Normal Goose Behavior or Should I worry?

[EnsignIdonia]

He's on doxycycline 100mg twice a day. We crush it, mix it with as little water as possible and use a syringe to put it in the back of his mouth as slowly but quickly as possible. It smells and tastes gross I'm sure.

The feeding sounds stressful but my spouse says they'll help. I'm watching him nibble at the grass and ground. He's drinking and splashing his face with more energy. He was in their house before the other geese and had himself tucked into a loaf, head under wing. He's strolling slowly around and keeping his head bent/ low toward his back. He's very intent on grit and stones.

The vet felt his crop and looked in his mouth last Wed but I'm concerned there might be something still there. I think I'm a bit paranoid I missed something.

He managed to avoid me with more energy this morning but once I had him corralled he just tucked his head behind my arm. No honks, hissing, flaps or bites. he's normally a love bug but this seemed different to me. His eyes are clearer though.

I'm sorry for the dump but I just don't know if I'm giving the right info or missing something.

 

[EnsignIdonia]

He climbed into one of the water bowls and kind of splashed/preened more than I've seen in awhile.

He's soaking up the sun and looked like he was dozing with his eyes closed, standing up.

 

[Goosebaby]

He's on doxycycline 100mg twice a day. We crush it, mix it with as little water as possible and use a syringe to put it in the back of his mouth as slowly but quickly as possible. It smells and tastes gross I'm sure.

The feeding sounds stressful but my spouse says they'll help. I'm watching him nibble at the grass and ground. He's drinking and splashing his face with more energy. He was in their house before the other geese and had himself tucked into a loaf, head under wing. He's strolling slowly around and keeping his head bent/ low toward his back. He's very intent on grit and stones.

The vet felt his crop and looked in his mouth last Wed but I'm concerned there might be something still there. I think I'm a bit paranoid I missed something.

He managed to avoid me with more energy this morning but once I had him corralled he just tucked his head behind my arm. No honks, hissing, flaps or bites. he's normally a love bug but this seemed different to me. His eyes are clearer though.

I'm sorry for the dump but I just don't know if I'm giving the right info or missing something.

It sounds like he may be gradually getting better. Have you tried offering him his feed as a soupy mash? It can sometimes encourage them to eat.

 

[EnsignIdonia]

He climbed into one of the water bowls and kind of splashed/preened more than I've seen in awhile.

He's soaking up the sun and looked like he was dozing with his eyes closed, standing up.

I'm making that now with some warm water. He's genuinely eating balls of dirt.

 

[Goosebaby]

Also I was wondering about the antibiotic because I was worried you were going to say it was Azithromycin considering the vet prescribed him only 3 days worth. Azithromycin can damage the heart if there’s a nutritional imbalance.

Doxycycline is much safer, it can be slow acting sometimes but it is powerful.

 

[Goosebaby]

I'm making that now with some warm water. He's genuinely eating balls of dirt.

That can be either from a deficiency or his stomach/ intestines hurt from an infection or parasite. The tests came back negative but thats common if they were done when the bug/bacteria wasn’t shedding at the moment.

 

[EnsignIdonia]

Update:

We made a vet appointment to rule out ingested metal or foreign object or poisoning. He just kept falling asleep and avoiding his flockmates. We set clean grit near his food and some in food mixed heavily with water to make a thin oatmeal.

So of course Sunday he was much better and I nearly cried when he ate some green romaine! We wondered if not eating well or being dehydrated from not drinking left his gut moving slowly. It was also sunnier outside and warmer in our area so he spent most of the time nibbling at the sparse grass we have and dozing in the sun.

I scraped all the straw out of their house and left it to air out at the bare dirt for the day then spread a thick layer of dry, clean large wood shavings. His flockmates have been keeping close and he stays near them for the most part. Though we do find him sleeping in the shelter/house before they are ready.

We think he's eating and he is definitely drinking and bathing himself again. He even climbed into his low water bowl and kind of splashed. He is able or willing to throw his head back and flap his wings.

Tonight he was much more eager to try getting away from me during medicine time.

Sometimes during medication he will make these wheezy sneezes and shake his head. It goes on for a few minutes but always subsides.

We don't know if we are going to push a bolus of feed with the lamb kid kit that came on Sunday morning (no one local to us had one) or if we can leave him to eat as he wants.

Thank you for everything!

 

[Goosebaby]

Update:

We made a vet appointment to rule out ingested metal or foreign object or poisoning. He just kept falling asleep and avoiding his flockmates. We set clean grit near his food and some in food mixed heavily with water to make a thin oatmeal.

So of course Sunday he was much better and I nearly cried when he ate some green romaine! We wondered if not eating well or being dehydrated from not drinking left his gut moving slowly. It was also sunnier outside and warmer in our area so he spent most of the time nibbling at the sparse grass we have and dozing in the sun.

I scraped all the straw out of their house and left it to air out at the bare dirt for the day then spread a thick layer of dry, clean large wood shavings. His flockmates have been keeping close and he stays near them for the most part. Though we do find him sleeping in the shelter/house before they are ready.

We think he's eating and he is definitely drinking and bathing himself again. He even climbed into his low water bowl and kind of splashed. He is able or willing to throw his head back and flap his wings.

Tonight he was much more eager to try getting away from me during medicine time.

Sometimes during medication he will make these wheezy sneezes and shake his head. It goes on for a few minutes but always subsides.

We don't know if we are going to push a bolus of feed with the lamb kid kit that came on Sunday morning (no one local to us had one) or if we can leave him to eat as he wants.

Thank you for everything!

If he’s eating thats a great sign, I don’t think it’s a good idea to tube feed him unless he’s stopped eating or he’s continuing to lose weight.

 

[Goosebaby]

Update:

We made a vet appointment to rule out ingested metal or foreign object or poisoning. He just kept falling asleep and avoiding his flockmates. We set clean grit near his food and some in food mixed heavily with water to make a thin oatmeal.

So of course Sunday he was much better and I nearly cried when he ate some green romaine! We wondered if not eating well or being dehydrated from not drinking left his gut moving slowly. It was also sunnier outside and warmer in our area so he spent most of the time nibbling at the sparse grass we have and dozing in the sun.

I scraped all the straw out of their house and left it to air out at the bare dirt for the day then spread a thick layer of dry, clean large wood shavings. His flockmates have been keeping close and he stays near them for the most part. Though we do find him sleeping in the shelter/house before they are ready.

We think he's eating and he is definitely drinking and bathing himself again. He even climbed into his low water bowl and kind of splashed. He is able or willing to throw his head back and flap his wings.

Tonight he was much more eager to try getting away from me during medicine time.

Sometimes during medication he will make these wheezy sneezes and shake his head. It goes on for a few minutes but always subsides.

We don't know if we are going to push a bolus of feed with the lamb kid kit that came on Sunday morning (no one local to us had one) or if we can leave him to eat as he wants.

Thank you for everything!

And the wheezy sneezes after getting his meds are probably because he’s trying to throw it up and as a result is regurgitating a little up into his sinuses which isn’t that big of a deal but it isn’t great if he’s managing to actually get it out. I have a few stinkers that do this too.

One way to try and prevent this is to make sure you’re using a big enough syringe “12ml” and getting it as far down their right side of the throat as you can reach before you hit the plunger, then holding their head upright after you remove the syringe for a few seconds so that the meds go down the throat.

 

[EnsignIdonia]

He's still looking slow and my kids are worried he's not eating. He's only pecking at romaine again, if he even looks at it. He's not running from me even though it looks like he doesn't want me near him.

He's been out, laying down mostly, in the sun.

I am wondering if he's going to need a feeding boost. Or if we missed something. Or he's ignoring the treats because the girls are eating them.

This is hard