Need help/advice for goose not eating and wobbly

[casportpony]

Sorry, didn't have my glasses on, lol.

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

Here is a post from @needlessjunk

Source: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1011195/fecal-testing

I got some pictures of the feeding and worming today. My 4 year old took the pics and I think he did pretty well. First up is Rocky my cayuga whom I'm the most worried about. The 35mL of Kaytee Exact bird food mixed at 1 part food to 2 parts (plus a little more) water. Also mixed in is the wormer and extra air in the syringe to ensure all the mix is given and nothing is left in the line when done feeding.










Now it is time for Skye, my welsh harlequin. She is getting about 10mL of food plus the wormer. I used just water last time but I had extra food made and she has lost a little weight a well.

Just an update. Rocky is feeling much better and has a horse quack now. That is an improvement over not quacking at all. She also ran from me tonight when I tried to catch her. We are up to 55mL of food and she is handling it very well. I'll give her a full 60mL tomorrow morning and won't be able to give her another feeding till that night. She has been actively foraging.

Skye is also doing better. Not very much panting today even with the heat index of 107*. In the middle of the day they all started to pant a bit but once the sun went down they stopped. She also had one coughing fit this morning but that has been it.

Also my 4 year old wants to put the tube down her now. He is a bit young still but he knows where it does and doesn't go. It goes to the stomach on the side not down the middle to the lungs. Those were his words. Both kids are great at using the syringe and administering the food while I hold the tube in place. If anyone is reading this and is wondering if they can do it, yes you can!

-Kathy

 

[Free Spirit]

Those pictures are actually helping me feel better. I've searched the house, barn, even the pump house for the heat lamp. Can't find it yet. Opened the door to the shed but you can't even step foot in there as it's so full. I'm still looking. We have two. I found one without a bulb. We have two bulbs a regular one and a red one. I'm sure he put them in a safe place where they won't get broken. The question is where

.

 

[casportpony]

You might want to go to her thread and comment on her pictures there.

-Kathy

 

[Free Spirit]

It's coming to the end of day 10.

She has been drinking plenty but did not eat...again

. Hubby came home and we now have her in the confinement area with a heat lamp in there. She can choose to sit under it or move to the other side if she feels too warm. There is also water in there with her so she can stay hydrated.

But now I'm terrified. When moving the waterer in there with her the "S" hook I used to attach it to the chain fell off. I had first put the waterer outside the house temporarily so I could hook the chain first then brought it in so I could hook it to the bottom part. So somewhere between where it was hanging and the outside of the house it fell off. So it's either in the straw or the one of the other birds already ate it. It is pretty large to just swallow but it is possible. I searched and searched until it got too dark to see. I'm now crying on the inside because I don't know if I could have just created another potential problem

.

 

[Miss Lydia]

It's coming to the end of day 10.

She has been drinking plenty but did not eat...again

. Hubby came home and we now have her in the confinement area with a heat lamp in there. She can choose to sit under it or move to the other side if she feels too warm. There is also water in there with her so she can stay hydrated.

But now I'm terrified. When moving the waterer in there with her the "S" hook I used to attach it to the chain fell off. I had first put the waterer outside the house temporarily so I could hook the chain first then brought it in so I could hook it to the bottom part. So somewhere between where it was hanging and the outside of the house it fell off. So it's either in the straw or the one of the other birds already ate it. It is pretty large to just swallow but it is possible. I searched and searched until it got too dark to see. I'm now crying on the inside because I don't know if I could have just created another potential problem

.

Do you have a magnet on a long handle? I bought one this year when I dropped a few screws and couldn't find them. We got this one at Harbor Freight. So sorry I hope no one finds it..

 

[Free Spirit]

I do and was using a wand type magnet from Harbour Freight. After 15 minutes of not finding it with the magnet I started shaking the straw out with a rake hoping that maybe it would fall through to the ground. I worked at it for about 45 minutes but it was getting so dark. Being a cloudy day it got darker faster this evening. By the time we got the heat lamp set up and trying to find that S hook we didn't get a chance to tube feed.

The minute hubby gets home tomorrow we're going to try and feed her. After I get back from another Doctors appointment and getting the baby formula tomorrow (Wednesday) I'll rake out the entire pen and replace all the straw. I'll either find the hook or it will end up in the compost and I'll never know what happened to it. I will be so depressed and won't be able to forgive myself if another bird gets sick because it ate an S hook. They are crimped onto the chains but it had come loose.

It's been a difficult week. Diamond's health is the main issue I'm trying to handle, but there have been other issues that I'm trying to handle on top of that. I have not discussed the other things because right now Diamond is my #1 priority. But all of this is starting to take hold of my health too. If I can just get Diamond back on track before I completely collapse I'll feel a whole lot better.

.

 

[casportpony]

I do and was using a wand type magnet from Harbour Freight. After 15 minutes of not finding it with the magnet I started shaking the straw out with a rake hoping that maybe it would fall through to the ground. I worked at it for about 45 minutes but it was getting so dark. Being a cloudy day it got darker faster this evening. By the time we got the heat lamp set up and trying to find that S hook we didn't get a chance to tube feed.

The minute hubby gets home tomorrow we're going to try and feed her. After I get back from another Doctors appointment and getting the baby formula tomorrow (Wednesday) I'll rake out the entire pen and replace all the straw. I'll either find the hook or it will end up in the compost and I'll never know what happened to it. I will be so depressed and won't be able to forgive myself if another bird gets sick because it ate an S hook. They are crimped onto the chains but it had come loose.

It's been a difficult week. Diamond's health is the main issue I'm trying to handle, but there have been other issues that I'm trying to handle on top of that. I have not discussed the other things because right now Diamond is my #1 priority. But all of this is starting to take hold of my health too. If I can just get Diamond back on track before I completely collapse I'll feel a whole lot better.

.

Be sure to give fluids first an repeat in 60-90 minutes. Do this even though you've seen her drink. I know you'll be tempted to give her food, but trust me, it's much better this way. Call me when you get ready to do it (will send my number in a PM).

-Kathy

 

[Miss Lydia]

I do and was using a wand type magnet from Harbour Freight. After 15 minutes of not finding it with the magnet I started shaking the straw out with a rake hoping that maybe it would fall through to the ground. I worked at it for about 45 minutes but it was getting so dark. Being a cloudy day it got darker faster this evening. By the time we got the heat lamp set up and trying to find that S hook we didn't get a chance to tube feed.

The minute hubby gets home tomorrow we're going to try and feed her. After I get back from another Doctors appointment and getting the baby formula tomorrow (Wednesday) I'll rake out the entire pen and replace all the straw. I'll either find the hook or it will end up in the compost and I'll never know what happened to it. I will be so depressed and won't be able to forgive myself if another bird gets sick because it ate an S hook. They are crimped onto the chains but it had come loose.

It's been a difficult week. Diamond's health is the main issue I'm trying to handle, but there have been other issues that I'm trying to handle on top of that. I have not discussed the other things because right now Diamond is my #1 priority. But all of this is starting to take hold of my health too. If I can just get Diamond back on track before I completely collapse I'll feel a whole lot better.

.

Hang in there I'm hoping all you all are doing will pay off with Diamond back to good health. You too.

 

[Free Spirit]

What a long morning. I overslept and rushed to get the birds out of the house and onto doctors and Petsmart. I got the Kaytee Exact baby bird formula as pictured on the tube feeding thread. Also picked up some of the silicone airline tubing I saw on needlessjunk's thread because it looked a bit more flexible and softer. I think I'm ready to do this when hubby finally gets home from work.

The minute I got home I started cleaning out the birds house in hopes to find that S hook (plus it was due to be cleaned anyway). Even ran the magnet over again afterwards. No luck. Meanwhile... Diamond is firmly tapping her bill at the confinement area door and yelling and honking loudly at me saying (if she could actually formulate words) "let me the H.E. double toothpicks out of here, NOW! I finally opened the door and she rushed past me into the main part of the house. I reached to grab a flake of straw and low and behold there is the S hook. It was in with Diamond the whole time (couldn't have been in a safer place all considering, LOL). I AM SO RELIEVED it has been found

.

I scrubbed out her waterer and gave her some fresh Corid mixture with warm water which she seems to like. She is back to drinking quite a bit again. I also got a weight on her and she is a wee bit over 4 lbs. I know she has lost weight but I don't know what a healthy 6 mo. old goose should weigh and there is no possibility to catch Blackfoot for comparison (I tried). But Diamond has always been visually larger than Blackfoot even though they are exactly the same age. They were both one day old when they arrived.

And while she is still not eating (It's day 11 now) she is still feisty, lively, perky, and talkative. She is also getting very comfortable with me handling her. Her poops are back to runny/clear/watery and I am looking forward to trying to get some food into her. I do fear for her lack of nutrition. I cannot believe how hardy she is - she's one tough bird.

That's all for now. More to come later when I have more news.