Injured Canada Goose. What should I do?

[HeatherKellyB]

Aww bless you both. It has to be so rewarding to earn his trust. He has to know you're helping him. Did CWR respond to the pictures you posted for them?

Well yes and no. The phone that I text with is always with someone different than the last time I spoke with them and that makes it more difficult. Plus the time of day seems to make a difference in if I'm going to get a reply or not. I know they're bombarded with people requesting help, so the last I heard was to bring him in whenever I capture him and let them know when I'm on the way. I just sent these pictures and haven't heard anything yet. The geese haven't showed up yet today but Billie has been here every other day regularly. I wish he would come everyday but at least he's eating! Plus he must be eating something on the days he's not here because his poop looks good even before he eats (if that makes sense).

Actually I spoke too soon, I can see them through the forest walking in their single file line heading towards the pond

 

[NanaK]

Actually I spoke too soon, I can see them through the forest walking in their single file line heading towards the pond

 

[Miss Lydia]

That's so precious

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I heard back CWR and they said as long as Billie is eating and seems to be doing well, he might be fine staying in the wild. She said they'd take him but not to stress about it because she wasn't worried about him. If he takes a downwards turn, to get some help to get him to them. She said they'd really like to help Winnie (goose with problematic wing) and wants me to try hard to catch her and bring her in. I told her that she isn't a regular visitor unfortunately, but I'm going to try catching her next time she shows up.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I did mention what @MGG said and she was enthusiastic about getting Winnie in there for treatment. Unfortunately Winnie is very shy and keeps a lot of distance from me and most of the other geese. I suspect she only ends up here after the other geese take flight and she's left to find other land bound geese to spend the day with I'm happy I heard back from them and love what I heard.

Another thing I forgot to mention the other day..... The first day Billie was here, he was running away from the others. His only focus was eating. Yesterday, he actually went back after a goose that tried to run him off from his bucket That made me think that he must be feeling stronger and able to stand his ground. I always try to keep other geese away from him while he eats, but going back and forth between the 2 buckets made it more difficult. I'm still surprised and I don't want them to fight, but knowing that he's confident enough to even consider standing up to another goose makes me think every single ounce of him isn't focused on eating now. So I don't think he's starving anymore

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

I heard back CWR and they said as long as Billie is eating and seems to be doing well, he might be fine staying in the wild. She said they'd take him but not to stress about it because she wasn't worried about him. If he takes a downwards turn, to get some help to get him to them.

Did you tell them that he’s only eating well because you’ve been feeding him from a bucket?

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Did you tell them that he’s only eating well because you’ve been feeding him from a bucket?

Yes. She said that as long as I see him eat from the bucket that she's not that concerned. I'd like to know he's eating every single day instead of every other day though. So I'm still keeping a close eye on him and will catch him if the opportunity arises. I think he's not an emergency in their eyes since he is eating some. It seems like they were worried about getting him trained to eat from a bucket mostly. I might be wrong though

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Any ideas on some more economical options for feeding geese? They seem to prefer flock Raiser Pellets or duck Pellets but with the prices nowadays, I can't continue that. There's no way I could or would just stop feeding them but there are so many that I can't keep up with the feed. I'm still giving cracked and whole corn but some of them, specifically the most recently hatched (yet fully feathered and pretty much little adults at this age) and each of those family units prefer Pellets. Y'all know how intelligent geese are, so I'll toss out the cracked and whole corn and those little stinkers will act offended It's like I can see their brains thinking, "Dummy! You know we're here for the good stuff. Gimme some pellets! Now!". Even with those that eat the corn, and the so called entitled geese will eat some corn, but they mostly want pellets, I'm going through 50lbs of corn every 2 to 2.5 days. Sometimes they don't eat everything I toss out so I've noticed some bunnies cleaning up the leftovers as well as 2 fawns along with their mamas. I've read that some people feed rabbit pellets and some horse Pellets but the information I've found is conflicting. Any ideas? Thank you so much for your time

The OG goose that started my love for these feathered friends, Gooslyn, is back this morning. I haven't seen him in quite a while so I'm pretty thrilled to see him here. I was starting to worry about him but he's hopping along just fine. His feathers look pretty rough from being bullied so much, but he'll be good as new with a molt. He is the reason I am so hesitant capturing these geese and sending them to a life of captivity. I can't stand the thought of any of them suffering in the wild so I'm not against it by any means. Thanks again for everything!

 

[NanaK]

Is there a feed mill anywhere near you? You can usually get a better deal on feed from a mill if you have some barrels or large cans to store it in. Some mills also bag them.

If they are going to remain wild birds maybe you should help them out some but let them forage for most of their needs. I know you are trying to make sure those special geese get enough to eat. It's difficult to feed 2-3 and not have the other's join in too. If you are like me, if it looks hungry, I feed it!

I would think all commercial feeds have increased in price and rabbit or horse pellets would still be higher than plain corn and other pet foods as well.

I give my chickens stuff from my garden too. They don't get to free range out into the yard. So I try to give them greens as often as I can. I grow a bit extra to give them. Lots of greens will grow well into winter here. Collards are very hardy. You can crop bottom leaves and let the plant continue to grow to have greens most of the winter. Pretty easy to grow and my birds love them. They are also very good for them and you. I have saved collard seed for many years from some passed down to me by my FIL. I'd be glad to send you seed if you'd like. I probably have other seeds as well I can share if you want to give it a try. Just let me know.

 

[NanaK]

PS LOVE your new profile pic!