Gosling with leg problems

[haysfmly]

Hi, I’m new to the forum. My husband found this baby gosling at the local cemetery this afternoon. Something is wrong with its‘ legs and it can’t walk. He brought it home and it has been drinking water on its own and eating some chicken feed we got from my parents just to get through the evening until we can buy the proper feed tomorrow. It has the cutest little chirp, but it’s unable to walk or stand on its’ legs. It pulls itself around on his belly. At first we thought it was injured, but after looking online, I’m wondering if it has splayed or spraddle legs. Any ideas? We don’t want to do anything to hurt it. We plan to take to a wildlife rehabber, but they’re not open until Tuesday, and if it could be a somewhat simple fix, we’d love to rehab it ourselves. Any advice is appreciated! We’ve all already fallen in love with the little thing! Also, any idea how old it could be?

 

[viennaproto]

Looks like a niacin problem to me! I would go to your local tractor supply or agway and purchase a high level vitamin b complex (durvet makes a good one). I would put it in a small dropper or syringe and administer small quantities into the side of her beak with short breaks in between. Please make sure to follow the correct dosage as too much can cause the gosling to aspirate. I have attached a great thread to read about how to do this! https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/niacin-deficiency-in-waterfowl.1367557/#post-22517848

 

[viennaproto]

I would also suggest grinding those chicken pellets in your food processor because that gosling is very little! May be hard for the little one to eat it and very important for her to get the nutrients she needs.

 

[haysfmly]

Thanks for your quick reply! Any other suggestions? We do have a Tractor Supply and Southern States nearby, so I’ll head there tomorrow. Which feed is best? Is there anything else we should be doing to help with the legs or just giving the niacin? I did put a warmed rice sock in with him tonight as I wanted him to feel like he wasn’t alone — poor little thing. Taking care of a gosling is brand new to us, so please tell us anything we need to do or not do! Thanks again! Now off to read the link you posted!

 

[haysfmly]

Yes, we ended up taking those out and crushing some. How much should we feed? Or do you leave it all the time and let them eat all they want? Does it need to be moistened? Any idea to tell how old it may be? Or what kind of goose?

 

[viennaproto]

Here are some of the feeds I have had success with in the past:
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...erjam&utm_medium=affiliate&clickId=3106727219
+
any waterfowl start will work!
One other thing I would suggest would be to use save-a-chick electrolytes or vitamin packets in her water. They will sell this at your local tractor supply.
Geese also need to be able to put their heads in water to clean their nares, so it's always good to have water deep enough for them to do this, even tiny goslings. Do you have a heat lamp also? Since she is without a mom, she will need to be kept at at least 85 degrees until she starts to get bigger! Other than that you are doing great! Keep up the good work mamma

 

[viennaproto]

Keep the food in at all times. No need to make it damp or any of that, just small so she can eat it! In all honesty, she looks to be only a couple days old to me, maybe a week? It is very hard to tell what breed she is since she is so small. She looks most similar to a chinese goose or a canada goose!

 

[haysfmly]

Thank you so much! You’ve been a wealth of information! I can get a heat lamp for her tomorrow, but do you think she’ll be okay tonight? We have the heat set to 71 tonight (any warmer and my husband would revolt!). I was worried the rice sock would make her too warm, but now I’m afraid she’ll get cold. She keeps chirping every 10-15 minutes.

 

[viennaproto]

If she gets too warm, she will open her beak and start to pant. Do you have a heating pad? You can put it under a towel and it should keep her warm for the night! I know it might be a pain but I would suggest waking up at some point through out the night to check on her. Since she is having leg problems, if she gets too hot on the heating pad it may be too hard for her to move off of it. I wouldn't worry too much though, I have raised ducklings with both a heating pad and lamp and they didn't get too hot! Let me know if you have any more questions, I will be happy to answer them

 

[haysfmly]

Yes, I do have a heating pad. I’ll set that up for her now. Thank you!