Newly hatched gosling won't eat or drink

[loopy12]

This is a continuation of the most awful hatch ever...with poor hatch rates, dying chicks, a dead duckling and now a stubborn gosling. Sigh.

So he hatched about 45 hours ago. He had a hard hatch and in the end I assisted him until he could release himself from the egg. No bleeding, all yolk was absorbed. After 12 hours in the incubator I took him out. His neck was all twisty, and his head keep lolling to the side. If unsupported he would give a shove with his legs and flip on to his back. When he tried to hold up his head he shook as if his head was really heavy. He couldn't stand at all. I put him in the brooder to see if he'd recover. I tried making a neck brace but he kept slipping it off. 6 hours later and his legs were now spraddled too so I taped them up and gave him some electrolyte water and sugar water. By last night he was holding his head up much better, but still refusing to even drink off a dropper - I had to force his beak open and drip it in.

So, preparing for the worst I put him under the brooder again and went to bed.
This morning I was impressed to see his head is fully up and looking normal, no flopping at all. He is also up on his feet, not even hocks but feet - and walking around fairly well. (Well he does a quick run then trips over his feet and sprawls, but he is mobile certainly and posture is correct, and even standing still he is fine, though a slight wobble)

BUT he is still refusing to eat or drink on his own. I am still feeding him the electrolyte and sugar solution every few hours, but only get a few drops down him at a time, and I still have to force open his beak to do so. He is in with a duckling and chicks but when they feed he follows them but then just stands there peeping. I've dipped his beak multiple times, I've pecked with my fingers, I've poked some crumbs onto his tongue. What else can I do? I'm not set up to crop tube him, and moreover if he won't feed himself ultimately then I shouldn't try anything like that.

I think he suffered some neurological damage during the hatch, possibly water on the brain, or brain swelling that is improving. His balance is improving by the hour, and he looks so much better, but will he start to eat and drink? When the yolk runs out will something trigger hunger? Is there hope for him? He's come such a long way already...

 

[loopy12]

I've managed to get a two tiny mouthfuls of boiled egg yolk down him this evening that he voluntarily pecked at, swallowed, then lost interest, but its the first time he's eaten anything on his own...

 

[3riverschick]

Quote: =========
If you have a Tractor Supply or feed store near you, check and see if they have any Poultry Nutri-Drench in stock. This top flight emergency nutritional supplement does not need digesting. It shunts directly to the bloodstream. Great for fowl which are stressed, needy, won't eat, etc. I have used it on my chickens and the Pet Nutri-Drops on my dogs for years. Love the stuff. 50 percent uptake in 15 minutes. Very concentrated, you only need a single drop by mouth for babies. I give it to my chicks the first 6 weeks of life at 2cc per gallon. For needy birds, you can use 4cc per gallon, but it they find it to potent a taste , backing down to 2cc per gallon will give good results. Here's their website. http://www.bovidr.com/poultry.html I actually found Tractor Supply to have the lowest price in the Nation at circa 7.00 for the 4 oz. bottle with eye dropper measure. 4 oz. lasts a long time.
Best,
Karen

 

[loopy12]

Many thanks - they don't have anything like that here, but I will order some online for future use - good to know. The attitude around here is a down to earth "if it doesn't eat it will die".
However...
When I peeped in the brooder this morning, full of dread, I was shocked to see him eating - properly pecking, from the proper feeder. He didn't eat a great deal but he's at least getting the idea now. I was overjoyed. He's still a little wobbly, and he still has the spraddle brace on, but he's come so so far in 4 days. I've not seen him drink, but I haven't been watching constantly. My hopes are back up for the little guy now

 

[loopy12]

Now he's learnt to peck he's a positive menace. Lol. My previously peaceful brooder that used to echo with the trilling of contented chicks is now resounding with periodic yelps and squeals and alarm calls as he pecks everything in sight, particularly anything with contrast like the stripey chick's tail. Luckily they are faster than he is...

 

[settingdusk]

YAY! I wanna see the cute lil bugger.

 

[loopy12]

Here he is:
Ozzie the gosling...now doing great, eating, drinking and waddling around just fine after such a rough start




On a sad note though his mother was killed two days ago sadly. She went broody and built a nest right along our perimeter fence - a very poor choice of location in retrospect. We think it was a large dog (at least Labrador size) that managed to rip the fence out from the ground, push the fence up and grabbed her. All that was left was about 20 wing feathers, a few fluffy feathers and some bent down grass
We've fixed the breach in the fence but the other two geese have been very subdued ever since

 

[settingdusk]

Aw that sucks. Yay for the chick though. You could put some areas closer to the middle of your enclosure, like a bush or something. That way if your geese decide to go broody again they won't pick the fence. Also clear the vegetation from the edges of your enclosure to take away hiding spots for predators and keep the geese away.

 

[loopy12]

Update: Ozzie at 3.5 weeks

and with best friend Bananas...