They go out and eat grass during the day for those hours, and they eat Dumar All Flock during the times they're inside. I also provide nutritional yeast mixed into the pellets. I'll also give them greens like kale and broccoli once in a while.
I feed them Dumor All Flock when they're indoors in their pen. I also give them Timothy Meadow Hay. I'll give them greens like broccoli and kale occasionally. They eat grass when they're outside in the day.
I'd say the breath is a bit of a kick in the face. It's a warm/hot sour kind of smell. Sometimes I don't notice it, but it seems on and off. He'll also do this deflating sound when I pick him up sometimes, like he's letting air out. I don't know if that really matters or means anything. He does what looks like yawning a bunch through the day, too.
Their droppings have always seemed liquidy, but they have the small, more solid ones too. There's the occasional really foul smelling dark brown liquidy droppings as well. It almost feels like they're different every time. I have seen white droppings at times, both solid and liquid looking. There's been greenish but I wouldn't say bright.
He's his usual energetic self. The only newer behavior is they've both been sleeping standing up with their neck and head folding into their wings more lately, sometimes doing the one foot thing. He used to sit a lot more I'd say.
Thanks again!
My guess based on what you’ve described is that they (both) have picked up some sort of bug from the pasture, maybe a bacteria or parasite, or they are struggling to digest the hay and it’s having a fermenting effect in their gut with the yeast supplement, hence the sour smell.
Most droppings should be soft logs, with liquid type droppings if they’ve been eating watery foods like cucumber, melon, apple, or drinking extra water. If their droppings are mostly liquid most of the time “polyuria” that’s due to some sort of issue with the gut, like inflammation. The occasional really foul smelling one with the consistency of pudding is normal, it’s a cecal dropping.
Standing up with head folded into the wing as you described is typical of depression in geese, we think of depression as purely emotional, but in birds it’s a symptom of illness too. Standing like that occasionally is nothing to worry about, but considering that they’re doing this more often lately is cause for concern. Something is making them both feel off.
If these are their only symptoms so far it means you’ve caught it early, as it progresses it’s a tougher recovery.
If you can collect some droppings in a bag I would suggest sending it to a vet for a fecal float and fecal stain to see what’s going on. In my state vets won’t do that without bringing them in for an examination, but some of the old school farm vets will test without making you go through that hassle, assuming you’re lucky enough to find a farm vet....
If it’s a yeast infection typical treatment is with nystatin if it’s a mild case, Fluconazole if it’s a moderate to serious case.
If it’s bacteria related baytril is a good choice antibiotic, if it’s giardia or clostridium something like metronidazole or a sulpha antibiotic is usually prescribed.
You might try worming them with albendazole or safe guard, ivermectin isn’t all that effective with worms sometimes.
You could try treating with corid just incase it’s coccidia, toltrazuril is more effective from my own expierience but it’s pricey.
If a vet isn’t an option you can try treating on your own with fish antibiotics, but that can end up being more costly and unrewarding in the long run not knowing the exact cause of the problem.
