Limping Goose, Protective Friends

Enchanted Sunrise Farms

Crowing
12 Years
Apr 26, 2007
4,255
64
274
Fair Oaks, California
i have three Sebastopol Geese that are about 6-7 months old. They've been together since they were babies. They are kinda sorta friendly, but also a bit shy and skitterish. Jeanne started limping about a week ago. i picked her up to check her feet, at which point, her friends went crazy. It was like they were screaming "PUT HER DOWN! PUT HER DOWN!!!". Didn't see anything wrong with her feet, so decided to take her to my vet a few days later when the limping got worse. That was another very loud fiasco.

My vet thinks it may be a sprain. She prescribed metacam for pain and then Vitamin C in case the limping is being caused by gout. She said i should isolate her and limit her walking. i took her back home, where i could hear her friends still calling for her. i put her in a hutch in our family room. But once they could hear each other, their calls got louder and more frantic. i finally gave up and put them all inside their pen, where Jeanne's walking would be limited, but they could all be together.

Now i have to give Jeanne pain meds each day, and she is acting terrified of me. i don't know how to calm her down and make her less afraid. These are my first geese and i am surprised at how attached they are to each other, and also how sensitive. When i've had to pull chickens out to tend to them, their friends don't seem to care - same with our ducks.

Any suggestions on how to help them be less scared of me?
 
Hi

Well I'd be amazed if it was gout in such a young bird but did the Vet do a check X Ray? I'd also keep a watch on the underside of the foot in case there's an infection developing. Just keep them together and limit the whole groups' activities while the one with the suspected sprain rests.

Im afraid its just time and trust but they should eventually recognise that you're the one that feeds them though at the moment they're inter-acting as a group. When medicating just be firm but fair and its gets the job done quickly
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Best of luck

Pete
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Thanks, Pete. My vet can do an x-ray but wanted to try rest and pain meds first. With the gout, she was just pondering all possibilities. We've checked the feet several times, and no breaks or infections. The problem seems to be at the joint by the foot. i see her holding it out a lot. i go back Monday for a re-check, and my vet may put a brace on it to stabilize it while it heals.

i guess i need to spend as much time possible just sitting in the pen with them. Maybe offering treats by hand. They have never been aggressive with me. They surely don't like being picked up, though.
 
It does sound like a sprain on that joint and rest should help a lot
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We've a very firendly young Dewlap but she doesnt like to be picked up either
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Pete
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Vitamin C won't hurt the rest of them, so that can be put into the drinking water. There is no other option than to catch the goose for the pain meds.

I wouldn't pick her up. I'd pin her to the ground and give the meds. They don't like being pinned down but it is better than being picked up.

There is not much you can do but to be very calm and get it over with as quickly as possible. I don't even bother to be soothing. I'm the flock boss. I'm going to do it. You are going to submit to it. End of discussion. That sort of thing, a goose can understand.
 
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Maybe if you breed them you can make a pet of a youngster and enjoy a closer relationship
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Another lady on a Sebastopol forum has a pet gander and he's like a house dog!!! Do keep us updated about any changes and hopefully improvements
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Pete
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I have had friendly geese but none that liked to be picked up, I had one female goose that had lost her mate (I think she might have been courting me) that would give a tug on my pants cuff and then squat doun in front of me. If I sat down on the ground or a chair she would climb into my lap and sit there as long as I would let her. She loved to be petted or strached on the head or upper neck and would put up with other areas too as long as I returned to her neck once in a while. She found a new mate and produced 6 goslings the following spring and if I lay down she would bring the goslings over to play on me while she dozed in the sun. the goslings didn't like being picked up either, they would make a alarm call and the whole flock would run over to see what was wrong.
 

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