Goose has been sick for awhile

[NevadaEmma]

My three year old male goose Eric has not been well for awhile. I thought it was just his personality, wanting to speed a good part of the day by himself, but still interacting with the other geese.

I noticed that he started looking quite thin a few months ago and that his poops were not a rich green as they should have been. He appeared to be eating grass, treats, doing normal goose things, but just mostly by himself.

In the past few weeks he seems not to want to eat grass, or even passes on the morning grapes and scratch. He will nibble on whatever I hand him but seems only to take a bit just to be polite.

He hangs out right outside the doorway or in my golf cart, anywhere to be near us.

I have been giving electrolytes, pro and pre biotics lately to all the chickens and geese due to the heat. I have his own bowl next to the door that I keep fresh every morning that I treat but he does not seem to want to drink from that bowl, but seems to prefer the untreated bowl of water.

His bill has always been a more yellow that orange, but I think it is getting lighter yellow.

His poops have become quite watery, loose and tan colored. The attached photos is what I came home to today. Very worried and not sure what to do.

PS - We do not have a vet within 80 miles that deals with poultry.

 

[AGeese]

How much grapes does he normally eat?

 

[Goosebaby]

He’s emaciated and the droppings show that he doesn’t have much in his system. The next step is the droppings will become neon green from excess bilirubin from not eating. The yellowing of the beak is due to nutritional deficiency and anemia. The fact that they are brown now indicated he has had something to eat but it isn’t much. It could also be dirt.

Have you noticed anything else odd, like eating more dirt and grit than usual?
Regurgitation? Any pink, orange, red, or yellow in his droppings? Have you noticed anything like this in any of your other birds? Have you heard any coughing from him or your other birds?
Has he been bullied by the others? Chased away from his food?.


Without some testing it’s really hard to say what’s wrong so the only course of action is to treat for various things at once and hope for the best.

To start with you can try treating with Corid or Toltrazuril if it’s coccidia. Corid works by inhibiting thiamine absorption of coccidia so if you give him any b vitamin mix during the course of treatment it will render the treatment pointless.

You could worm him with Fenbendazole “safeguard horse or goat wormer.”

Start him on a broad spectrum antibiotic like Tylosin, SMZ TMP, metronidazole, Baytril, or doxycycline.
SMZ TMP will also kill coccidia if he has it.

 

[Goosebaby]

If he is refusing to eat you are going to have to begin tube feeding him or he will continue to decline.
You’ll need a 60ml syringe and a lamb or colon feeding tube, something like this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008RKFXRK/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A1UEYV6Q0LY4J9&psc=1

 

[NevadaEmma]

He’s emaciated and the droppings show that he doesn’t have much in his system. The next step is the droppings will become neon green from excess bilirubin from not eating. The yellowing of the beak is due to nutritional deficiency and anemia. The fact that they are brown now indicated he has had something to eat but it isn’t much. It could also be dirt.

Have you noticed anything else odd, like eating more dirt and grit than usual?
Regurgitation? Any pink, orange, red, or yellow in his droppings? Have you noticed anything like this in any of your other birds? Have you heard any coughing from him or your other birds?
Has he been bullied by the others? Chased away from his food?.


Without some testing it’s really hard to say what’s wrong so the only course of action is to treat for various things at once and hope for the best.

To start with you can try treating with Corid or Toltrazuril if it’s coccidia. Corid works by inhibiting thiamine absorption of coccidia so if you give him any b vitamin mix during the course of treatment it will render the treatment pointless.

You could worm him with Fenbendazole “safeguard horse or goat wormer.”

Start him on a broad spectrum antibiotic like Tylosin, SMZ TMP, metronidazole, Baytril, or doxycycline.
SMZ TMP will also kill coccidia if he has it.

Thank you for the info.
The answers to your questions is no to all.

Occassionally the alpha male will nibble his neck when they are eating treats but nothing that he does not do to the other geese.

He has always had a different personality than the rest preferring. To keep to him self for hours at a time.

I will see what our local farm store has and keep checking out his droppings.

Thanks again.

 

[Goosebaby]

If the local stores don’t vary fish or pigeon antibiotics you can find them at a few places online like:

https://birdpalproducts.com/

https://countrysidepet.com/

https://okiedogsupply.com/

https://globalpigeonsupply.com/

 

[NevadaEmma]

If the local stores don’t vary fish or pigeon antibiotics you can find them at a few places online like:

https://birdpalproducts.com/

https://countrysidepet.com/

https://okiedogsupply.com/

https://globalpigeonsupply.com/

Yes, thank you very much for the info. I may have to start feeding him. He does not mind me picking him up, but that may be because he is so week. He does still wander behind the group and definately shows interest in getting his treats, but he does not chow down grass or even scratch like the others first thing in the morning.

I have seen him several times just sitting or standing in one of the small pools I have for them. Some times he is there for an hour or more.

 

[Goosebaby]

Alright so if you’ve never tube fed a goose before it can be daunting but it’s easier than it seems.

First you get some feed (purina flock raiser works well but 30% gamebird start is better for underweight birds) into a cup and mix it with hot water and make a soupy mixture, you may have to add water as it will expand and get too thick.

Let the mix cool until you can stick your finger in without burning yourself.

Fill the whole 60ml syringe, try to reduce as much of the air bubbles as possible, this can take a bit.

Next you corner the goose and squat over his back just enough that he can’t move but not sitting on him.

Apply pressure to the corners of his mouth then open his mouth when he relaxes his jaw.

Insert the tube down HIS right side of the throat, you might see a lump going down the right side of the throat or at least feel it.

Once the tube is down at the base of his neck hit the plunger.


The faster you can do the feeding process the easier it is and the less stressful it is for them, you don’t want to give them extra time to think about what’s going on.

If he’s still managing to East treats it can help to give him a little something right before and right after to give the experience some sort of positivity in his mind, it can make it easier the next time.