Gander with an infection? Help appreciated!

[NEgoosegirl]

Hi everyone!

My 5-yr-old Sebastopol gander started acting sick yesterday. All he wanted to do was stand in front of his water bucket and drink. As far as I know, he didn't eat anything yesterday. (He's been pooping only water.) He could walk, but was pretty unsteady. Got into (and out of) the pool by himself, but just floated -- no splashing or preening. I checked him over, but didn't see any other symptoms except that the webbing on his feet looked a little "purple" to me and he seemed to have a few spots of discoloration on the skin of his beak. (Sorry for no photos.) Those didn't concern me too much, because I've noticed little discolorations on his beak at other times.
Today, he was acting pretty much the same, but then while he was in the pool, he started coughing and shaking his head and he coughed up some solid bits of creamy-white phlem -- yuck!
I'm taking him to the vet today, but I was curious what others on here might have to say. I'd love some help diagnosing!! The vet doesn't usually see birds, but I'm hoping they might give me some antibiotic...? I've put garlic and pureed dandelion greens in his water (and some turmeric and cinnamon onn the off chance it might help).
He got out of the pool by himself today, but was laying down next to it. I picked him up and carried him onto the "porch" of the shed that my geese have (it's wire-enclosed), and he never even tried to bite me or anything. (His ladies are nesting, so this is VERY unusual for him!)

THANKS!

 

[Audrey Watson]

I recently had a similar problem with my White Leghorn hen, unfortunately, she passed away, and we think it might have been kidney failure. She was lethargic, drank a lot but didn't eat any, had a discolored blue-purple comb, and was leaking out her hind end. I don't know exactly what it could be in your goose but I wish you the best of luck! Maybe try giving her some yogurt, it couldn't hurt.

 

[NEgoosegirl]

Thanks @Audrey Watson! Sadly, he didn't make it. I really appreciate your thoughts, though! It does sound like some of the same symptoms as your chicken, so it might have been kidney failure. I'm wondering if it was some sort of poisoning, but I really have no idea. My other two geese are so far not acting sick, so I'm thinking maybe it wasn't contagious. But I'll be keeping an eye on them for a bit.

 

[Audrey Watson]

Thanks @Audrey Watson! Sadly, he didn't make it. I really appreciate your thoughts, though! It does sound like some of the same symptoms as your chicken, so it might have been kidney failure. I'm wondering if it was some sort of poisoning, but I really have no idea. My other two geese are so far not acting sick, so I'm thinking maybe it wasn't contagious. But I'll be keeping an eye on them for a bit.

Oh no, I’m so sorry! We kept our chicken separate but I don’t think it was contagious because our chicken had been sick for a day or two inside the coop with everyone else before we isolated her. None of our other chickens have gotten sick.

 

[NEgoosegirl]

Oh no, I’m so sorry! We kept our chicken separate but I don’t think it was contagious because our chicken had been sick for a day or two inside the coop with everyone else before we isolated her. None of our other chickens have gotten sick.

Thanks. I'm glad that none of your other chickens died! So far, my two female geese are still not acting sick. The wierd thing is that the younger female had a similar spell of not eating, drinking a lot, and being unsteady on her feet. But she started getting better after a day or so. I guess I'll never know for sure! Thanks for your comments!