Should I be concerned

[jdywntr]

Hi I am a first time gosling owner. I have 5. One 7 week old chinese gosling, two 5 weeks old Africans and two four week old africans. They are eating a 20% protein starter that has some scratch mixed in. They graze for most of the day only going inside to eat feed in the am, maybe in the afternoon and then just before bed.

The smallest of the 4 week olds just doesn't seem to be growing. It is doing well, eating great. Today I actually went outside to see it grab ahold of the fluff on the head of one of the 5 weeks old and not let go for a bit. It has gone after the new chickens (4 month old orpingtons) I would not be worried except it seems so small.


This is the one I'm worried about. Not the greatest view but its almost half the size of the other. These 2 are from the same hatch. The one on the left is almost as big as the 5 week olds who are almost as big as the 7 week old chinese. Again it is doing great. Should I be concerned because of growth rate?

 

[Going Bhonkers]

In my opinion, as long as you see it eating, it should be okay (making sure that your other goslings arent gobbling all the food and not leaving it any). But I dont know what would explain the size difference between it and its hatch-mate.

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

Jdy, some are just built smaller than others. If food is going in and poo is coming out I wouldn't be worried at this time. I personally would not be feeding them scratch, it contains a ton of corn now a days and corn packs on exces fat which is not good for waterfowl. Rolled oats is good option for young goslings if you are looking to add something to their feed.

 

[1MrsMagoo]

If the size difference was being caused by an underlying health issue I would think the gosling would have not made it this far. I had this happen with a gosling I hatched earlier this spring.

Three hatched the same day and two grew, one didn't. They were being brooded with some ducklings that also hatched the same day. After two weeks, the ducklings were larger than this particular gosling. I put it in a special section of the brooder for its protection: It was eating, drinking, and pooping fine. At two and one half weeks, I went out and found it dead in the morning. It had grown only a very tiny bit and was still basically the size of a newborn.

Now, around the same age of your goslings, I started to see a difference in size between the male and female in my Toulouse goslings: The male was much larger. This difference was not really noticeable with my Pomeranians till much later after they were fully feathered and even then it is more slight (females a bit shorter and teeny bit smaller body). I have no experience with Africans, so am not sure about their growth rates, etc.

However as Celtic said, sometimes you just have one that is a bit smaller (maybe hatched from a smaller egg). Keep an eye on it and if it looks and acts healthy, it is probably just going to be a smaller goose.

Good luck. They are cuties!

 

[jdywntr]

Thanks to all of you. It is a fiesty little thing so I'm hoping that the size will mean that it is female.

Celtic-I will look for rolled oats. The small feed stores around here don't offer much variety. I can only find unmedicated feed at TSC. Would the rolled oats be in with horse or cattle feed?

I looked on TSC website and they have rolled oats the description says

"Producer's Pride

Rolled Oats is nothing but clean, wholesome oats, rolled to crack the hull and improve digestibility. It is designed as an energy source for mature cattle, sheep, goats, and maintenance or lightly-worked horses on good quality forage and a vitamin/mineral supplement. Grains are low in potassium which is good for horses with HYPP needing low-potassium diets. Non-fortified.
Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein (min.) 9.50%, Crude Fat (min.) 4.00%, Crude Fiber (max.) 13.00%, Ruminant meat and bone meal free."

Would this be okay to buy?

edited to add

They also have this

"Producer's Pride

Oats is nothing but clean, wholesome oats for pure grain goodness. It is designed as an energy source for mature, cattle, sheep and goats maintenance or lightly-worked horses on good quality forage and a vitamin/mineral supplement.

• Grains are low in potassium which is good for horses with HYPP needing low-potassium diets
• Non-fortified

Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein (min.) 9.50%, Crude Fat (min.) 4.00%, Crude Fiber (max.) 13.00%, Ruminant meat and bone meal free."

 

[zooweemama]

Thanks to all of you. It is a fiesty little thing so I'm hoping that the size will mean that it is female.

Celtic-I will look for rolled oats. The small feed stores around here don't offer much variety. I can only find unmedicated feed at TSC. Would the rolled oats be in with horse or cattle feed?

I looked on TSC website and they have rolled oats the description says

"Producer's Pride

Rolled Oats is nothing but clean, wholesome oats, rolled to crack the hull and improve digestibility. It is designed as an energy source for mature cattle, sheep, goats, and maintenance or lightly-worked horses on good quality forage and a vitamin/mineral supplement. Grains are low in potassium which is good for horses with HYPP needing low-potassium diets. Non-fortified.
Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein (min.) 9.50%, Crude Fat (min.) 4.00%, Crude Fiber (max.) 13.00%, Ruminant meat and bone meal free."

Would this be okay to buy?

edited to add

They also have this

"Producer's Pride

Oats is nothing but clean, wholesome oats for pure grain goodness. It is designed as an energy source for mature, cattle, sheep and goats maintenance or lightly-worked horses on good quality forage and a vitamin/mineral supplement.

• Grains are low in potassium which is good for horses with HYPP needing low-potassium diets
• Non-fortified

Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein (min.) 9.50%, Crude Fat (min.) 4.00%, Crude Fiber (max.) 13.00%, Ruminant meat and bone meal free."

This is basically what I offer my birds. Instead of scratch for a little something to peck on for the chickens- I offer these 'rolled' oats which are not the same as Quaker oats. I have waterfowl food now (the protein is lower) but was using the oats to cut the high protein of the food they had been eating. We also have opted to pass on corn. Even organic stuff- except for the chickens maybe in the colder months. The ducks and geese do not seem to mind a little of these oats mixed in their feed.

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

The first is whole oats that have been broken open, the second sounds like whole oats. We use both, rolled for young birds and whole for juveniles and adults. Search your area and see if there are any grain mills around, will save you money on feed and usually offers larger whole grains selection.

Oats, sunflower seeds, millet, wheat are all grains we have here and mix in.