HELP!!! Wheezing Gosling, Breathing Heavy, Sneezy

[ellenmartin]

Last night I noticed the gosling almost 3 weeks now with the crossbeak - which has been growing, eating and doing fine with no problems at all. NONE.

Last night he was shaking his head back and forth - and sneezing or snorting every now and then. Like "sniffles". I got up this morning to let everyone out and he came out wobbly he was covered in POO from one of the parents I guess and I took him in and washed him off warm towel/water/etc. He had poo all in his mouth from trying to clean it off of himself. It was bad.

I gave him a cup of water and he washed his nose beak out in it and some food and grass came out. He is breathing wheezing a bit now and not keeping up with others, tired.

So I picked him up and put him back in box and am giving him Sav-A-Chik - 1pkt/1gal mixture. I have warm towel in there with him and don't know what else to do.

Does he have an upper respitory problem wheezing/etc. Does he jsut have a hard time breathing with only 1 nostril and cross beak? Did the poo make him sick....

What do I give him and what should I do at this point?

 

[Denninmi]

I'd start him on antibiotics ASAP. Tylan is said to be really good for respiratory diseases in birds, but I've never used it - it's kind of pricey when I checked it out at TSC. I've used tetracycline or amoxycilin with good results on chickens and quail with respiratory symptoms.


Plus, be sure to keep him warm and give supportive care, electrolytes which it sounds like you're already doing, and try to get him to eat.

 

[ellenmartin]

What dosage of Tylan? He's drinking the V&E but still sitting down in the pen and not walking around with the others. Just sitting and pecking at grass and resting.

He had poo all over him and he had poo all in his mouth this morning. Don't know if he even rested last night or what but is real tired. He eats and drinks.

What is the dosage of Tylan that you'd give a gosling? (how much per gallon)

 

[beckschicks]

I just got done with a round of Tylan 50 for my goose which is a lot bigger. I got the injectible kind from TSC it was $10 for a HUGE bottle. As for dosage you are going to have to "guess" it is 2cc for every 6 lbs. I saw on here where they were giving .25 cc for bantams and .50 cc for full size chickens. What I read for waterfowl was give a full dose the first day and a 1/2 dose for a total of 5 days. Its not hard to give and they dont even finch. We chose the thigh because her problem was in the leg. I have seen people dripping it down their throats this same kind of Tylan so you might want to do some research on that. To me that is a lot harder than giving a shot. Do a little research on giving a shot or better yet if you know someone that gives their dogs their shots every year have them show you. Whatever you do you need to get on it these little guys go south pretty fast. Good luck.

 

[ellenmartin]

I got the Tylan 100g powder soluable - they said 1 tsp per gallon and let him drink that but the resident goose expert said he might not have a respitory issue - he had poop on him, poop in his mouth, etc. and may have been squished or stepped/sat on...... said to watch him today/tomorrow and if he's not better then do something....

He's a cross-beak so it's difficult to say if it's the cause or if he is just having a hard time in life.........

.... not feeling too good about raising geese. Why don't things go right for me?!! I love him, he's special but will break my heart if he dies.... he's trying and such a trooper.

 

[Goosehaven]

I'd just watch him a another day. He could have got some poop in his respiratory tract or the poop could have clogged his nostrils. If geese nostrils get clogged they absolutely have a hard time breathing. You're doing fine with your geese. Things happen that you can't control. One of my 3 week old goslings hurt his foot a couple days ago and is not doing so good either. He was just laying out in the hot sun today and was so weak he couldn't get up. i brought him back into the brooder to rest and to keep water and food close to him. The little ones just have a way of capturing your heart, even if it is "just a goose" as many of my relatives like to say to me

Good luck with your little one. It's a good sign he's still eating and drinking so hopefully with some rest and a little TLC he'll be okay.

 

[The goose girl]

My goose got a respiratory infection last year when he was about 8 weeks old. He was wheezy, sneezy, tired, and didn't clean and preen himself much. Whenever he tried to walk with me he would stop after a few yards, totally out of breath.

I took him to the vet, who gave him a shot and then I gave him Doxycyclin 100 mg. tablets, one a day for 14 days. The brand name was Ronaxan vet. I'm sorry, I don't remember what was in the shot, but I actually think it was just a painkiller.

He quickly recovered (2 or 3 days and he seemed himself again), but I continued the medication for the whole two weeks as prescribed. We went to the vet twice more for checkup and everything was fine. He hasn't had any problems since then.

Here he is at the vet for his last checkup visit:

 

[Ceinwyn]

I hope your little guy is feeling better soon.

Goosegirl....that pic is just adorable. Thanks for the smile.

 

[ellenmartin]

Thanks to all for words of support and help.... I loved the pic - made my bad day not seem so bad.

He only has 1 nostril - he is crossbeaked and the other side did not form. 1 nostril... and he shoves it down in the food and keeps getting food in it.... he clears it though...

I got him out and worked with him for a while.... he pooped a lot of grass today so he must be eating grass good and doing a little better. Yesterday his poop was brown and a little watery. I'm glad to see him alive this morning... I took him out sat with him for a while (might be a her, I don't know!) and it ate some flockraiser with mazzuri starter crumbles mixed shoveling them in his little beak and then drikning... shovel, drink, shovel, drink. I think it's how he has adapted to the crossbeak. Shovel and then wash it down with a little water. He can't close his beak - I'll get a pick online and start a thread on crossbeak gosling... I'm sure others have had this happen.

Still holding off the Tylan, and watching.... and worrying... and waiting.... unfortunately, this one has totally stolen my heart. I swore I wouldn't get attached because it didn't seem to have a chance. I remember him popping his head out from under Nanna when he was born and the first time I saw his little face. I was shocked immediatley because I had never seen something like that before, but he seemed to say "HI! Here I am!!!" and looked right at me and that's when it happened. I fell in love with his little personality and desire to survive and fight.

DANG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!