Goose problem

[Jeunefille]

My African goose (20 or more years old) was suddenly lame yesterday. We are in a bad drought and he was out foraging. After a night in the shed with food and water he was better, but still limping. I also noticed a new lump on his waddle (see photo).

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello and welcome to BYC!

I am sorry your bird is having difficulty. I moved this thread to our Emergency forum for more help. Hopefully someone stops by soon that can help.

 

[Jenbirdee]

@Goosebaby

 

[Goosebaby]

I’m sorry your gander is feeling So bad! Have you checked the bottom of his feet for lumps, abscesses, or injuries?

Is he having any trouble eating?

The thing on his chin looks like a nasty infection, how long has it been there?

You could try to puncture it with a sterile needle to see if any fluid comes out which is a sure sign of infection. Some infections like bumblefoot, a staph infection will sometimes have thick material in the abscess that won’t just drain out.

if it isn’t a cancerous growth and is a bacterial infection you’ll need to drain it, flush it, and apply a topical antibiotic like vetricin.
Considering how large it is it’s hard to say just how extensive the infection is so Another option is to start him on an oral antibiotic like amoxicillin or baytril “erythromycin” after you drain and flush the abscess. Both of those are effective at treating the usual strain of staph that causes bumblefoot, as well as various other bacteria.

@Miss Lydia @Percheron chick Have you seen something like this before? I don’t have much experience in these kind of infections, assuming that’s what this is.

 

[Miss Lydia]

No I have not but with his age and the size of whatever it is I would rec a vet examine it.
And I agree on checking the bottom of his feet to make sure he doesn't have bumble.

The lameness could also be just he doesn't feel good overall.

@casportpony would be a good one to help here she has a lot of experience

 

[Jeunefille]

Tha

No I have not but with his age and the size of whatever it is I would rec a vet examine it.
And I agree on checking the bottom of his feet to make sure he doesn't have bumble.

The lameness could also be just he doesn't feel good overall.

@casportpony would be a good one to help here she has a lot of experience

Thank you for your thoughts. There are no sores on Gaby's feet and he is almost walking normally today. There is a pocket on his dewlap (see photo) that has a small opening and appears to be filled with corn. I tried irrigating with warm saline and tried to dig some of it out without much success. It's hard to tell if he's eating because his usual behavior is to honk continuously while everyone else eats.

 

[Percheron chick]

Stick it with a needles. Pull back on the plunger and see if you can aspirate any thing. Is it hard, squishy or hot?

 

[Miss Lydia]

@Percheron chick If it's filled with corn could that mean there is an opening in the mouth and food [corn etc.] is falling into this sac-like thing? @Jeunefille have you looked inside his mouth under his tongue? If you need to get help wrap him in a towel then you can use both hands to pry open his mouth and take a look. Should this be lanced to get all of what is in there out? Maybe put on an antibiotic in case of infection?

 

[Miss Lydia]

What do you think @Goosebaby ?

 

[Goosebaby]

What do you think @Goosebaby ?

Yeah I’m not sure, it looks like an alien growth. My guess is it’s probably an infection, especially if it just showed up over the last few days.
some cancers can be fast growing but usually they take longer than that.