Hi y’all. This is a post about the outcome of a strange mass a Sebastopol gosling was hatched with on the back of its neck. I’m posting to hopefully provide context and information for others who may run into this in the future or are dealing with it now. I did a lot of research in trying to understand what it might be and could not find any answers (which is understandable as masses/ lumps/ bumps can be difficult to diagnose without proper assessment firm a vet). The breeder thought it was possibly a feather cyst. However I soon learned that that’s not something that goslings are typically hatched with. The mass grew in size along with the goslings growth and started to swing/flop from side to side as the gosling wound would waddle/run around. I have attached some photos of the gosling starting at two days old , and as it grew to four weeks old right prior to surgery. The last photo is it two days post mass removal.
Upon first vet appointment at 3 weeks and palpation by the veterinarian, she confirmed that there was what appeared to be a small bone spur inside the mass attached to the vertebra in the neck, as well as what felt like feathers growing on the inside of the mass. Aside from that mass was very squishy and very light in “weight”, and was attached by only a small dime sized area to the neck. However, because there were possibly feathers growing on the inside of the mass, we made the decision to try and remove it, as those feathers eventually could cause infection.
3 days later the vet removed the mass with a local block and a little bit of sedative since the gosling is very use to being handled and cooperative. There were no feathers growing on the inside (thank goodness), only fat and that strange bone coming off the spine. She removed all of it except a little extra skin to suture back over the bone spur. The gosling was sent home with 3 days’ worth of pain relief and a Drs. note saying no swimming until the sutures come out in 10-14 days
.
So long story short. This was a congenital deformity (birth defect). Thankfully not malignant/ cancer. Unfortunately this bird is not suited to be used in my breeding program, but I’m very happy with the outcome as it should live a happy normal life as a yard pet going forward.
Btw- It’s name is Quazi - as in Quasimodo…but it no longer really fits now that it’s humpless
.
Upon first vet appointment at 3 weeks and palpation by the veterinarian, she confirmed that there was what appeared to be a small bone spur inside the mass attached to the vertebra in the neck, as well as what felt like feathers growing on the inside of the mass. Aside from that mass was very squishy and very light in “weight”, and was attached by only a small dime sized area to the neck. However, because there were possibly feathers growing on the inside of the mass, we made the decision to try and remove it, as those feathers eventually could cause infection.
3 days later the vet removed the mass with a local block and a little bit of sedative since the gosling is very use to being handled and cooperative. There were no feathers growing on the inside (thank goodness), only fat and that strange bone coming off the spine. She removed all of it except a little extra skin to suture back over the bone spur. The gosling was sent home with 3 days’ worth of pain relief and a Drs. note saying no swimming until the sutures come out in 10-14 days
. So long story short. This was a congenital deformity (birth defect). Thankfully not malignant/ cancer. Unfortunately this bird is not suited to be used in my breeding program, but I’m very happy with the outcome as it should live a happy normal life as a yard pet going forward.
Btw- It’s name is Quazi - as in Quasimodo…but it no longer really fits now that it’s humpless
.
