sick goose?

[pogo0685]

I have a baby goose that I got with my ducks, I wasn't expecting to get a goose but the guy that sold me the ducks said it would die if I didn't take it because he had no other birds to put it with and I can't seem to find much on the web about raising them, so now to my problem. My goose is walking funny, it just started in the last few hours, its kinda keeping the edges of its feet raised and doesn't seem to walk far before sitting down. So I am wondering what to do about that, also I noticed in the last 2 hours that one of my ducks or the goose is wheezing, is this normal or something to watch out for and what can I do about it if anything. I tried to figure out what one is was but I can't hear well enough I guess.

I figure you should also know that I feed them non medicated chick feed from a local feed store, the guy told me it was fine it just had slightly less protein than duck food but they didn't have any of that. And I am not sure how old they are, the guy told me 2-3 weeks on the phone, then 3-4 weeks when I picked them up so now they are somewhere between 3-5 weeks old because I have had them for just over a week. They are in a brooder right now its a play yard with a tarp and wood shavings as the floor. I get them fresh water 2 or 3 times a day, and they also get some peas (maybe a 1/4 cup between 5 ducks and 1 goose) they have only been in the bath once, I was going to give them a bath tonight but didn't because of the goose and because someone is wheezing. If I left anything out please let me know. Thanks for any help you can give me!

 

[Balbinka]

You might want to know, that chick feed does not contain enough of the nutrient "niacin" to support ducks and geese.
It's possible that the goose has a niacin deficiency which causes wobbly legs/necks and overall unsteadiness.

The first step to fixing this is to supplement their diets with brewers yeast, which contains niacin.
An even better option would be to feed them a waterfowl feed or "flock raiser" feed which contains the nutrients they need.

The wheezing sounds like a possible upper respiratory infection.
Are the eye, nose, or mouth running? Any abnormal lumps? Coughing? Sneezing? Lethargic? Anemia?

More details would help.

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
Flock raiser, such as that made by Purina, does not have enough niacin for starting goslings and ducklings. I would suggest getting some brewer's yeast tablets or powder and adding it to their feed.

As for the wheezing, it is very unlikely that they are sick, there aren't many diseases that ducks and geese are susceptible too. Make sure their drinking water is deep enough that they can dunk their bills to clean out their nares. Also, if they were without water for a long period (a friend of mine doesn't give his ducklings and goslings constant water supply because of the mess

) they likely aspirated some of the water into their lungs. This could also cause the weakness in the legs. I got 3 goslings from my friend last year, brought them home and put them in a brooder with a drinker and feed. They were so thirsty that two of them drank so much they went into shock! Luckily, both pulled out of it.

 

[Balbinka]

^ It depends on the individual bird.

Unfortunately, niacin can sometimes be a guessing game with waterfowl.
Each chick has it's own different requirements.

Varied diets and range feeding can also help with deficiencies.

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:

Explain? What is 'it'?

 

[Balbinka]

Niacin needs.

For example, I know several birds (waterfowl) in less than ideal homes who grew up on chicken feed, yet never had a niacin deficiency due to being free range.
Not saying this is OK, just an observation of mine.

I hope that clears it up a bit. Sorry, I can be a bit bad at explaining things.

 

[pogo0685]

Thanks everyone, where do I get brewers yeast? I looked for it at the store yesterday but I can't find it, maybe they don't sell it in grocery stores?

The person at the feed store told me that because they were already 2-3 weeks old the chicken starter would he fine because they would be able to switch to laying pellets? when they finished the first bag, its about 1/4 gone so far. I will call back and ask for duck food, or call another store and get it somewhere else. Any brands I should get?

The birds will be going outside when its warm enough, the last week has been freezing cold or raining but today the forecast looks good so after work I will put them outside for a while. I am getting their pen ready this weekend but I don't think they are old enough to stay outside overnight. They don't have any adult feathers.

 

[scratch'n'peck]

Another thread on this site suggested nutritional yeast which also has niacin and is less expensive. You can get it at a health food store.

As far as duck pellets, it can vary a lot from store to store what is available. I had a feed store specially order Mazuri waterfowl, but it is expensive. Nutrena Naturewise also has duck pellets under the category of game bird feed. Be careful, waterfowl do not need as much protein as game birds. For instance Purina Flock Raiser has 20% protein, which is too much once you switch from starter to grower/maintenance. Ideally you want a pellet that is waterfowl maintenance. Sorry it is not very straight forward.

By the way they will all love lettuce or greens as treats.

I also agree with previous poster that they need a waterer deep enough to dip their whole bill into so they can clear out their nostrils. I know they make a big mess. I think it is fine if you give them a bath.

 

[Sore Thumb Suburbanite]

Quote:
Stop listening to the dingy people at the feed store, just because the ducks or geese can survive on the feed they suggest doesn't mean they are the right thing to give them or will provide the right nutrients. I encountered lots of wrong advice from my feedstores too-like "give them medicated chicken mash", not a good idea.

First of all get niacin in capsules from your drugstore... of they just have solid tablet pills, you can crush them into powder. Supplement the water 100mg of niacin per 1 gallon water: it dissolves easily. This will help correct the wobbly legs the same as brewers yeast (I couldn't find any of that at my feed shops in any small quantity).

Also never give adolescent birds laying pellets! It provides too much calcium for their bodies... resulting in more problems. If their bodies mature to fast you could end up with premature laying (before 17 weeks old) which can screw up their ovaducts and cause other problems.

When you go to the feed store just get a bag of gamebird crumbles; its usually very high protein-20% (so you may want to supplement it with whole grains-my geese love wheat and cracked corn in their crumbles). Birds 3-5 weeks should be on 16-18 % protein, just fyi. I worked it out to 16lbs of wheat and cracked corn (combination) per 50lbs of 24%protein feed.

For the wheezing, as long as they aren't panting for air or breathing rapidly, they're probably fine; like they said earlier, the water should enable the bird to submerge most of its head to clear the throat and nostrils. If the wheezing is accompanied with rapid breathing, panting and restlessness...then you've got a problem!

Hope this helps; my birds are now 7 weeks old and all very healthy and happy.