How about a Thread for Embdens?

[horsekeeper]

I used zip ties and landscape ties. All re-usable next year when I built something more substantial and easy to disassemble. Where I had to add wood bracing I used screws instead of nails. Every week I go with my daughter when she picks up horse hay and get 8 bales of mulch for $10. I will just keep adding until it is cozy enough and then spread it out on the unusable hillside in the spring.

 

[Miss Lydia]

They occasionally nip at the ducks, but don't chase them. I use two water tubs and that works. If it escalates I can add some hay and tarps in the other corner and separate them. In the spring I will be building again so the geese have their own space and a pasture. Those pekins have quite an attitude .

So do my Scovy's but the gander can bully all but one drake and he runs the show. someone posted awhile back about their geese killing one of their ducks so I always have that in the back of my mind, although my gander has lived peacefully with the ducks for going on 7 yrs now his attitude changed when I brought in a goose for him, So I watch him closely as long as he just drops his head and makes them move it's okay but he better keep his bill to himself. lol this his second mating season with his goose.

 

[livininbrazil]

Here is a picture of my gander's frostbite. He hatched deformed and my dvm did extensive corrective surgery. In the process, he severed circulation to the outside edge of foot, making my gander extremely prone to getting frostbite. As you can see, it looks dark bluish-purple.... almost black.
FYI, he lost his outer toenail last winter to frostbite.

With that said, it is not common for geese to get frostbite if given shelter and dry bedding. My Africans (who are more sensitive than other breeds) live outside 24/7 and do great with their setup.

Although the Africans may be more cold-sensitive, Spirit must already have a circulation problem in his foot due to the deformity, so he already has a tendency to frostbite, I would imagine...

 

[horsekeeper]

Agree Miss Lydia! I will be keeping a close eye on him when it starts to warm up and breeding season approaches. I think the geese are this year's hatch and the ducks are from last year, so maybe the relative maturity is a factor.

 

[goosiemama]

Oh this is great! How much brewers yeast do you give them? Mix it in their dry food? My Joey is older also and has some arthritis. Thanks for the help!

I have no idea what to tell you about how much brewers yeast. I just have Francie, a big embden, and Gabby a pekin. I crush up 5 people brewers yeast tablets and one glucosamine tablet each morning and sprinkle it on their food. I guess Gabby gets some of the glucosamine. but then again, I also give Gabby oyster shell and Francie doesn't seem to takeany, so maybe they are selective and just take what they need. I just experimented till Francie felt better. Hope Joey feels better.

 

[Kalsti]

Thanks all! Probably cheapist method is crushing the tabs....This is such helpful info for me!

 

[livininbrazil]

I have no idea what to tell you about how much brewers yeast. I just have Francie, a big embden, and Gabby a pekin. I crush up 5 people brewers yeast tablets and one glucosamine tablet each morning and sprinkle it on their food. I guess Gabby gets some of the glucosamine. but then again, I also give Gabby oyster shell and Francie doesn't seem to takeany, so maybe they are selective and just take what they need. I just experimented till Francie felt better. Hope Joey feels better.

Ask Ruru, she´s the whizz on Niacin (important vitamin B3 in Brewer´s Yeast)
Goosiemama, how many tablets are recommended for one person to take per day? That dosage seems quite high for a goose. Some vitamins we take get washed through if the body doesn´t need it, but others can cause a problem if we over-do it.

 

[RURU]

On the brewer's yeast it is one cup to 10 pounds of feed. It is early in the morning and I might be off a bit. Brewer's yeast has the niacin in it and the vitamin B.
Miss Lydia does the niacin tablets and puts it in the water buckets.

 

[Kalsti]

Hmmm....for just one 12 lb. Embden how much Brewers yeast should I give her in her dry food each day?

 

[Iain Utah]

kalsti, frostbite is extremely painful, which is why it is important to have metacam for pain relief.

brandi, we scoop the hay out every couple of weeks.

Per my vet, for a 15-20lb goose the daily dose for brewer's yeast is 1/2 teaspoon, glucosamine is 1 tablet, and fish oil is 1/2 capful. Of these three supplements, fish oil is my vet's absolute favorite for geese.