Sick African goose

[carolinacindy]

Don't know if it's a gander or a goose, but he normally greets me to eat in the morning and this morning he just sat there talking to me. I let him out to graze and he's eating good but was watery poop. He also has a breathy sound sometimes,. Do you know what I can do to help him or what could be wrong. Never seen him/her lay eggs.

Cindy

 

[chickenzoo]

Listen to his lungs if you can, and see if he has wheezing. If so, he has a respiratory illness.

 

[Kim65]

I'd get him/her on antibiotics, whatever broad spectrum one is out there and used for poultry. If one of my geese got sick I'd be asking the same question.

They get sick so rarely . . . usually it is a defect of some kind, or an injury that they have, rather than infection.

I know you can get Terramycin and Biomycin at a larger feed store, and calculate a dose for a goose based upon weight. Terramycin can go right in the water.

Usually a goose or duck that appears ill is getting pretty sick. If this were my goose I'd go right for antibiotics.

 

[carolinacindy]

Thanks for your reply. I'm not getting many answers. I'll try the feed store here in town. I live in such a small city in North Carolina, it's hard to get anything here. There's no Avian vet and I have to drive about hours to get him to one. Tried today but he wasn't for the car ride.

He actually seems ok. Eating and drinking from the pool. Eating only greens though, doesn't want feed. Seems kindof like something's wrong with his legs or feet or something. Doesn't want to stand for long. Will lay down and move from place to place eventually and talk, talk, talk. I love him alot and don't want to lose him but don't know what is really wrong. Yesterday, everything was fine, today it's not.

Cindy

 

[jojo@rolling acres farm]

If it were me and my goose was sick I would call a vet right away and inquire about injectable Baytril. With the size of their breast I don't think it would be too difficult to give a goose a shot - which is normally where you give the injection in a bird. Good Luck - keep us posted. I would not wait too long - birds that are showing signs of being ill are usually very, ill. I would call tomorrow and try to get a hold of the Baytril asap.

 

[Kim65]

You might be able to get Baytril from a regular pet vet (not sure).

Sometimes vitamin/mineral deficiencies cause "lameness" in waterfowl.

I agree, see if you can't get him on antibiotics right away, and get some baby vitamin drops, Polyvisol is the kind I keep on hand.

Good luck, keep us posted!

Maybe post this up in the Emergency section, you might get more responses

 

[Chickies-duckies-etc]

Is there a zoo near you? If so, ask who takes care of their geese if they have any. That is how I found help when I had geese getting into mold. No vets in the area knew anything about poultry, but the zoo vet helped me figure it out and what to give them, It saved the ones that were sick.

Check for mold of any kind - any where that they could possibly be getting into. Feed, bedding, grass, etc. Mine were going under the old dead grass in the early spring to get the fresh new growth of grass, but because of the rains we were getting it was also wet and MOLDY under there. I lost two of them before I figured it out.

 

[Lund121671]

you said you let him out to graze. what kind of pen/building do you keep him in at night? This may be the problem if it is air tight with no flow through ventilation. My geese are outside 24/7 with a three sided shed to go into if they want. Believe me they NEVER go in except in the spring when the girls are nesting. They are so healthy. We live in wisconsin and we had -35 below zero two days in a row with around 100 inches of snow and no problems. Hope all goes well and your goose recovers.

 

[carolinacindy]

I have a large pen with a door that is never closed. They are outside almost all of the time but only have access to grass when I let them graze. He was doing fine and all of the sudden this happens. He's nibbling on feed but loves greens and grass. Is this ok for him to eat? He's drinking water fine. Biting at his pen mates when they bite at him. I got some poly vi sol how much do you give them? Can they all get it?

Cindy

 

[Soccer Mom]

How's your goose doing? Is he better?