Gander seems sick again with gasping - what to do?

[Goosehill]

We'll get racks to have more trays planted. We offered one tray of grown grasses today, but it had been eaten out quickly (probably by the other two geese in the flock). We have enough seeds, just not enough space with warm temperatures. The racks will improve the situation.

I won't mix the food into the grass seeds for now (based on the past experience, it's more likely he'll stop eating grass seeds, too, than he'll try the other food along). I think it's more important that he gets nutrition than I try to get him back to a normal diet. I'll wait for the vet's diagnosis tomorrow to see what caused his conditions before making sudden change.

It’s important to remember that geese are designed to eat grass in quantity, so a change in diet needs to reflect this. Mine will often refuse something new several times before they accept it as safe food, so options are important when offering something new- geese are very cautious about new things including food. As a good place to start given your limited facilities for sprouting, start some grain germinating- in a bucket is ok and offer some once the starches have started malting.
Initially it has a slightly sweet smell as the enzymes get working but changes to a slightly sour smell- like sourdough bread as germination progresses- turn it twice a day and rinse the grains, drain well.
If you haven’t had veterinary advice regarding antibiotics here then please seek it, misapplied they can cause a lot of issues including digestive upsets. Digestive processes are almost entirely dependent on bacteria, so a broad spectrum antibiotic can significantly reduce the digestive ability of the animal

 

[GEESES Peanut Butter Cup]

Update after the vet visit on January 2nd:

The vet said he was great, and no infection was found.

The vet saw how the gander ate the grass seeds real time. She suspected a sharp seed irritated his sinus, causing the previous symptoms.

Like many of you said, the vet also doesn't recommend directly offering him a large amount of grass seeds, concerned about the possibility the seeds were treated.

Knowing that the gander is healthy, I'll be more aggressive about getting him back to a normal diet.

Thanks to all for the help these days!

He showed interest in the Cluck&Co Organic All Flock Blend but hasn't tried it. I'll continue making the feed available. Hopefully he'll try it.

We've also added tiny carrot strips into their veggie trays. Not sure when they'll try them.

At the same time, we're working on expanding the fodder production.

We'll also retry offering some of the fruits and treats they didn't try (we didn't offer them very long, so maybe they'll try them if we offer them for a longer period).

 

[Goosebaby]

Update after the vet visit on January 2nd:

The vet said he was great, and no infection was found.

The vet saw how the gander ate the grass seeds real time. She suspected a sharp seed irritated his sinus, causing the previous symptoms.

Like many of you said, the vet also doesn't recommend directly offering him a large amount of grass seeds, concerned about the possibility the seeds were treated.

Knowing that the gander is healthy, I'll be more aggressive about getting him back to a normal diet.

Thanks to all for the help these days!

He showed interest in the Cluck&Co Organic All Flock Blend but hasn't tried it. I'll continue making the feed available. Hopefully he'll try it.

We've also added tiny carrot strips into their veggie trays. Not sure when they'll try them.

At the same time, we're working on expanding the fodder production.

We'll also retry offering some of the fruits and treats they didn't try (we didn't offer them very long, so maybe they'll try them if we offer them for a longer period).

Geese don’t always know something is food until they see someone else eating it and then they’ll be more likely to try it. If they see you eating something they’ll think about trying it, just playing with it and fiddling with it with your fingers will accomplish the same thing.

 

[Jenbirdee]

Geese don’t always know something is food until they see someone else eating it and then they’ll be more likely to try it. If they see you eating something they’ll think about trying it, just playing with it and fiddling with it with your fingers will accomplish the same thing.

I’m so excited my Geese actually ate the chunks of banana I added to their vegetable dish today! It was : romaine lettuce, apples, peas, mixed vegetables, bananas, kale, and yellow squash. They finished everything except a little yellow squash lol.
I’m really surprised. Just don’t give up, because eventually they try things.

 

[GEESES Peanut Butter Cup]

Geese don’t always know something is food until they see someone else eating it and then they’ll be more likely to try it. If they see you eating something they’ll think about trying it, just playing with it and fiddling with it with your fingers will accomplish the same thing.

Indeed. I'll try eating foods that are also safe for humans in front of them.

What's funny is that my geese saw me eat cooked chopped/shredded chicken and/or duck meat and wanted to try some, too. Of course I didn't let them eat it.

I tried putting a waterfowl pellet into my mouse and pretended I swallowed it, but this time the attempt failed...

As for fruits we've tried in front of them - they tried blueberries before but weren't into them. They were OK with tangerines, but I can't feed them citrus fruits too often.

 

[GEESES Peanut Butter Cup]

I’m so excited my Geese actually ate the chunks of banana I added to their vegetable dish today! It was : romaine lettuce, apples, peas, mixed vegetables, bananas, kale, and yellow squash. They finished everything except a little yellow squash lol.
I’m really surprised. Just don’t give up, because eventually they try things.

Thanks. I'll be persistent