New here and need advise on beak injury

[ravengirl09]

Ok, so we have 5 geese now. 2 boys, 1 momma, and 2 babies. There has been a coyote coming around quite a bit, that snagged one of our ducks, and 5 of our neighbor's geese. His geese are mild, and sweet, our geese are mean, and don't take anything from anyone.... So.... It's no surprise that they have fought off this coyote 3 times now. 1: when momma had her eggs. 2: when their babies were a few days old (they lost 1 baby to it.) & 3: just last night. This last time left momma with some nasty wounds! Her bottom bill was torn down the middle and only the right side works. The left side just hangs open and doesn't work now, which made it almost impossible for her to eat.

We brought her inside, put a bit of hydrogen peroxide on the under side of the injury, and put the beak back together with super glue (it's what we use when we get bad cuts that are just shy of needing stiches

) And she faired pretty good after that. She was eating, drinking....... and scolding the babies...... and on one of her baby nips, she broke it again.... Is there anything stronger you suppose we could use? or other options to allow her to eat?

We had first gotten these geese for free, and were going to turn them into dinners, but then they scared teenagers off our property at 3 am, had babies, fought off coyotes, and had proven themselves to be more than just mean, 30 lb birds.....They are people, that would go to the ends of the earth to protect thier family..... I mean, wouldn't you?

So, in the end, they are "just geese", but we would like to find another way to help our friend Vodka. (Named for the Grey Goose Vodka) It would be nice if we didn't have to spend a small fortune on her, but, we understand if there isn't any other way.

 

[scratch'n'peck]

Ideally trying something like a dental epoxy would be good. There is a product called Dentemp that temporarily covers a lost filling or re-cements a loose crown. My husband got this at the drug store (I think it is available at CVS or Walgreens.), but never used it. I will keep it around for bird beaks just in case.

Another possibility is a hoof epoxy. either epoxy would be strengthened if you used a patch over it to help keep the two sides of the bill together and keep it stable.

Betadine or Vetrycin are other disinfectant options that help healing better than peroxide.

I hope your goose improves.

 

[ravengirl09]

Thank you for that! I will take a look at those and see what we can do.

 

[Pretty Pony]

One of my Sebasopols ganders was injured last night. Looks like something grabbed his beak through the fence and he has puncture wounds. I cleaned it with a wound cleaner but there are two big flaps of beak still attached I think I will need to cut off. The gander is still active, but I locked him up alone tonight so I can keep treating him...
Don't mean to steal your thread...

 

[Miss Lydia]

One of my Sebasopols ganders was injured last night. Looks like something grabbed his beak through the fence and he has puncture wounds. I cleaned it with a wound cleaner but there are two big flaps of beak still attached I think I will need to cut off. The gander is still active, but I locked him up alone tonight so I can keep treating him...
Don't mean to steal your thread...

Aww sorry to hear this, I hope he heals quickly with out problems. Might want to put up hardware cloth to keep anything from being able to reach through and grab.

 

[Pretty Pony]

I am going to take some photos in the morning, doctor him again, then let him out with the flock. He is not happy by himself. He seem to have a couple of "Chunks" that were not coming off but will slough off eventually. I was just glad he was still wanting to eat.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I am going to take some photos in the morning, doctor him again, then let him out with the flock. He is not happy by himself. He seem to have a couple of "Chunks" that were not coming off but will slough off eventually. I was just glad he was still wanting to eat.

i don't know what wound cleaner is but it sounds like good stuff, I think as long as you keep it clean and he'll probably do it for you by washing, it should heal fine. I use Veterycin for wounds it's pretty pricey but great stuff and can be used safely around their mouth and eyes. Keep us updated please. You may already do this but adding some ACV to the bucket will help to keep the wound clean too.

 

[ravengirl09]

I don't know if this helps you with your situation, but our girl goose who was hurt has healed up nicely..... We used hoof apoxy, and I hand fed her those first 2 days or so. After that, I think the pain in her face and head went away, and she started eating at the grass and eating her gain like normal again. I'm glad she's all good an well. I hope this helps with your guy!! Good Luck!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I don't know if this helps you with your situation, but our girl goose who was hurt has healed up nicely..... We used hoof apoxy, and I hand fed her those first 2 days or so. After that, I think the pain in her face and head went away, and she started eating at the grass and eating her gain like normal again. I'm glad she's all good an well. I hope this helps with your guy!! Good Luck!

Thats great news.. But please don't assume that your geese will be able to keep the coyote at bay for ever, eventually it will get one then it will come back for the rest. A safe barn or goose house would keep them protected at night when most preds are on the lookout for an easy meal. Gees are not equipped to deal with such a predator of that size, even a raccoon can kill a goose.

 

[Pretty Pony]

I think it was a dog trying to pull his head through the fence. This gander is getting very protective on his goose already and will even hiss and bite at my cogs when they get too close. I have been locking them up at night in one of the protected runs. He is out and doing well after a couple of days of stall rest. He just looks bad now...