Goslings still not eating... please help.

[lovesgliders]

Please do not tell me "they will eat when they get older." They are a week old and have barely eaten since I got them last Wednesday.

Does anyone have any ideas at all on how to save them? We have tried: mushing up their food into a paste, offering them greens, changing foods (offered Mazuri Waterfowl starter, now offering Flock Raiser crumbles), smearing it onto their mouths.

I don't understand. It is heartbreaking. I see them fading in front of me but there is nothing I can seem to do to make them want to eat. Is there any way I can force feed them?

They arrived from shipping in seemingly very good shape. I just don't understand this. It's been a week and they haven't grown at all, they hardly poo... they are feather light.

Any help is much appreciated. Thank you.

 

[lovesgliders]

Also, the sicker one, when I was cleaning up her weird diarrhea that she is having, has a black tumor (?) a bit below her vent. It is about the size of a grape. I thought it was poop at first and when I gently tried to clean it up, it bled a little (but has stopped now). Has anyone ever experienced this? The other gosling is a little more alert and active and has no such "tumor."

 

[Miss Lydia]

Also, the sicker one, when I was cleaning up her weird diarrhea that she is having, has a black tumor (?) a bit below her vent. It is about the size of a grape. I thought it was poop at first and when I gently tried to clean it up, it bled a little (but has stopped now). Has anyone ever experienced this? The other gosling is a little more alert and active and has no such "tumor."

I don't know about this tumor and I am so sorry your dealing with this it has to be heart breaking, I have been watching and reading just didn't know what to tell you and hoping they would start eating. Do you have any Poultry Nutri Drench? it can be given directly in their mouth. and may help, where did you get your goslings? have you talked to these folks? when giving anything by mouth you have to be so very careful not to get it into their lungs. but maybe the ND will help. I wish I could say more other than I hope they pull through

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

Also, the sicker one, when I was cleaning up her weird diarrhea that she is having, has a black tumor (?) a bit below her vent. It is about the size of a grape. I thought it was poop at first and when I gently tried to clean it up, it bled a little (but has stopped now). Has anyone ever experienced this? The other gosling is a little more alert and active and has no such "tumor."

thats her belly button and it sounds like it was herniated at hatch. They generally heal up fine with a little time and you never know it. Have found it is from a gosling alittle too eager to kick out of the shell.

sound like you are going to need to puree their food and use a syringe WITHOUT a needle to gentlely give them some in their mouth. Go slow so you dont cause them to aspirate (take it into their lungs) as that will kill them.

have you called the breeder you bought them from?


................................
sadly it is sounding like failure to thrive, but odd that it is both goslings and not just one or the other

.........................

have you had them in the sink or tub to swim? Do they stay upright and paddle around if you have? if you have and if they do, put them in a warm sink of swimming water and drop some of the mazuri starter in the water and see if it stimulates them to eat. Its a floating food, and they highly enjoy dabbling in the water for treats/food ect.

 

[lovesgliders]

I am on hold with Murray McMurray (where I got them from) right now.

We did give them baths, we kind of had to in order to clean them up. They were able to stay upright but the water was only just deep enough for them to barely touch on tiptoes.

When they poop, it is only a few times a day, and it is very black and tarry (and smelly). Both goslings reek, they have that metallic sick smell that ill animals get. One is definitely doing better than the other, though.

They have taken a few halfhearted nibbles, they don't seem to care about food floating in the water. We mushed up Flock Raiser and they ate a tiny bit (though seem to hate it). they also each ate a tiny bit of lettuce.

One gosling is really acting pretty normally, vocal and active and alert. The other one is quite poorly and is in my husband's lap as I type this. She seems unable to stand.

Thank you for the support and the information on the umbilical hernia. I am glad it is not a tumor.

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

Ok, glad to hear the one seems to be perking up. That makes me think even more that it is failure to thrive on the second one (very sad). As Lydia mentioned some NutriDrench given slowly (full strength 1 or two drops a few times a day) can often help perk them back up.

If you have a GOOD petstore near by that carries parrot supplies see if they have baby parrot food you can pureee and offer. It is super food for puney/weak new hatchlings.

Goslings love fruits too so making a smoothy of apple/melon/carrot.dark greens and starter feed may encourage eating. You can add a drop or two of honey to their water too as a boost.


I hope MM hatchery can help you some since thats where they came from.

 

[flockman]

Hoping for a good outcome!

 

[lovesgliders]

Thanks everyone. MM was stumped and didn't really have much advice for me. Said to put honey on the tips of their bills and to offer hard boiled egg yolk (which I am making right now). I will try the fruit slurry, thank you CelticOaks.

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

how are the goslings doing?

 

[lovesgliders]

Wasabi (the little female) died in my hands at 11:00 this morning.

She starved to death, surrounded by food. We buried her out back.

Sashimi, the little gander, is very active and alert. He has always been the stronger one and does not have an umbilical hernia. He will happily eat shredded lettuce but nothing else. He did take one bite of grass and one bite of hardboiled egg yolk. He seems to HATE all the pelleted starters we have offered. We have tried offering them wet, dry, crushed, different brands... he turns his nose up at all of them. If he does pick it up he THROWS it, shaking his head violently.

I am not sure what a lettuce-only diet will do to him. His poo is quite foul and runny. I would normally say, "When he's hungry enough, he'll eat," but look at what happened to poor Wasabi.

If I let him out he peckpeckpecks at the ground but actually eats nothing. He does seem to still love dog hair. He is very mouthy and acts like he is very hungry. We have him on white paper towels, hoping the contrast of his various offerings (starter, grass, etc.) will stand out against the white and encourage him to eat. Right now he is sitting in the middle of it, snapping at the air and swallowing, catching things that only he can see (i.e. nothing). He really acts like something is wrong with his little brain.

I am tearing my hair out. I don't want him to starve, too, but I am afraid that if I try to forcefeed him--something I have no experience with--I will kill him.