Head Tremors, Not Acting Himself

Jan 28, 2020
90
73
121
Hello all. We're very new to the chicken and geese world. We have two Roman Tufted Geese, about 4 months old. We think one is a girl (Pat) and the other is a boy (Bailey).

Bailey's head has been tremoring and he just seems like he's not feeling well. Spending a lot of time just sitting in their pool. I don't know how else to describe it. Maybe a bit off balance at times too? But the most noticeable symptom is the head tremors. We would be so devastated if something happened to him, as would Pat needless to say.

Some info that may be relevant: we did just move to a new house. They all did just fine, geese were fine, chickens still laying. The only difference we've noticed in them all is they're eating less but we chalked this up to more space and access to fallen pears from the pear trees in the yard. They did not have their swimming pool for a few days because we had to find the hose. I know that's not good, but I don't know to what extent it can harm them.

I'll be looking for a local vet that has this area of expertise as well, but wanted to reach out to those who are much more knowledgeable than I, as well.

I'm currently uploading a video to Vimeo and then will share the link in a comment.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!
 
This could be metal poisoning, fungal infection, bacterial, viral, some sort of encephalitis, it’s hard to say but it looks serious. Something is affecting him neurologically, it almost looks like he’s expieriencing mini seizures and if the rest aren’t really eating they may all have what he has. I would try to get him to a vet as soon as possible.

Is there a chance they could have found stagnant water? Botulism can cause neurological symptoms. If the previous owners were using pesticides or weed killers that could be a possibility too.

Are they expieriencing other symptoms, like abnormal droppings, changes in voice?

Edit: Also what feed do they get? And is there a chance some of it looked contaminated with mold or moisture?
 
Last edited:
Everyone else has been normal but I'll keep out an eye :( He started acting like this yesterday evening so far as we can tell.

No stagnant water. Only water accessible is their water that we provide, and change 1-2 times a day.

I don't know if pesticides were used unfortunately :( is there anything you recommend in the meantime?

I haven't noticed a change in droppings. He doesn't want to open his mouth a whole lot and won't honk really from what I've noticed. He does, however, still flap his wings and such.
 
Everyone else has been normal but I'll keep out an eye :( He started acting like this yesterday evening so far as we can tell.

No stagnant water. Only water accessible is their water that we provide, and change 1-2 times a day.

I don't know if pesticides were used unfortunately :( is there anything you recommend in the meantime?

I haven't noticed a change in droppings. He doesn't want to open his mouth a whole lot and won't honk really from what I've noticed. He does, however, still flap his wings and such.
You can try to keep him calm and comfortable and give him a vitamin boost by getting him poultry nutri-drench and vitamin b complex. They’ll give his immune system a little pick me up but without knowing the cause of his tremors I don’t really know what else to advise.
He may need blood testing from a vet, a CBC to check his white blood cell count, it can tell if he’s fighting an infection, and a test to see if there’s zinc or lead in his system.
If you can get him to the vet show them that video, sick birds often will fake being well when they’re around strangers, every time I’ve brought my gander in I get “well he looks fine” but he’s really no where near fine which complicates everything especially with vets not expierienced with waterfowl which unfortunatly is most vets.
 
I know it's kind of a stretch but could a hurt leg cause any of this? It seems he's favoring his right leg and his "ankle" joint seems to be a bit warmer on the right side.

I couldn't find any local vets so I don't know what to do :( it feels very helpless just to watch and not know what to do. I may try a phone consult with one if they do that sort of thing.
 
He could have an infection that’s causing some sort of neurological problem and him to favor a leg, if it’s causing the brain to swell he’ll have issues with coordination, if it’s bacterial he may need antibiotics. Does it look like he may have any injuries to the foot?

Poisoning will do this too for sure, plants, pesticides or hardware disease. if it’s lead poisoning he will need chelation therapy because lead settles in the bones. If it’s zinc it leaves the body more easily because it doesn’t settle into the bones, but the only chelation that works well on a heavy zinc load is very expensive. Metal poisoning usually will make the bird look like it’s drunk or extremely lethargic and refuse to eat but drink excessively, I don’t know if you’ve seen those symptoms?

You can try to flush his system with activated charcoal and lots of watery fruit “tomatoes, cucumber, melons, peaches, apples, grapes, blueberries, “berries of any kind to boost his antioxidants” and vegetables that have fiber, like kale or broccoli if he’ll eat them. b vitamin complex can help to protect his liver and boost his immune system.

kidney problems can also cause similar symptoms, if it’s kidney related all you can do is manage his symptoms, supplement his diet with vitamin a, ruduce the protein and calcium in his diet, and give him tart cherry extract. I have a goose with kidney problems and that brought her back from sleeping all day, intense polyuria, and not being fully aware to her normal old self. She hadn’t developed head tremors though but kidney problems can lead to encephalopathy and gout will make his joints tender and swollen.

Another possibility is some sort of head trauma. If he was injured he might have some degree of brain damage or suffered a stroke. Birds have an amazing ability to recover from brain damage with time and care so often times it’s not nearly as critical as other illnesses.
 
I’m sorry if it’s a lot to take in, especially while you’re stressed @newbiechickenlady20 im just trying to help as much as I can and I hope Bailey recovers soon. It’s never easy seeing such sweet birds get sick.


Thank you for all of that info, I'll take the time to go through each point! My husband let them out/cared for them this morning and said Bailey's not himself but didn't notice head tremors first thing this morning so I'm hopeful whatever it is is passing through!
 
In case anyone's following along, just wanted to give a happy update that Bailey's doing tons better! I don't know what was wrong, but he's doing better praise God. Almost his normal self again, it's wonderful to see!!!😁
PSX_20200920_123128.jpg
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom