slightly foamy. I found tiny flecks of red paint in it. The same red as an old red wagon I use for moving rocks and soil around the yard. I’m guessing he took a nibble from the peeling paint at some point so the wagon henceforward is banned from contact.
I have no idea if the paint is lead based or has zinc so I gave him an activated charcoal and forced him to eat a lettuce burrito with some chopped broccoli to try to flush whatever’s left of the paint out.
I’m hoping his recent refusal to eat is because of the paint. Zinc and metal toxicity is no laughing matter, but it’s more within my grasp of treating than cancer, though I guess with his other symptoms it doesn’t rule out that he has cancer.

 

[Goosebaby]

It seems like whenever my geese eat, what comes in comes out the other end after around an hour.
Parsnip’s digestion is very delayed. I’m worried he might be backed up. It isn’t a full blockage, stuffs getting through, about 4 hours later. I’ve read zinc toxicity causes decreased urine output so I’m wondering if his whole systems slowed down because of zinc in the paint.
I checked the wagon and pulled a strip of paint off, it comes off in strips that don’t break up easily, it reminds me of thick flexible plastic.

Any ideas about how to help him pass whatever it is?

 

[Goosebaby]

Update:
Parsnip was seen by his vet on Thursday, she tested him for zinc and lead, “those haven’t come back yet but I’m 99% positive he’ll come back positive for zinc.” She sent blood in for another CBC also.
That came in yesterday, completly normal. White and red blood cell count are normal, normal amylase too.
I had assumed that he had anemia in December, she explained his pale coloration isn’t caused by anemia or jaundice, which he didn’t have then or now. The color is caused by food pigments, which is odd because he’s been eating the same food the other geese have had all along and they all have persimmon orange bills.
The only difference is he was eating a lot less when he was under stress after losing his brother.
His sister once had a bout of illness where she refused to eat completly and I had to hand feed her and she never turned yellow though so I’m very confused.

Parsnip’s beak the last few months has begun turning orange again, hopefully it shows his health was normalizing prior to eating zinc paint.

Parsnip’s physical exam was good, he put up a fight, he’s underweight again but not emaciated, he still has very mild fluid retention like he did in December which is a symptom of liver disease she said, but she couldn’t feel that his liver or any other organs were pushed out of place.

I wanted to test his liver function but couldn’t afford it because if he comes up positive for zinc overdose his treatments will cost $70 for a two week dose, “hoping it doesn’t cost more.”

I’m now afraid for the health of his liver and knowing that the EDTA treatment for metal toxicity is really rough on the liver and kidneys isn’t helping. I’m really hoping he pulls through.

As a side note I read about stress lines in the feathers of sick parrots and I noticed similar lines in Parsnip’s feathers. None of my other geese have these.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I hope Parsnip recovers completely bless his heart he’s been through it. Where did he get the paint he ate?

 

[Goosebaby]

From a peeling old red wagon, the flecks I found in his droppings are the exact same color and I found the gaggle loitering around the wagon a few days previous to those droppings. The wagon has been removed to where no one can get to it now.

 

[Goosebaby]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-gander-with-mysterious-chronic-illness.1407933/

I posted an update here because I’m not sure if this is related or new