Hello everyone,
For a while now I've been dealing with a goose who has sometimes severe respiratory distress, although it is intermittent. I have noticed her chest, where one of her air sacs is, expands and contracts very markedly with every breath. When she does have an "attack" she will breathe with her mouth open, gasping, her whole body moving with every breath, and sometimes will splutter dryly.
I have taken her to my avian vet a number of times. This has been going on for months and first reared its ugly head after she started on a new diet. When she was eating grass alone, she had no breathing problems. However, she then started to eat mixed vegetables (peas, corn, carrots, green beans) and pellets. The same pellets she ate as a baby, when she also sometimes showed respiratory distress. We thought the pellets were causing respiratory symptoms so took them out of her diet. However, the distress continued, although slightly less. We then thought it may be the corn she was eating - took it out, it seemed better for a day or two, and then was back to normal. We have added cooked brown and wild rice to her diet (yes, she is SPOILED) and it has been bad the past few days. While I think it might be allergies, as the vet surmised, even when she is eating peas, carrots, and lettuce alone she has respiratory problems. It seems located in the air sacs from simply visually inspecting her during an episode.
I'm taking her back to the vet but I would be extremely grateful if anyone could post their ideas, suggestions, or experiences with respiratory problems in geese or other similar birds. My vet has not necessarily seen a lot of geese and I think some infections/diseases are species-specific. Mind you she was raised with other birds on the same pellet and none of them had the same reaction, so it was not mold spores in the pellet or anything else... I have no idea where she got it from because she is in a clean environment and not near other birds.
Any advice?
For a while now I've been dealing with a goose who has sometimes severe respiratory distress, although it is intermittent. I have noticed her chest, where one of her air sacs is, expands and contracts very markedly with every breath. When she does have an "attack" she will breathe with her mouth open, gasping, her whole body moving with every breath, and sometimes will splutter dryly.
I have taken her to my avian vet a number of times. This has been going on for months and first reared its ugly head after she started on a new diet. When she was eating grass alone, she had no breathing problems. However, she then started to eat mixed vegetables (peas, corn, carrots, green beans) and pellets. The same pellets she ate as a baby, when she also sometimes showed respiratory distress. We thought the pellets were causing respiratory symptoms so took them out of her diet. However, the distress continued, although slightly less. We then thought it may be the corn she was eating - took it out, it seemed better for a day or two, and then was back to normal. We have added cooked brown and wild rice to her diet (yes, she is SPOILED) and it has been bad the past few days. While I think it might be allergies, as the vet surmised, even when she is eating peas, carrots, and lettuce alone she has respiratory problems. It seems located in the air sacs from simply visually inspecting her during an episode.
I'm taking her back to the vet but I would be extremely grateful if anyone could post their ideas, suggestions, or experiences with respiratory problems in geese or other similar birds. My vet has not necessarily seen a lot of geese and I think some infections/diseases are species-specific. Mind you she was raised with other birds on the same pellet and none of them had the same reaction, so it was not mold spores in the pellet or anything else... I have no idea where she got it from because she is in a clean environment and not near other birds.
Any advice?
