Help...Goslings dying: weak, bent neck, tremors, not eating

[GosfieldAcres]

We got ten Embden goslings two weeks ago. A week ago one of them died after 24 hours of tremors, very bent neck, sudden running around as if in a panic, and not eating. It would fall over and flail trying to get back up. Two days ago another died, same thing. Today, a third is doing very poorly, and a fourth is starting to show the same symptoms.

If they got too cold, would it cause this? After a week, we put them in the shed with a heat lamp, but it still got kind of chilly at night. I brought them back in the house now, even though they are huge. The poorly doing one was better for a few hours, but now is back to having a twisted under or back neck, and flops around. I can get it to drink but not eat. The other one that is doing badly is mostly lethargic and refuses to eat or drink. The ones that have become ill are the smallest ones out of the group.

Any ideas?

 

[countrychix]

Have you checked any of the other recent goose threads for information? A lot of people, myself included, seem to be having troubles with their gosling(s) and a few of the problems sound very similar to yours. I am giving my gosling supplements but am still not sure what his problem is or whether it is working. I sure hope you can figure it out before you loose any more of your babies.

 

[GosfieldAcres]

I have read some of the other threads on the same issue, but there are no answers, only ideas. The third gosling is very near death, and a fourth, from the healthy pen, just went berserk, shaking, rocking, flipping over. This is upsetting my daughter very much. Me, too! I just wish I knew what to do for them!

I fed them organic duck starter for two weeks, and now have them on organic duck grower. Is it the feed maybe? Are they lacking something. I am going to go try to find vitamins for them at the feed store.

 

[emryst]

I had a similar problem last week, with a gosling with a bent neck and unable to move.

I also believe in organic but I didn't want the little guy to die so I got some antibiotics from the vet... They worked. He is fine now and back to living with his friends.

I also added sugar to warm water for him to drink. And he didn't poo at all so on the 2nd or 3rd day I added a little molasses to the water for 2 hours. Took it out and he pooed right away. (These were suggestions from other BYCers that worked well!)

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

They aren't old enough for grower feed.
It could be environmental (bedding cleaning agent ect)

It is your choice to feed organic, but I would question the feed first since they are still going down hill.

Pitch it all and buy a completely new bag, new brand as well to make sure it wasn't a bad batch.

You can clean their water container as well. We use hot water only and elbow grease to scrub feed pans and water containers.

It could be star gazing aka wry neck, but doesn't exactly sound like it either.

 

[GosfieldAcres]

I will switch them back to the starter. I read that you could switch them to grower at 2-3 weeks, and they are 2 weeks old. We are using the exact same feed for our turkeys and ducklings, and neither of them are having any issues. (I know it's not the right feed for turkeys, but they screwed up my order so I didn't get any turkey starter.) Actually now that I think about it, we saw one duckling spaz out ONCE a week ago just like the geese. The duckling did it before the geese. The ducklings were in the same room as the geese, not the same pen. Hmmm....is this something that could have come from the ducklings? The ducklings are totally fine, active, eating, drinking, etc.

They have used various waterers over the past two weeks, so that is not the issue.

They began to have issues when we put them in the shed (still with a brooder light) in straw. When I brought them in, and gave them an herbal immune booster, they were all perfectly fine for several hours. Tried the immune booster later, but it made no difference. I just cannot figure out what could have caused it or made it better for a short while. I also gave them carrot juice.

I just went and got poultry vitamins from the feed store. I will try giving it to them for one day, and if there are still symptoms tomorrow, I will get the antibiotics. The man at the feed store also suggested broad spectrum antibiotics.

 

[mama24]

could the straw be moldy? Sorry I don't have any ideas to help. I feed medicated chick feed to prevent coccidia, which is a huge problem here in the warm wet south, then switch to organic when they are older. And I still use chemical dewormers at least once a year. I lost some babies this year due to moldy feed. The silkies went first, then the turkeys, then some ducklings, but my goslings and other chicken chicks and ducklings were fine and made it. I lost every silkie and turkey poult though. I do have one cockerel that still has a cough. I am assuming it's aspergilosis bronchitis.

I really hope you find out what's going on and the rest make it. My goslings have had access to grass since they were a week old. Perhaps that would help?

 

[GosfieldAcres]

It has been so cold here lately, and windy, that I have only brought the goslings out once on a nice day.

The only condition I found so far that describes their condition perfectly is this (though they say it has only been reported in chickens):

http://www.thepoultrysite.com/diseaseinfo/44/dactylariosis

• Incoordination.
• Tremors.
• Torticollis (twisted neck)
• Circling, recumbency.

Their bedding was wood chips, and they were constantly making a mess of their water. Still, I wonder if it is some sort of fungus from wet bedding. What sort of waterers do you all use for goslings and ducklings to keep the brooder dry? The straw doesn't smell moldy, and we use the same straw for our ducks and turkeys, but then the ducks don't get water at night where the straw is, and the turkeys don't make a water mess.

The 3rd gosling has died now, and I noticed under it's beek and neck there is no fluff and there are some small cuts. The cuts could be from all the flailing, but the healthy goslings have fluff under their throat and neck.

Something else that was odd was a few days ago we refilled the girt container and they gobbled the whole thing up in one night, when they had only been nibling at it before.

 

[GosfieldAcres]

Okay it has been 48 hours since I started giving the goslings water soluble poultry vitamins and I haven't seen a single symptom! And four of the ones we still have at one point had at least one of the same symptoms as the ones that died. Yay! They seem so much happier and healthier.

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

They don't need an open container of grit like you are offering. They will mistake it for feed. When on a starter feed they don't need grit. You will want to offer grit once they are outside and getting grass and greens and layer based feed.

Keep up and good work, sounds like you are getting past the issues.

Waters we use hanging water fountains that auto filled from water lines. We also use pelleted bedding (normally used in horse stalls) it can be raked when damp and it fluffs up and stays dry longer. In the duck area are examples of water basins that others have built out of plastic storage boxes and hardware cloth. Set the waterer on it and the open pan under the hardware cloth catches the spills and mess.