Questions about gosling feed

[Country Birds]

I recently received 5 Buff goslings and I have done a lot of research on raising goslings, but I’m getting confused by conflicting information.

To start off with, I ordered four goslings, they got lost in the mail for 5 days, and miraculously 3 survived. I let the hatchery know what happened and they send two more goslings the next week. So I have three goslings that are close to three weeks old and two that are close to two weeks old.

I live in Idaho where the feed stores in an hour radius have the basic chicken feeds and not much else (not even a tractor supply near me). I ordered a couple small bags of gosling starter feed and on the bag it says I can feed them this feed until 24 weeks. However, on the Metzer website, it says after three weeks of age, the goslings need a lower protein feed to prevent wing problems. So, do I:

1. Need to switch to a lower protein feed soon? I scoured all the feed stores and could only find duck pellets as far as waterfowl feed goes. Every time I look at the ingredients on a chick starter feed or all-flock I never see niacin mentioned anywhere.

2. If I do need to switch, could I wait until the youngest of the goslings are 3 weeks? Or will that cause problems with the older ones? Two of the older ones are twice the size of the other three, even though they hatched the same time as one of the small ones…not sure if that is a concern when it comes to the protein level.

3. Could someone please help me understand how to get niacin in their diet when they’re older? I looked online and found powdered niacin…is that something that could be added to all-flock feed for chickens and work out for the geese (they are separate from the chickens)

 

[casportpony]

Maybe @oldhenlikesdogs can offer you some advice.

 

[JRies]

I feed lots of goslings all different ages I supplement there niacin by adding to there water, I feed Purina flock raiser free choice it is 18% and 17% is recommended.

However if you are only feeding a few goslings many of my friends order from chewy. for kalmbach feeds who have spent allot of time formulating feeds for waterfowl. Manapro is a good starter

this is there small pellet (2 bags of 50 pound) you can moisten pellets for younger goslings
https://www.chewy.com/kalmbach-feeds-all-natural-duck-goose/dp/311717

 

[Goosebaby]

Mine have eaten 20% flock raiser pretty much their whole lives and they’re fine….some are on the chubby side not gonna lie…..


So basically there’s two methods of feeding geese. The carefully managed method is to adjust to seasonal changes. Goslings and young geese require high protein for growth. As their growth slows too much protein and carbs can cause angel wing “but that isn’t a guarantee” so it’s recommended to switch to a lower protein feed.
Once they’re adults their nutritional requirements aren’t as extreme so they can stay on a lower feed.

Truthfully they need a higher protein feed while molting, laying, very cold weather, and stress so it’s good to switch them back to a start.
If they’re sick and underweight you can feed them 30% game bird start, at no other time should they really eat this.

Large breed geese can stay on 18- 20% feed throughout their lives, they need a bit more to sustain their big bodies. Medium and small breeds can pack on the weight much more easily so their body condition needs to be managed more carefully. Weight however is also dependent on their activity levels, genetics, and eating habits, for example my small Roman Delphi maintains a healthy weight on 20% feed because she’s a delicate eater vs my large Toulouse Friday is pretty obese because she loves food but hates movement.

You can add powdered niacin, you can also try nutritional yeast, you can also supplement their water with liquid B vitamins or a vitamin mix.
Niacin is critically important but the other Bs are also important.

Angel wing is a hard thing to predict, sometimes only one gosling can get it while the others are fine. The causes are disputed, personally I believe it’s a combination of genetics and nutrition. What it actually is is the twisting of the wrist bones due to heavy developing blood feathers. If the twist isn’t corrected immediately it is permanent.
Luckily if it does show up it’s easily correctable so long as it’s done immediately. You just wrap the wing(s) for three to four days.

 

[Country Birds]

Thank you! This is exactly what I was looking for.