Gosling with Leg Issues

[livininbrazil]

Update... The other goslings collapsed last night out of nothing. Now, 3 of them are unable to move around. I was able to talk to an avian veterinarian professor on phone this morning. She said the symptoms point mineral deficiency rather than niacin or bacterial/viral infection. She said if I provide them a multi mineral supplement they would be fine in a couple of days. Especially calcium and magnesium. She also advised me to give them hard boiled quail eggs with the shell. Wish me luck and pray for my little ones! Thank you all for your concerns and replies. I will keep you updated later.

Yes, that´s what you´ll find in the waterfowl tonics that I suggested a few posts back, but I couldn´t suggest any particular names as I don´t know the ones there.
However, I´m very surprised that the other 3 have had it happen. With the greens you´re feeding them (I assume you´re giving them plenty of grass too,), they should be doing well. Calcium is in greens. (Be very careful not to overboard with the calcium, as too much calcium for goslings is harmful). I´m surprised the vet feels they need it. She does know they´re tiny, right?
Anyway, a mineral tonic in their water will be balanced. I can´t help but wonder if you may have diluted the niacin too much and it´s not having any effect. Did your vet seem to know about the symptoms of niacin deficiency in goslings? Sorry I´m a bit of a doubter on this...so many vets here where I live have little idea.
Well thanks for letting us know, and I hope they get better quickly.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Yes, that´s what you´ll find in the waterfowl tonics that I suggested a few posts back, but I couldn´t suggest any particular names as I don´t know the ones there.
However, I´m very surprised that the other 3 have had it happen. With the greens you´re feeding them (I assume you´re giving them plenty of grass too,), they should be doing well. Calcium is in greens. (Be very careful not to overboard with the calcium, as too much calcium for goslings is harmful). I´m surprised the vet feels they need it. She does know they´re tiny, right?
Anyway, a mineral tonic in their water will be balanced. I can´t help but wonder if you may have diluted the niacin too much and it´s not having any effect. Did your vet seem to know about the symptoms of niacin deficiency in goslings? Sorry I´m a bit of a doubter on this...so many vets here where I live have little idea.
Well thanks for letting us know, and I hope they get better quickly.

X2

 

[mrmeg]

Yes, that´s what you´ll find in the waterfowl tonics that I suggested a few posts back, but I couldn´t suggest any particular names as I don´t know the ones there.  
However, I´m very surprised that the other 3 have had it happen.  With the greens you´re feeding them (I assume you´re giving them plenty of grass too,), they should be doing well.  Calcium is in greens.    (Be very careful not to overboard with the calcium, as too much calcium for goslings is harmful).  I´m surprised the vet feels they need it. She does know they´re tiny, right?
Anyway, a mineral tonic in their water will be balanced.   I can´t help but wonder if you may have diluted the niacin too much and it´s not having any effect.  Did your vet seem to know about the symptoms of niacin deficiency in goslings?  Sorry I´m a bit of a doubter on this...so many vets here where I live have little idea.  
Well thanks for letting us know, and I hope they get better quickly.   

I think she knows because she is a professor in veterinary faculty as avian subject. I told her about their age. All i can do is to wait for now...

 

[livininbrazil]

I think she knows because she is a professor in veterinary faculty as avian subject. I told her about their age. All i can do is to wait for now...

Uhuh. Ok.

 

[mrmeg]

Uhuh.  Ok.

Update. Sadly, the little white one is gone couldn't save her. The other 2 are doing fine now. Growing and getting stronger. So, niacin isnt always the issue about legs. We should be careful about calcium too. Thanks for your concerns and replies. I really appreciate that.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Update. Sadly, the little white one is gone

couldn't save her. The other 2 are doing fine now. Growing and getting stronger. So, niacin isnt always the issue about legs. We should be careful about calcium too. Thanks for your concerns and replies. I really appreciate that.

Very sorry for your loss.

 

[livininbrazil]

Hi Mrmeg, sorry you lost the gosling, but glad the others are doing ok.

 

[MonaMoore]

Hi Memeg. First of all. I am really sorry for your loss. I totally feel your pain.
Last March my goose successfully hatched 4 eggs out of 7. My geese are free range. I feed them food left overs + socked bread+ corn + many many greens from the garden (lettuce +onion +celery +carrots +radish+ egg plants ect)
The 4 goslings were doing all fine with the guidance of their parents who are extremely protective. When they were about 6 weeks, one of them started limping. Not raising geese before, I assumed the parents stepped on at (as the parents are really clumsy and do step on the goslings sometimes). That poor gosling would limp for a couple of days and be completely normal for a week later then limp again.
I did some online research and read about Niacin deficiency. So I started adding nutritional yeast to their feed. Last week the poor gosling started to have a difficult time standing up. It would turn over its back and struggle till I come flip it over. So I decided to take it to a vet.
The vet took a look and said the gosling is just fine and prescribed antibiotics! (obviously, he had no experience with geese)
I gave the flock antibiotics in the water for two days then one morning found the gosling totally unable to move his leg. When I left him up, the leg would be totally dangling. I took it back to the vet and there I found another doctor. He figured it out as soon as he left the gosling and said it was Niacin deficiency, and that it lost its leg’s ligament. So sad

I started adding Niacin supplement to the flock but with no sign of improvement. Furthermore another gosling started to limp.
Two days later, the first gosling passed away, and the next day the other one also didn’t make it (although it only limped for 4 days! ()
So I lost two dear precious goslings in 3 days, so heartbreaking.
The other two goslings look fine, and I am still adding Niacin to the water and the food. I pray to God they keep being ok.

 

[livininbrazil]

Hi Memeg. First of all. I am really sorry for your loss. I totally feel your pain.
Last March my goose successfully hatched 4 eggs out of 7. My geese are free range. I feed them food left overs + socked bread+ corn + many many greens from the garden (lettuce +onion +celery +carrots +radish+ egg plants ect)
The 4 goslings were doing all fine with the guidance of their parents who are extremely protective. When they were about 6 weeks, one of them started limping. Not raising geese before, I assumed the parents stepped on at (as the parents are really clumsy and do step on the goslings sometimes). That poor gosling would limp for a couple of days and be completely normal for a week later then limp again.
I did some online research and read about Niacin deficiency. So I started adding nutritional yeast to their feed. Last week the poor gosling started to have a difficult time standing up. It would turn over its back and struggle till I come flip it over. So I decided to take it to a vet.
The vet took a look and said the gosling is just fine and prescribed antibiotics! (obviously, he had no experience with geese)
I gave the flock antibiotics in the water for two days then one morning found the gosling totally unable to move his leg. When I left him up, the leg would be totally dangling. I took it back to the vet and there I found another doctor. He figured it out as soon as he left the gosling and said it was Niacin deficiency, and that it lost its leg’s ligament. So sad

I started adding Niacin supplement to the flock but with no sign of improvement. Furthermore another gosling started to limp.
Two days later, the first gosling passed away, and the next day the other one also didn’t make it (although it only limped for 4 days! ()
So I lost two dear precious goslings in 3 days, so heartbreaking.
The other two goslings look fine, and I am still adding Niacin to the water and the food. I pray to God they keep being ok.

Sorry you lost some goslings. Niacin deficiency seems to be a common problem. You could also try peas and romaine lettuce, as these things have a good amount of niacin in them. Limping is just a symptom of niacin deficiency, the deficiency itself affects their general growth and development. How long ago did all this happen? How old are they now?

 

[RURU]

I give them fresh clover from the garden. But i will increase the amount and add lettuce as well. Thank you for your advice.

"GRASS" is their main feed and they need romaine lettuce. Iceberg lettuce has nothing good in it at all for goslings, just a waste of you time and money on iceberg. I guess you know they also need waterfowl crumble or gamebird crumble for the first two weeks and then change to adult feed. This is so they do not get too much protein which causes angel wing or twisted wing tip... If you can only feed chick starter you are at least putting the brewer's yeast on the feed.
Good luck...