Goose can't walk

[Goosebaby]

Look who is standing! She still gets off balance when she tries to walk but this is better than nothing!! Still not eating. Fighting me on giving supplements. View attachment 2531134

Glad to see there is an improvement, how are you giving supplements? It’s definitely not easy getting a goose to eat something they don’t want but there are some methods that help.

One way is to squat over the bird with them pinned between your legs, you’re not sitting on them, just using your body to keep them in place, place one hand over the top of their face and apply pressure to the corner of their mouth with your fingers, they’ll open their mouth slightly, with your other hand open their jaw and place the pill at the back of their throat, hold the beak closed until they swallow. I’ve found it easier to wrap my one hand around the top bill to hold it open so they can’t chew up my fingers as much.
If it’s liquid vitamins/medicine, it’s best to use a syringe, but an eye dropper or turkey baster will do, you open their mouth up the same way, place the tip to the side of their mouth/throat just behind their tongue and hit the plunger. The faster the whole process the better.
If your goose is more cooperative you can back them into a corner and open their mouth the same way, you don’t necessarily need to hold them in place by squatting over them unless they’re squirmy like many are.

Pill vitamins can be hidden in treats like wet bread or grapes but that method doesn’t work if the goose is refusing to eat.

 

[Goosebaby]

How is your goose today @Halopino213 ?

 

[Halopino213]

Glad to see there is an improvement, how are you giving supplements? It’s definitely not easy getting a goose to eat something they don’t want but there are some methods that help.

One way is to squat over the bird with them pinned between your legs, you’re not sitting on them, just using your body to keep them in place, place one hand over the top of their face and apply pressure to the corner of their mouth with your fingers, they’ll open their mouth slightly, with your other hand open their jaw and place the pill at the back of their throat, hold the beak closed until they swallow. I’ve found it easier to wrap my one hand around the top bill to hold it open so they can’t chew up my fingers as much.
If it’s liquid vitamins/medicine, it’s best to use a syringe, but an eye dropper or turkey baster will do, you open their mouth up the same way, place the tip to the side of their mouth/throat just behind their tongue and hit the plunger. The faster the whole process the better.
If your goose is more cooperative you can back them into a corner and open their mouth the same way, you don’t necessarily need to hold them in place by squatting over them unless they’re squirmy like many are.

Pill vitamins can be hidden in treats like wet bread or grapes but that method doesn’t work if the goose is refusing to eat.

These are great ideas. She is very easy to handle. I am giving her liquid stuff and it is getting everywhere. I wasn’t sure how far back I could go. I will go farther back when I give them all tonight. I wish there was some type of appetite stimulant I could give her to get her to start eating.

How is your goose today @Halopino213 ?

so good!! She is up and walking like nothing ever happened. She still can’t extend her wings out all the way but definitely better each day. She still won’t eat much. I have moved her outside during the day for the last 2 days and in at night. She seems much happier.

 

[Goosebaby]

Good to hear that she’s continuing to improve! Just make sure that when you give liquids with a syringe it’s to the side of her mouth just past the tongue but not too far down.
You could tube feed her, I’ve never done it myself and it can be risky but sometimes it’s the only option if the goose completly stops eating, this is the best advice on tube feeding https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/tube-feeding-ducks-updated-5-7-2020.1211994/
It’s a good sign that she is eating, her appetite may continue to improve as she does, if not then there’s something larger going on that’s causing some sort of digestive discomfort making her not want to eat and may be why she could be deficient in vitamins.

Sometimes there isn’t a clear answer to what’s going on, I have a gander (Parsnip) who stopped eating and became dangerously thin at the end of 2019, his tests for aspergillosis, heavy metal poisoning, and parasites came back negative but his blood amylase was incredibly high, I couldn’t afford further testing but based on that my vet and I went with treating him as best you can treat a bird for pancreatitis, which was meloxicam for the pain, probiotics like Harrison’s fauna flora, and keeping him as warm and comfort table as possible and offering whatever he would eat at all times.
Pancreatitis in birds is virtually unknown, it isn’t studied, the only mention of it I’ve found is from a veterinary article out of Australia so it shows how far behind avian medicine is behind human medicine. Reading through human medical websites about pancreatic problems I learned that smaller frequent meals are easier on the pancreas, gluten can trigger attacks so Parsnip lives almost solely off of leafy greens and fruit when he’s feeling off. It took Parsnip a few weeks to start showing weight gain, he had bouts where he’d get worse again, accompanied by mild ascites that would come and go. He was back to normal mostly by spring but he had another pancreatic attack when he molted last summer, he recovered from it and has been fine again since. He was also taking denamarin for his liver because pancreatitis is a symptom of liver problems sometimes.
I doubt Parsnip is the only Goose with pancreatitis, it’s probably more common but just hasn’t been studied, it could be what your goose has, or your goose could have a Protozoa or bacterial infection in the gi tract or a number of other issues, pre and probiotics will help her digest and absorb nutrients from what little she’s eating regardless of what’s wrong, some give yogurt for that reason but birds can’t digest dairy so it causes stomach upset. If you can get some kind of probiotics she would benefit from them, just keep doing what you’re doing, she’s a fighter so there’s a lot of hope for her, if she starts declining it would be good to take her in and get her checked out if you’re able.

 

[yesterDAYNE]

Tube feeding gets easier as you do it, and it's best if you have someone to hold the goose. You have to aim down the side of the mouth, on the side of the tongue. You'll be able to see a bulge where the tube is going down. You cannot get any down the middle of the mouth/tongue because they can drown, like when we swallow liquid down the wrong pipe. Also need to rub lube on the tube before inserting so it doesnt get stuck. I was nervous the first time when I had to tube feed my goose but it got easier each day. I think that's the thread I was linked on here as well so make sure you read everything!

Edit: I was advised to use this stuff along with a mouthful of Vitamin B complex and it worked well for me, though the mixed food might be better nutritionally
https://www.petsmart.com/bird/food-...xact-hand-feeding-baby-bird-formula-3819.html

 

[Goosebaby]

Still improving @Halopino213 ?