My African geese (2 ganders) are sick what do I need?

[Harry Rooster]

Question...Are you supposed to shake the bottle of Penicillin before you draw it out for a shot. Need a quick answer please.

 

[RURU]

YES, shake it well so it mixes up then draw it out for the shot...

 

[Harry Rooster]

It does say on the bottle that you are supposed to shake it, but it also says it is supposed to be room temperature and I've had it in the fridge. Is it imperative that it be room temperature?

 

[Harry Rooster]

Will it hurt anything if it is cold? May can warm it up a bit by holding it or putting it beside the heat lamp I have on my baby chicks.

 

[Harry Rooster]

RuRu, can it be cold or does it have to be warm?

 

[Harry Rooster]

Well, finally got one of them done. Got Henry, the lethargic one. Weighed him on the digital scale. He was very still since he's so weak and sick. He weighs 10 lbs so I gave him a little over .5 ml. He was great. Tried to squirt some fish oil into his mouth but he wouldn't open up at all. Was so glad I was able to do it. I just hope I gave it in the right place. I gave it just to my right of the breast bone above the leg. Forgot to rub it in afterward though until after we had already put him back down. Hope that wasn't imperative to do. I will remember next time to do that. So glad I was able to do it. I can't believe I did it though.

So hope the dosage was right and the spot where I gave it was right. Still so scared that I may have done something wrong. I watched the chicken shot video again before I did it to make sure I was drawing the medication right and all of that, like getting out the air bubbles and all. I won't really feel confident about it until I see him recovering or getting better some. I did discover what his poop looks like also cause he pooped while we were weighing him. It was extremely watery and bright green, so from what I was told about that, it seems that this is an indication of an infection for sure, I think she said a bacterial infection makes it bright green. So we got several things accomplished with this. Found out his weight, gave the medication, and discovered what his poop looked like. Hope this may give everyone a better idea of what may be wrong with Henry. Didn't get to Scarface yet. Going to get him in the morning. He is going to be lively!! So it will be a completely different experience with him I'm afraid. Keep praying!

Thanks y'all!

 

[Starfire669]

Well done Harry! Penicillin is a great antibiotic so if it is a bacterial infection he should start to show improvement soon. You will most likely have to give him more shots though. Good food, a warm shelter, and your tender loving care will give him his best chance for total recovery. The reason you don't give penicillin shots cold is because of how thick it is. We jokingly called it the peanut butter shot when I was active duty. It being cold makes it that much harder and more painful while injecting.

Hope you are able to get Scarface done soon, and that you can get a better look at those lesions on his face. Take a pic of them if you can before cleaning. Check also if he has pus, if he has a lot of pus boils you should drain what you can to reduce the burden on his immune system. It's OK if you can't drain them all at once, that would be very stressful on both of you. But do a couple each time you clean him and you will eventually have gotten them all.

I would recommend taking treats with you. Don't know if it works on geese but when I have to do something my dogs and cats don't like I give them treats after to make amends. It worked great for training them to let me cut their nails and for adminstering medications, anyway lol. (my dogs have talented mouths, they can strip all the good stuff from a pill and spit it out! So now I have to stick my hand down their throats to make sure it's gone. With an 80lb rottie who needs lots of TLC, thems some BIG teeth!)

Good luck! We are praying for you guys.

 

[Iain Utah]

Great job, Harry!! If bacterial, I would expect Henry to respond fast to penicillin. Good luck with Scarface and don't forget to take a lot of pics in the process.

FYI.... my white goose is recovering. She finally was able to get membrane out of her vent overnight and is much perkier this morning!

 

[Starfire669]

That's wonderful news Utah! I'm so happy for you and her. Let's hope she continues to improve.

Harry even if you see a big improvement overnight, keep your ganders on antibiotic for 10 days minimum to make sure you kill all the bacteria. Taking them off too soon can cause the bacteria to come back much worse, resistant to penicillin!

 

[Iain Utah]

FYI, your ganders' poop should be green, since they eat a lot of grass/greens. Most shades of green are normal. It is a bright pistachio lime shade that may indicate a problem.