oil gland not working?

[sydney13]

For the past two weeks my goose's oil gland does not seem to be functioning properly because her feathers soak the water up like a sponge. Her pond has frozen over so she hasn't been able to swim lately I am thinking has caused this. If I am able to wet her oil gland each day do you think this problem should go away?

 

[The goose girl]

I'm guessing the oil gland is not the problem.

My goose looked like s*** when his pond froze, but now I give him a large pan of water every day to clean himself in, and he enjoys it SO MUCH. He's bright and shiny again and his plumage doesn't look frayed.


Bathing in the snow!

Only problem is, when he bathes himself, he gets wet; the water freezes almost instantly, and he's covered in little ice cubes. He doesn't seem able to preen those away. So I take him inside the house after the bath for a couple of hours. That makes the ice cubes melt, and he can preen himself.

Yes, I'm ready for Christmas; the goose is already in the pan basting!

 

[JROOSTER]

Hi The Goose Girl. I think your goose is the most spoiled lil guy I ever saw!

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
Short of doing like the Goose Girl, I would try misting the feathers with a spray bottle of warmish water and watch to see if it preens. I had a goose with a leg problem that could no longer get in or out of the pool and her feathers went bad on her She wasn't too keen on the mist at first (geese hate changes)but she started to preen again and within a week she would spread the wings and turn for me so she got the water where she needed it. There wasn't anything wrong with her oil gland after she got the feathers "knit" back using the moisture she would spread oil with her head and neck as usual. Once the winter was over I set up a sprinkler for her and All the geese were taking showers as well.