HELP!! Sick goose!!

[starrymutt]

My favorite goose has been acting odd the last couple of days. She won't eat (we changed the food but she won't even eat the scratch) although seems to attempt to graze. She'll eat wood and drinks a little but mostly she just stands still and rests.

She can't move fast and seems to have no energy to keep up with the flock. She has just straight water (and a lot) for droppings but I have noticed almost black diarrhea in their coop.

She's still vocal. Just doesn't want to interact much. I can see her breathing (from her back) but it doesn't seem labored? Her one eye seems a little congested and she keeps it closed.

I'm very worried it might be internal bleeding somehow as she got into some staplers a month or so ago but I don't know if she actually ate any.

There is no vet in our area.

 

[Goosebaby]

Is a vet an option?
Did you notice any symptoms in the days to weeks after she ate the staples?
What feed was she on previously?
Have you noticed any sneezing, snicking, coughing, or squeaking from her? Have you noticed any discharge from her eyes, mouth, or nose?

I can’t rule out it being internal bleeding if she did eat staples, but she would require surgery and possibly CAEDTA if she did.

It could be a number of other things too, an upper respiratory infection could cause the eye issue, you may want to isolate her incase of it being something contagious, but she may have spread it now.

There’s also a chance she may have a serious parasite or Gi infection, something like worms or coccidia.


If you can’t get her to a vet you could try getting her liquid corid and put her on an oral dose. You’ll also need a 12ml syringe.
Dosage is 0.1 ml once a day or twice a day for 3 to 5 days.



A broad spectrum antibiotic like amoxicillin or smztmp might be helpful considering how ill she is but without testing it’s impossible to say if they are needed.

 

[starrymutt]

Is a vet an option?
Did you notice any symptoms in the days to weeks after she ate the staples?
What feed was she on previously?
Have you noticed any sneezing, snicking, coughing, or squeaking from her? Have you noticed any discharge from her eyes, mouth, or nose?

I can’t rule out it being internal bleeding if she did eat staples, but she would require surgery and possibly CAEDTA if she did.

It could be a number of other things too, an upper respiratory infection could cause the eye issue, you may want to isolate her incase of it being something contagious, but she may have spread it now.

There’s also a chance she may have a serious parasite or Gi infection, something like worms or coccidia.


If you can’t get her to a vet you could try getting her liquid corid and put her on an oral dose. You’ll also need a 12ml syringe.
Dosage is 0.1 ml once a day or twice a day for 3 to 5 days.



A broad spectrum antibiotic like amoxicillin or smztmp might be helpful considering how ill she is but without testing it’s impossible to say if they are needed.

Vet isn't really an option.

There were no symptoms after she might've ate the staples, I'm not sure she even did, I just saw her head in the bin and staples on the ground.

She was on Kalmbach Duck feed but wasn't interested after awhile, we switched to Dumor but now she's not eating at all.
No sneezing, coughing, wheezing. It's just her eyes seem a bit watery or hurt. She is shaking her head like clearing her nares but I haven't noticed discharge.

From what I researched she has symptoms of coccadosis or like a cold. She's just sleeping a lot but does occasionally socialize with her siblings if they're close.

I was gonna try treating with Corid/similar or at least electrolyes. She does want to eat but doesn't have the effort.

 

[starrymutt]

I got her to eat a bit of salad and peas but not much. She still has green liquid diarrhea. I'll have to order the Corid online so hopefully it'll get here this week

 

[starrymutt]

Actually I retract about the wheezing, when getting her to Slowly move to the coop, which she surprisingly went right into--she did have a slight wheeze to her whisper

 

[Goosebaby]

Do you have any antibiotics on hand?

 

[starrymutt]

Do you have any antibiotics on hand?

No I thought there was some amox left but we have nothing

 

[Goosebaby]

While she’s on corid don’t give her any vitamins until she’s completed treatment.

You can try mixing her feed in water to make a soupy mash, sometimes this can encourage them to eat. Another thing to try if you have any banana is to give her one inch slices, if you dampen them then they slide down the throat fairly easily, she probably won’t like the texture if she’s never had banana before so you’ll have to shove it down her throat.


Not knowing what’s wrong makes treatment difficult but the position you’re in is pretty common for us backyard poultry owners so we do the best we can. Her symptoms are vague, it could be upper or lower respiratory, lower digestive infections can mimic lower respiratory infections, she’s fluffed and her neck being outstretched shows she is seriously sick and something in her abdomen could be hurting.
If it’s a fungal infection or internal bleeding unfortunately that isn’t something that ban be treated at home, both of those require veterinary care.

Otherwise her treatment will depend on trying to cover the more common causes, bacterial and parasite.

The best anti coccidia drugs are corid, Toltrazuril, and SMZTMP. Corid is easier to find than Toltrazuril unless you happen to know anyone with goats or a horse tack store in your area.
SMZTMP is a broad spectrum antibiotic that can knock out a lot of things as well as coccidia. It’s generally safe but should not be given with potassium rich foods, like banana.

Tylan/ Tylosin is another excellent antibiotic that will treat lower digestive disorders like clostridium and salmonella as well as respiratory infections like mycoplasma among others

Amoxicillin is effective against a lot of things but not as strongly against clostridium.

Baytril is a powerful broad spectrum antibiotic that will tackle a lot of things, though mycoplasma isn’t as sensitive to it as Tylosin.

If it’s worms, which is less likely in geese Fenbendazole “safeguard horse wormer” will treat most, it also treats Giardia to an extent. Ivermectin doesn’t really seem that effective on worms anymore.

Metronidazole is the main treatment for clostridium and Giardia.



Birdpal products has amox and corid among other things.
https://birdpalproducts.com/products/amoxicillin-capsules-250-mg?_pos=3&_sid=49addc133&_ss=r

https://birdpalproducts.com/products/corid-solution?_pos=1&_sid=16c7f3243&_ss=r



If she’s starts refusing to eat anything you’re going to have to start tube feeding her.

You’ll need a 60 ml catheter tip syringe and a catheter tube, something like this https://www.amazon.com/Pieces-Rubbe...&keywords=Catheter+tube&qid=1741132148&sr=8-6

You’ll need poultry start or game bird start, the higher the protein content the better.
Mix a little start with boiling water until you’ve created a smoothy like consistency, you’ll probably have to keep adding water because it expands and gets gummy.
When it’s cooled enough that you can stick your finger in it but still warm fill the whole syringe, try to make sure there aren’t any big air pockets, this can be tricky.

When you’re done squat over her back so she can’t move but don’t sit on her. With one hand apply pressure to the corner of her mouth until she opens, then slide the tube down HER right side of the throat, it will be hard to see the lump sliding down because her feathers are fluffed so you’ll have to feel for it. When the end is near the base of her neck hit the plunger.
The faster you do this the easier it is and it’s less stressful it is on her.

 

[starrymutt]

While she’s on corid don’t give her any vitamins until she’s completed treatment.

You can try mixing her feed in water to make a soupy mash, sometimes this can encourage them to eat. Another thing to try if you have any banana is to give her one inch slices, if you dampen them then they slide down the throat fairly easily, she probably won’t like the texture if she’s never had banana before so you’ll have to shove it down her throat.


Not knowing what’s wrong makes treatment difficult but the position you’re in is pretty common for us backyard poultry owners so we do the best we can. Her symptoms are vague, it could be upper or lower respiratory, lower digestive infections can mimic lower respiratory infections, she’s fluffed and her neck being outstretched shows she is seriously sick and something in her abdomen could be hurting.
If it’s a fungal infection or internal bleeding unfortunately that isn’t something that ban be treated at home, both of those require veterinary care.

Otherwise her treatment will depend on trying to cover the more common causes, bacterial and parasite.

The best anti coccidia drugs are corid, Toltrazuril, and SMZTMP. Corid is easier to find than Toltrazuril unless you happen to know anyone with goats or a horse tack store in your area.
SMZTMP is a broad spectrum antibiotic that can knock out a lot of things as well as coccidia. It’s generally safe but should not be given with potassium rich foods, like banana.

Tylan/ Tylosin is another excellent antibiotic that will treat lower digestive disorders like clostridium and salmonella as well as respiratory infections like mycoplasma among others

Amoxicillin is effective against a lot of things but not as strongly against clostridium.

Baytril is a powerful broad spectrum antibiotic that will tackle a lot of things, though mycoplasma isn’t as sensitive to it as Tylosin.

If it’s worms, which is less likely in geese Fenbendazole “safeguard horse wormer” will treat most, it also treats Giardia to an extent. Ivermectin doesn’t really seem that effective on worms anymore.

Metronidazole is the main treatment for clostridium and Giardia.



Birdpal products has amox and corid among other things.
https://birdpalproducts.com/products/amoxicillin-capsules-250-mg?_pos=3&_sid=49addc133&_ss=r

https://birdpalproducts.com/products/corid-solution?_pos=1&_sid=16c7f3243&_ss=r



If she’s starts refusing to eat anything you’re going to have to start tube feeding her.

You’ll need a 60 ml catheter tip syringe and a catheter tube, something like this https://www.amazon.com/Pieces-Rubbe...&keywords=Catheter+tube&qid=1741132148&sr=8-6

You’ll need poultry start or game bird start, the higher the protein content the better.
Mix a little start with boiling water until you’ve created a smoothy like consistency, you’ll probably have to keep adding water because it expands and gets gummy.
When it’s cooled enough that you can stick your finger in it but still warm fill the whole syringe, try to make sure there aren’t any big air pockets, this can be tricky.

When you’re done squat over her back so she can’t move but don’t sit on her. With one hand apply pressure to the corner of her mouth until she opens, then slide the tube down HER right side of the throat, it will be hard to see the lump sliding down because her feathers are fluffed so you’ll have to feel for it. When the end is near the base of her neck hit the plunger.
The faster you do this the easier it is and it’s less stressful it is on her.

Thank you, this is super helpful. I started her tonight on Metzer Waterfowl Vitamin, she was eating a bit of the salad mix more but it seems like she picks it up, tries to chew and it just falls or gets caught on her beak. She also dug her beak into the mix and peas twice but didn't eat. She's trying though and drinking frequently, which I guess is good?

My other female is also now experiencing the liquid diarrhea but nothing else. I'll try the mesh though and hopefully they'll eat.

I know Ella, my sick one, has been eating a lot of sand/dirt and plywood. The nail incident was about a month or so ago, would that effect her now? I think it may be bacterial or viral? We have chickens and some have been sneezing but the geese also eat their raw eggs. I'm not sure which medicine to start with either. She seems alert and briefly active before she gets tired and just stands resting.

 

[Goosebaby]

Thank you, this is super helpful. I started her tonight on Metzer Waterfowl Vitamin, she was eating a bit of the salad mix more but it seems like she picks it up, tries to chew and it just falls or gets caught on her beak. She also dug her beak into the mix and peas twice but didn't eat. She's trying though and drinking frequently, which I guess is good?

My other female is also now experiencing the liquid diarrhea but nothing else. I'll try the mesh though and hopefully they'll eat.

I know Ella, my sick one, has been eating a lot of sand/dirt and plywood. The nail incident was about a month or so ago, would that effect her now? I think it may be bacterial or viral? We have chickens and some have been sneezing but the geese also eat their raw eggs. I'm not sure which medicine to start with either. She seems alert and briefly active before she gets tired and just stands resting.

Are any of your girls laying yet?

If the chickens are sneezing that sounds like something is going around, there are various viruses going around, including the dreaded HPAI, but HPAI is pretty severe for chickens especially so you probably would have noticed death, facial swelling, and nervous system issues if it was HPAI, so my guess is something more benign, maybe LPAI or a strain of mycoplasma or something else.

Eating dirt, sand, and wood chips “Pica” points to intestinal discomfort or a nutritional deficiency.


Knowing this maybe try getting Tylosin and corid. Tylosin will treat a host of respiratory disorders and some common intestinal infections, corid just incase it is still coccidia.

By any chance have you had a dog come down with giardia in the last several months?