Soft gosling?

[Englishable]

We got two French Toulouse goslings (and 7 Rouen ducklings) at the beginning of May. I think they were all born around May 1st. I'm wondering what the goslings should feel like?

When we pick them up, especially the bigger one, which I think is the male, he feels soft on his underbelly. Squishy almost. I have no idea if this is normal, since these are the first geese we've ever had. They both seem healthy otherwise. Our chicks and the ducklings do not feel like that.

We have the two goslings, who are growing so fast, in a large dog kennel with straw bedding. They get a warm bath twice a week - they go crazy! We've been feeding them chick starter with added brewer's yeast, since our local feed mill doesn't carry waterfowl feed. We mix it with some water to make a paste/slurry. They have a large water container that's deep enough for them to dip their heads, with a lid with holes cut out so they don't try to bathe in it.

Thoughts? Thanks!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I never noticed if my gosling felt squishy on their belly's but if they are acting normal, eating grazing and are active I'd say nothing to worry about they sound very healthy by your description.

 

[buggymuffin]

I guess you could describe mine as squishy when you pick them up. I just always thought of them as fat. They do get less "squishy" as they get older and their breast muscles develop.

 

[Englishable]

I found this thread that may also explain what I'm seeing/feeling.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/fat-rolls-on-goose-normal-or-fat.635343/

However, is it normal for goslings this young to already have lobes? The one gosling, the bigger one, has two very pronounced lobes and the the smaller gosling has two that are just starting to be noticeable.

I just want to make sure that I'm not overfeeding them or feeding them something with too high of a ____ content (fat? protein? calories?) causing them to carry excess weight and/or have health problems.

They seem to be doing great though! Legs and wings look strong, they're getting feathers, are alert and talkative when they see us, and go bonkers for bath time

 

[buggymuffin]

I wouldn't worry about them. They are like (human) babies, they can't really eat too much at that age. If they were getting too much protein, they would develop angel wing, not get too fat. Unless you are force feeding them, they won't get too much to eat. And once they move outside, they are going to probably prefer to eat grass all of the time anyway. I feed mine non medicated starter (18% protein) and had no issues.

 

[Englishable]

I wouldn't worry about them. They are like (human) babies, they can't really eat too much at that age. If they were getting too much protein, they would develop angel wing, not get too fat. Unless you are force feeding them, they won't get too much to eat. And once they move outside, they are going to probably prefer to eat grass all of the time anyway. I feed mine non medicated starter (18% protein) and had no issues.

Awesome, thank you!