Gus can't walk!

[Lybe8438]

Gus and Lucy were playing in the backyard all day yesterday and I locked them up for the night and everyone was fine. I went to let them out this morning and found Gus cant even stand up! He sits with his back leg stretched all the way out and he tries to stand but all he does is flop around. What do you think happened to him? He was perfectly fine last night and all of the sudden he cant even stand let alone walk...Any help would be greatly appreciated! I just don't want to lose him.

 

[flockman]

I have heard that they may need brewers yeast. I don't know otherwise. Hopefully someone will know better.

 

[gm21255]

Try isolating him in a small enclosure where he can rest and keep warm. Whether he' s injured himself somehow or is suffering from niacin deficiency, rest is the best thing for him. Keep up the niacin/brewer's yeast supplementation. Make sure he can reach water and food without having to stand if possible...so he can rest those legs. Lots of dark greens are good. Dandelions seem to be the goose "super food" if you have some. Have you felt his legs? Are they warm or swollen? Letting him float in a pool of cool water might help. Can you get him to put his legs under him to he can lay down in a normal postition? The main thing is rest and making him comfortable. Good luck.

 

[Lybe8438]

Try isolating him in a small enclosure where he can rest and keep warm. Whether he' s injured himself somehow or is suffering from niacin deficiency, rest is the best thing for him. Keep up the niacin/brewer's yeast supplementation. Make sure he can reach water and food without having to stand if possible...so he can rest those legs. Lots of dark greens are good. Dandelions seem to be the goose "super food" if you have some. Have you felt his legs? Are they warm or swollen? Letting him float in a pool of cool water might help. Can you get him to put his legs under him to he can lay down in a normal postition? The main thing is rest and making him comfortable. Good luck.

Thanks for the insight! I have him in a rubbermaid in the house so the hens didn't peck at him. He can get his legs up underneath of himself. I'll go get some Brewers yeast and try giving him that and hopefully he can get up and moving again.

 

[gm21255]

That's good that he is comfortable with his legs under him. Depending on his age: if he is younger...you can try sprinkling nutritional yeast on his food. You can get that in the open bin/bulk sections at the grocery store or health food store. I use livestock grade brewers yeast for my adult birds. I've seen recommendations for adding brewers yeast tablets to their water too. I'll see if I can find the link and send it to you.

 

[gm21255]

I don't know if I'm doing this correctly, but here is a link to the post and I copied and pasted the contents of the post as well. There is a lot of varying information about dosing on brewers yeast and niacin.

post #5

Quote from Post #5 in the thread "Am I screwing up with Brewer's Yeast?"

William from Little Heirloom Acres recommends 250 mgs of Niacin per gallon of water. This is what I use with both my ducks and geese. So far we've had no foot/leg problems. I follow Williams recommendations like they were a bible on everything, food, water, supplements. They haven't failed me yet.

 

[Lybe8438]

Thank you so much for your help! I put him in a warm bath and had it so his feet could barely just touch bottom and he was moving around pretty good in there. I'll keep him in the house and follow your recommendations and hope for the best.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Aww Lybe I'm sorry to hear this about Gus, If it is a niacin dif, it usually only takes days before you can notice a difference so hopefully that is what it is.

 

[Lybe8438]

Aww Lybe I'm sorry to hear this about Gus, If it is a niacin dif, it usually only takes days before you can notice a difference so hopefully that is what it is.

Fingers crossed

 

[Lybe8438]

I was sitting with Gus and he appeared to have a seizure. His eyes kind of glazed over and he lurched forward and his head and neck went limp..I thought he was dead and after a few seconds he came to. Is this consistent with the Niacin deficiency or something else?