Yes, you heard me, a goiter. On a rhea. That's what it looks like at least:
And here's what a normal rhea looks like:
I apologize for the blurry pictures, it's hard to photograph hungry rheas.
So, I have two rhea birds, Kiki (with the goiter) and Kevin. I got them as a breeding pair, but I'm not completely sure who's the girl and who's the boy, but I've been calling Kevin a "she" because "she" is smaller than Kiki. I've had these birds since around last July, and I got them at about 2 months old (I think). They have become very sweet, gentle birds (they do peck when I hand feed them), and they also can be startled easily and are a little shy.
I feed them lettuce and special ratite pellets, and they're outside of course so they get various bugs and plant forage to eat, too.
I was keeping them in a pen with sheep until about a month ago, when the sheep started lambing. I moved them into our chicken coop temporarily. The coop is big enough for them to run around, but there isn't any plants for them to eat (although they've been eating all the flies).
Their food is separate from the rest of the coop occupants (chickens, 3 ducks, 1 goose, 3 peafowl, 4 turkeys), but the chicken food is on the ground where they can easily get it. I did see them pecking at it curiously, but I haven't seen them actively eating it, so I think they prefer their pellets instead. Although, I am sort of worried about the water. The ducks and goose foul up the water, so it's possible that any of the birds could get sick from that. Hopefully we'll be able to get another coop up to move the waterfowl into.
But, it should be noted that the rheas have been having some... unusual poop. It's sort of... blue. The rheas have always had wet plops of brownish blackish turds, but since they moved into the chicken coop their feces has a hint of blue to it. Is this normal for Rhea birds? I can't remember if it was bluish before or not. What should rhea poop look like?
The Mystery of Kiki's Goiter:
Day 1: I noticed two days ago that Kiki had a small waddle-like sag hanging from his chin. It just looked like a little loose skin, so I wasn't that worried but I knew it was definitely unusual, and decided to keep a close eye on Kiki.
Day 2: Kiki's waddle was bigger. I looked at it up close, and felt it. It seemed like there was squishy sac of liquid inside, but it was rather small still.
Day 3: The thing got even bigger, and now it really looks like a goiter. I felt it again, and it's like a ball of liquid. It's not hard at all, and there's nothing on the skin either.
So, Kiki is perfectly normal, besides this weird bump. He's eating, and he doesn't show any other signs of being sick. But, what is it? A goiter, caused by eating something he shouldn't have, or from a lack of vitamins? Is it something inflamed, like a thyroid gland? I don't know.
I haven't taken Kiki to a vet, but if it turns into something serious I definitely will.
EDIT:
Day 4: Kiki's goiter is gone! It vanished into thin air.
Day 5: Kiki is still goiter-less.
I think it must have been inflammation of his thyroid, or whatever is near a rhea's chin.
And here's what a normal rhea looks like:
I apologize for the blurry pictures, it's hard to photograph hungry rheas.
So, I have two rhea birds, Kiki (with the goiter) and Kevin. I got them as a breeding pair, but I'm not completely sure who's the girl and who's the boy, but I've been calling Kevin a "she" because "she" is smaller than Kiki. I've had these birds since around last July, and I got them at about 2 months old (I think). They have become very sweet, gentle birds (they do peck when I hand feed them), and they also can be startled easily and are a little shy.
I feed them lettuce and special ratite pellets, and they're outside of course so they get various bugs and plant forage to eat, too.
I was keeping them in a pen with sheep until about a month ago, when the sheep started lambing. I moved them into our chicken coop temporarily. The coop is big enough for them to run around, but there isn't any plants for them to eat (although they've been eating all the flies).
Their food is separate from the rest of the coop occupants (chickens, 3 ducks, 1 goose, 3 peafowl, 4 turkeys), but the chicken food is on the ground where they can easily get it. I did see them pecking at it curiously, but I haven't seen them actively eating it, so I think they prefer their pellets instead. Although, I am sort of worried about the water. The ducks and goose foul up the water, so it's possible that any of the birds could get sick from that. Hopefully we'll be able to get another coop up to move the waterfowl into.
But, it should be noted that the rheas have been having some... unusual poop. It's sort of... blue. The rheas have always had wet plops of brownish blackish turds, but since they moved into the chicken coop their feces has a hint of blue to it. Is this normal for Rhea birds? I can't remember if it was bluish before or not. What should rhea poop look like?
The Mystery of Kiki's Goiter:
Day 1: I noticed two days ago that Kiki had a small waddle-like sag hanging from his chin. It just looked like a little loose skin, so I wasn't that worried but I knew it was definitely unusual, and decided to keep a close eye on Kiki.
Day 2: Kiki's waddle was bigger. I looked at it up close, and felt it. It seemed like there was squishy sac of liquid inside, but it was rather small still.
Day 3: The thing got even bigger, and now it really looks like a goiter. I felt it again, and it's like a ball of liquid. It's not hard at all, and there's nothing on the skin either.
So, Kiki is perfectly normal, besides this weird bump. He's eating, and he doesn't show any other signs of being sick. But, what is it? A goiter, caused by eating something he shouldn't have, or from a lack of vitamins? Is it something inflamed, like a thyroid gland? I don't know.
I haven't taken Kiki to a vet, but if it turns into something serious I definitely will.
EDIT:
Day 4: Kiki's goiter is gone! It vanished into thin air.
Day 5: Kiki is still goiter-less.
I think it must have been inflammation of his thyroid, or whatever is near a rhea's chin.
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