Goose walking funny

[Goose Girl]

I have a nearly 4 month old gander that started favouring one leg and now is walking rather stiff legged and prefers laying down to standing. Having issues with traversing uneven ground. Will get up and walk to where his flock is but lays down as soon as he reaches them. Seems tired as well. Any body know what is going on? This just started a few hours ago

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

Were there any signs of injury like swelling, redness, etc., when you examined him?

If not, are you feeding a waterfowl-specific feed or providing supplemental niacin? The symptoms you describe may be signs of a niacin deficiency. You may find this thread helpful, as well as this one.

Goslings grow incredibly fast and it can be very taxing for them. They can also be rather clumsy. I hope your gander's getting around better soon.

 

[Goose Girl]

Were there any signs of injury like swelling, redness, etc., when you examined him?

If not, are you feeding a waterfowl-specific feed or providing supplemental niacin? The symptoms you describe may be signs of a niacin deficiency. You may find this thread helpful, as well as this one.

Goslings grow incredibly fast and it can be very taxing for them. They can also be rather clumsy. I hope your gander's getting around better soon.

Hi,
Thank you for reaching out to help. He is free range pasture and Mazuri Waterfowl food also free range. I sprinkle a bit of hen scratch over the top. He lives with his sis Mom Aunt and Grandma. He is eating and moving around a bit more and better today. I put a dish of calcium in their house but was worried about adding niacin. I didnt want to over do it. Do you feel that if I sprinkle a small amount over their food at night it would be alright for the whole family?

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

Are your geese laying now? If not, I'd remove the calcium to ensure that the young gander isn't eating it - he doesn't need it.

There is, generally, low risk of "overdose" with niacin - as a water-soluble vitamin, excess should be excreted, and it's fine for adult geese, too. Since you may be seeing signs of deficiency, ensuring he's getting an adequate amount ASAP is very important. The threads I linked to in my previous post have dosing instructions for supplemental niacin for reference. Best of luck!

 

[Goose Girl]

Again thank you so much for helping! Just wanted you to know my bouncing baby boy is back to his happy, inquisitive, strong self! I put naicin in their drinking water and removed the hen scratch from their food. The results happened over night! Oh, I also removed the calcium. Thanks to you all is well again here! I really got alit out if those articles. Very helpful. Everyone with a goose should have those in their arsenal. I'm glad BYC is here for us because I haven't been able to find much information on geese in general so I am especially appreciative of you! I hope your having a really good day! I am niw!

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

That's great news!

Glad he's doing better and hope he's 100% soon! Take care and please update us sometime.