shrinking paunch and slight limp on 6 month old gosling

[zoeedougherty]

We have had our Toulouse goslings for going on 6 months now. They have a hutch that they go up in every night and are free range on 2 acres all day, with plenty of grass. They have a big pool and honestly seem quite happy. We noticed earlier this week that one of our goslings (still unclear on gender) had part of their paunch that is not hanging anymore. It looks like it’s almost sucked back up? They also keep standing with their leg on that side pulled up in their body. Noticed a small limp originally but it’s not as prominent now. They tend to be clumsy so we were hoping that some time would heal the issue of the leg, but the paunch still hasn’t dropped back down. Looking for some guidance or if I should be panicking trying to find a vet?
The gosling (we call him/her Lois) is acting fine overall, still playing and appetite is normal.
Thank you!

 

[Goosebaby]

What feed are they on besides grass?

What do their droppings look like? Have you seen any odd colors like red, pink, orange, yellow, bright green, mostly white, or black?
Are the droppings solid squishy logs, hard logs, or mostly water?

 

[zoeedougherty]

What feed are they on besides grass?

What do their droppings look like? Have you seen any odd colors like red, pink, orange, yellow, bright green, mostly white, or black?
Are the droppings solid squishy logs, hard logs, or mostly water?

They have access to waterfowl pellets 24/7, but I find they only go back to snack on them a couple times a day and then in the evening. Their droppings don’t look any different than they’ve always looked, normally a darker green, solid log that is not hard. I have seen them have the occasional watery ones when they are stressed or something but not recently.
Thank you for your reply!

 

[Goosebaby]

They have access to waterfowl pellets 24/7, but I find they only go back to snack on them a couple times a day and then in the evening. Their droppings don’t look any different than they’ve always looked, normally a darker green, solid log that is not hard. I have seen them have the occasional watery ones when they are stressed or something but not recently.
Thank you for your reply!

What brand are the pellets? Are they 20% protein?

Limping if not the result of an injury is usually from a vitamin deficiency, not enough niacin, thiamine, or one of the other Bs, but if one deficiency is present there’s often other deficiencies present.
Loss of a lobe “the paunch” is an indicator of weight loss because they’re basically fat folds, geese can have changes to their lobes as they mature often goslings can have two lobes and shift into having a single lobe depending on genetics, but a lobe disappearing is concerning.
The only definitive way to tell if weight loss is occurring is to weigh them daily.

Toulouse are a medium to heavy breed and they have high feed requirements, especially as they’re growing or molting, my guess is for some reason he either isn't eating enough or maybe the batch isn’t high enough in protein and vitamins, or it’s a bad batch, feed older than four months also loses its nutritional potency so that’s another factor.
Parasites and infections limit the gut’s ability to absorb nutrients but if you haven’t seen any abnormal droppings that’s less likely then.

You could switch them temporarily to a high protein start, gamebird or turkey, anything that’s 30%. Normally geese should never be fed that consistently but it’s excellent as a recovery formula, it will put the weight back on him.
I would also get him on a liquid B complex along with a broad liquid multivitamin.

Geese can be picky with new food, a good way of getting them used to it is to add enough water to it to make soup, it will encourage them to play with it which will encourage them to eat it.

 

[zoeedougherty]

What brand are the pellets? Are they 20% protein?

Limping if not the result of an injury is usually from a vitamin deficiency, not enough niacin, thiamine, or one of the other Bs, but if one deficiency is present there’s often other deficiencies present.
Loss of a lobe “the paunch” is an indicator of weight loss because they’re basically fat folds, geese can have changes to their lobes as they mature often goslings can have two lobes and shift into having a single lobe depending on genetics, but a lobe disappearing is concerning.
The only definitive way to tell if weight loss is occurring is to weigh them daily.

Toulouse are a medium to heavy breed and they have high feed requirements, especially as they’re growing or molting, my guess is for some reason he either isn't eating enough or maybe the batch isn’t high enough in protein and vitamins, or it’s a bad batch, feed older than four months also loses its nutritional potency so that’s another factor.
Parasites and infections limit the gut’s ability to absorb nutrients but if you haven’t seen any abnormal droppings that’s less likely then.

You could switch them temporarily to a high protein start, gamebird or turkey, anything that’s 30%. Normally geese should never be fed that consistently but it’s excellent as a recovery formula, it will put the weight back on him.
I would also get him on a liquid B complex along with a broad liquid multivitamin.

Geese can be picky with new food, a good way of getting them used to it is to add enough water to it to make soup, it will encourage them to play with it which will encourage them to eat it.

The pellets are 20% protein and it does contain Niacin in it. I’ll mix in some higher protein feed for them and make them soup until they gain their weight back. I appreciate the response!