Gosling stopped eating

[toddmo]

Hello,
I am new to birds, totally new to pet geese, and have not had a pet in years.
But I adopted a gosling that was seperated from its mommy to help it survive until it can fly.

I bought large parrot food b/c that was all I could find that was even close.
He ate it on day one and some on day two but now day three and it looks like he didn't hardly touch it.
Normally there would be a big 'ole mess in his feeding area and the level was about the same.
I doubt he aquired neat freak eating habits while I was away today.

Anyway, I gave him some shredded cheese and he went nuts over it, didn't want anything to do with corn taco shells,
ate some oatmeal, but I'd like some guidance on what I can get for him to eat.

I freshen his water 3 times per day. He seems to like drinking fresh water alot better than after he's been playing in it awhile and it's murky.

 

[livininbrazil]

Hello,
I am new to birds, totally new to pet geese, and have not had a pet in years.
But I adopted a gosling that was seperated from its mommy to help it survive until it can fly.

I bought large parrot food b/c that was all I could find that was even close.
He ate it on day one and some on day two but now day three and it looks like he didn't hardly touch it.
Normally there would be a big 'ole mess in his feeding area and the level was about the same.
I doubt he aquired neat freak eating habits while I was away today.

Anyway, I gave him some shredded cheese and he went nuts over it, didn't want anything to do with corn taco shells,
ate some oatmeal, but I'd like some guidance on what I can get for him to eat.

I freshen his water 3 times per day. He seems to like drinking fresh water alot better than after he's been playing in it awhile and it's murky.

Well, nice of you to try to help it, but give it grass and lettuce and grit....most things green. Not spinach, though. By parrot food, do you mean seeds?
Some places sell waterfowl feed.
I hope the gosling survives. Is it a wild one?
another thing it needs is a friend, and if you can´t get another gosling, a mirror will help.

 

[toddmo]

Thank you for replying.
I didn't know what else to do tonight, so I gave it some cooked cold pasta and he really liked it.
I'll stop by a real pet store tomorrow.
So you think the grass outside of our apartments is fine?
And I'll get some lettuce.
Thank you!

 

[tillyita]

Thank you for replying.
I didn't know what else to do tonight, so I gave it some cooked cold pasta and he really liked it.
I'll stop by a real pet store tomorrow.
So you think the grass outside of our apartments is fine?
And I'll get some lettuce.
Thank you!

Is sounds like its eating things (trying things) because its hungry rather than it likes them. Certain things will be easier for it to eat so it "appears" to like these more. Pasta is like "string" and goslings and geese love to pull on anything that looks like string. You need to get some waterfoul feed - preferably a starter feed - or if nothing else the seed is ok - but must have grit of some description or it will not be able to digest it. Greens are best but it will still need the grit. Grass from outside your appartment should be fine so long as it hasn't been sprayed with anything.

and welcome to the forum and good on you for trying to help the gosling.

 

[toddmo]

I feel pretty dumb b/c I don't even know what grit is.
The bird seed it has now has some very little things in it, seeds I guess.
But I'll definitely going to the pet store tomorrow and ask for what you said and also some grit.

 

[tillyita]

Grit is basically coarse sand or ground down rock (very small angular rock pieces) that birds eat to break down their food. In the wild they tend to pick it up with whatever else they eat. In domestic situations it often needs to be supplied. My geese and chickens find their own, but that's because I have poor soils that are low in organic material if I had good soils - I would probably have to supply it.

 

[RURU]

When you go to the store go to a coop type store which has waterfowl feed. They have chick grit get some of the so the gosling can eat some of it to help digest lettuce. Get romaine it has more nutrition in it. Do not get iceberg no nutritional value for them at all. You can feed peas, cute up red or green grapes. The grass at you apartment area will not be good because they treat it with insecticides and can kill goslings and geese...
So I feed romaine and my geese just love it. They also like watermelon, pears, apples, tomatoes, kale, dandelion greens and even the flowers.
When you feed the grit just put a small bowl for the goslings and let it get what it needs to help digest the food.... Good luck.
Also

 

[The goose girl]

So you think the grass outside of our apartments is fine?

Yes. Ideally, fresh green grass should be the main part of his diet. Dig up some squares of grass, roots, dirt and everything and watch him go to town on it. You can just replace them where you took them when he's done eating the grass; they'll grow back.

Remember also to supply water in a container big enough for him to dunk his head in it. He needs to be able to rinse his bill and his eyes.

Don't worry if he seems a glutton. Goslings can't overeat; they need all the energy they can get because they grow so fast.

 

[livininbrazil]

Thank you for replying.
I didn't know what else to do tonight, so I gave it some cooked cold pasta and he really liked it.
I'll stop by a real pet store tomorrow.
So you think the grass outside of our apartments is fine?
And I'll get some lettuce.
Thank you!

Pasta was a good idea, no problem in an emergency. Have to be careful with grass outside apartments, as the others said, because of weed-killer possibiblities, but you´ll know if they´ve been using it or not. And goosegirl made a great point...dig up a sod of earth with grass that it can pick at...they love it, and will get stuff (minerals etc) out of the soil.
The geese I keep near the stream get their own gravel from the stream bed, but the ones I have up the top, when I let them out to graze, go to the pile of builder´s sand and eat it, as we have little gravel in the soil itself.
And, of course, we´d love to see a pic if you can manage it...

 

[toddmo]

The babies name is Downy. They didn't have anything at the pet store but they told me how to find a feed store that had goose food and grit. I took him out for a walk (mostly carry) and he dug in the dirt as I turned it with a trowel to loosen it up. I'm not sure what he got but he pecked at the dirt and grass, and attracted a lot of curious neighbors. He had a half avocado today and I gave him an old pair of blue jeans to sleep on. I don't have a yard.
I got him a little toy and am about to give him some chopped tomatoes. I clean his area 3 times a day.
When I'm gone I play nature sounds with lots of birds in it lol.