Odd Breathing in Geese Need Help

[Haunted55]

I have 6 wk old geese. The sound is kinda like a gutteral 'Hmmmmmmmm' with each breath. It can be heard from 5' away. I had them in my main chicken house until yesterday. Yes it was damp even though I cleaned after them 2 x's a day. Yesterday I moved them into the duck pen and house, with my older Pekins and Mallards, and they stayed in that house last night. This morning when I let them all outside, I noticed that the first is still making the same noise and one of the little embden females is also starting to wheeze? as well. I'm not even sure what to call the sound, it's not gasping, it doesn't seem to be a laboured breath.........no clue.

They aren't showing symptoms of sickness other than the wheezeing sound. They are eating, drinking and moving about the yard and also swimming in the pool. I am currently spending a lot of time out in their yard with them as I am finishing up their big pool and the landscaping. No head shaking, some of them have hanging wings but I feel that maybe an excercise thing as they have not had a lot of time outside.

The question is what do I do? It doesn't strike me as a normal thing at all. When the first one started this it seemed as if it was a 'snoring' thing. It didn't happen all the time only when he was settling down to sleep. It's more pronounced now and where another has started it this morning I think all the clues add up to something going on.

I am going outside to put some Vet RX on their bills at least, in their nostrils if I can. I have Duramycin on hand, but wasn't sure if this would be the drug of choice with geese.

 

[The goose girl]

My goose did that really deep "hmmmmmmmm"-sound at the end of a breath a lot when she was young, especially when settling down - and sometimes during sleep, too. I don't remember when it started - probably around 4-6 weeks - but she doesn't do it much anymore - she is two years old now. Well, she's outside most of the time now, so maybe I just don't hear it. She never did it with each and every breath of the day, though. But it would come in clusters when she was relaxing, like for 10-60 minutes. I thought it was funny; she sounded like an old man. And people who didn't know her thought she was growling, like a dog.

I always thought of it as a kind of loud snoring. She slept with me in my bed, and it would sometimes wake me up.

I really don't think it's a respiratory problem - my goose had a lung infection when she was 5 months old, and the symptoms were totally different: She couldn't walk more than twenty feet, she was wheezing like a COPD patient, she was coughing and sneezing, she wanted to lie down all the time, she didn't eat much, and she didn't preen herself.

 

[crj]

I would put some duramycin in the water for a week and see if her breathing clears up. They do get respiratory infections fairly easily.

 

[Haunted55]

I would put some duramycin in the water for a week and see if her breathing clears up. They do get respiratory infections fairly easily.

I did and also using the Vet RX on the bill.They don't like the 'doing' but they seem to appreciate it after it's on them. I also just finished their 'pond' this morning. They now have a 10' x 8' pool that is deep enough for them to dive and swim. Outside all day, Duramycin, and the pool, something's got to work.

Thanks so very much for the reply, it's very hard when you're new to something and the learning curve is so steep. I do not want to make mistakes that could hurt or kill them.

 

[Haunted55]

My goose did that really deep "hmmmmmmmm"-sound at the end of a breath a lot when she was young, especially when settling down - and sometimes during sleep, too. I don't remember when it started - probably around 4-6 weeks - but she doesn't do it much anymore - she is two years old now. Well, she's outside most of the time now, so maybe I just don't hear it. She never did it with each and every breath of the day, though. But it would come in clusters when she was relaxing, like for 10-60 minutes. I thought it was funny; she sounded like an old man. And people who didn't know her thought she was growling, like a dog.

I always thought of it as a kind of loud snoring. She slept with me in my bed, and it would sometimes wake me up.

I really don't think it's a respiratory problem - my goose had a lung infection when she was 5 months old, and the symptoms were totally different: She couldn't walk more than twenty feet, she was wheezing like a COPD patient, she was coughing and sneezing, she wanted to lie down all the time, she didn't eat much, and she didn't preen herself.

I totally agree with you about the 'breathing' coming in clusters! That's how the first one started out as well. Just like snoring. If it had stayed that way, when she was settling down, I would continue to just watch and wait, but now 2 more geese are starting it as well. There is no coughing or sneezing. That's why I waited so long with the first one, it's been 3 weeks, it didn't seem like a cold. The goose also has a kinda sad look in it's eyes. I know that sounds dumb but it's truth. It makes me feel that there is something wrong and I would rather err on the side of caution than to wait any longer.

When they were in the chicken house, they had a pen and free run of the hallway. They usually liked to sleep down in front of the meat bird pen, just about beak to bill. Yesterday morning, I found a couple of the meat birds wheezing as well. They aren't big enough yet to have lung issues, so I am assuming it has got to be some kind of infection the geese and meat birds have. I have started them on the Duramycin and will watch and see what happens.

Thanks so much for replying! It is so comforting that I am not going this alone!!!

 

[Haunted55]

Just an update to this thread. After the Duramycin, all but the one goose have gone back to normal breathing sounds. YEAH! The one who was showing/sounding like an old man snoring is still doing it so I think it may be like "The Goose Girl" said. Just normal for that goose. Thanks so much for the help guys.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Just an update to this thread. After the Duramycin, all but the one goose have gone back to normal breathing sounds. YEAH! The one who was showing/sounding like an old man snoring is still doing it so I think it may be like "The Goose Girl" said. Just normal for that goose. Thanks so much for the help guys.