Help! sick/lame goose!

[cknlovinldy]

Ok. My 1 year old American Buff is lame on both legs. She seems very wobbly. No injury I could find. She was fine this morning. Mabey slowing down this afternoon, and when I tucked them in this evening she is Bad. No other signs of illness. All my other birds are fine including her mate. Should I try Niacin? How do I do this? It's late and I'm worried.

 

[8GeeseALaying]

Hi, niacin can be purchased at most pharmacys in the vitamin an supplement section. It comes in tablets, make sure to get the no flush kind or flush free. Crush one tablet per gallon of water. Also you can crush it and sprinkle it on their food, i would do both to get a good dose in her.
Brewers yeast is good , not to be confused with bakers yeast. You can find it at some feed stores and tractor supply if you are in the states. Brewers yeast is mixed 1 cup per 5 pounds of feed.
Also make sure they have regular access to grazing if they dont already. Grass has natural niacin in it too.
Hope your goose gets better!

 

[tillyita]

I would try the niacin if you have any on hand. It certainly wont hurt. Have you ruled out other poisons and toxins - even bites - spider/snake etc.

I had several geese do this all on the same day fairly recently (I ended up losing one because I didn't spot it in time). I added brewers yeast to the water for several days and locked them up - the rest all came good. I put it down to them eating more kikuya than normal due to them spending more time out - I was at home sick so they got a heap of extra time out of their pen.

I hope she recovers for you.

 

[livininbrazil]

I would try the niacin if you have any on hand. It certainly wont hurt. Have you ruled out other poisons and toxins - even bites - spider/snake etc.

I had several geese do this all on the same day fairly recently (I ended up losing one because I didn't spot it in time). I added brewers yeast to the water for several days and locked them up - the rest all came good. I put it down to them eating more kikuya than normal due to them spending more time out - I was at home sick so they got a heap of extra time out of their pen.

I hope she recovers for you.

Yillyita, how did you discover that Kikuya grass is no good for geese, re. niacin? here i have some lawn grass that´s very similar in looks, but it´s from E Asia, called Zoysia Japonica. the geese hardly touch it, they much prefer the grass in the marsh. I wondered if it may be a similar type of grass re. the niacin? How did you find out? Because I can´t find a site that gives this information.

 

[tillyita]

I would try the niacin if you have any on hand. It certainly wont hurt. Have you ruled out other poisons and toxins - even bites - spider/snake etc.


I had several geese do this all on the same day fairly recently (I ended up losing one because I didn't spot it in time). I added brewers yeast to the water for several days and locked them up - the rest all came good. I put it down to them eating more kikuya than normal due to them spending more time out - I was at home sick so they got a heap of extra time out of their pen.


I hope she recovers for you.

Yillyita, how did you discover that Kikuya grass is no good for geese, re. niacin?  here i have some lawn grass that´s very similar in looks, but it´s from E Asia, called Zoysia Japonica.  the geese hardly touch it, they much prefer the grass in the marsh.  I wondered Iif it may be a similar type of grass re. the niacin?  How did you find out?  Because I can´t find a site that gives this information.

Kikuya is a high oxalate grass. It doesn't actually cause niacin deficiency, it blocks the uptake of calcium into the body and robs the bones of calcium so that the animal eating it can digest the grass. This makes bones weak and prone to breaking. The muscles also need calcium to function properly and some of the first symptoms are very similar to niacin deficiency. Adding niacin to the diet eliminates one probable cause of the symptoms and keeping them off the pasture for a while eliminates the other.

Like niacin deficiency, young animals are more susceptible than older, and geese that have been laying are particularly at risk. It is the same "poison" that is found in rhubarb.

 

[cknlovinldy]

Thank you all! I will keep you updated.

 

[livininbrazil]

Kikuya is a high oxalate grass. It doesn't actually cause niacin deficiency, it blocks the uptake of calcium into the body and robs the bones of calcium so that the animal eating it can digest the grass. This makes bones weak and prone to breaking. The muscles also need calcium to function properly and some of the first symptoms are very similar to niacin deficiency. Adding niacin to the diet eliminates one probable cause of the symptoms and keeping them off the pasture for a while eliminates the other.

Like niacin deficiency, young animals are more susceptible than older, and geese that have been laying are particularly at risk. It is the same "poison" that is found in rhubarb.

Oh, ok, so it causes problems with calcium absorption. Thanks for that. Having something to go on, I googled high oxalate grasses and Zoysia isn´t one of them. And the other grass we have here, brachiaria, has 'negligible' amounts. OK. Thank you.

 

[cknlovinldy]

Well after a long night of worrying... She is fine this morning! What gives? I'm not convinced. She was super sick last night. We are in Wisconsin. It's been a very late spring not a ton of grass until this week. I feed a layer mix because I also have chickens. I also throw out scratch grains daily and left over greens from our kitchen. Fresh water daily. 2 sources and I keep the litter clean. (I hate nasty coops). I sprinkle barn lime and DE under the pine shavings. All my birds free range all day. What is up? Should I deworm? I put some electrolytes in one water source today. The non probiotic kind.

Also, I felt very helpless that I didn't have anything on hand last night. What sort of stuff do I need to have in an "avian first aid kit". If you will. Lol. I will put some niacin in it today!

 

[cknlovinldy]

Also can I just say that ya'll are amazing! Thank you!

 

[Iain Utah]

During this time of year, if a single female takes ill with no obvious explanation, I immediately think of reproductive issues. Did you get a hard shelled egg from her in the last two days? Study her poop. Does it appear that there is egg white/yolk mixed in with it? Keep a close eye to see if she falls ill again in two days.