Something not right with my young goose

[jajeanpierre]

For the past few days, my 11 month old White Chinese goose has been tucking her beak under her wing during the day. This isn't a nap--this is a lot of the time. She'll even do it standing.

She started laying eggs in December, went broody in May and has come out of that.

She's always been a little on the light side. She seems to have gained a bit of weight since she stopped laying and got off the nest.

She has no respiratory issues and seems quite bright and alert except she spends a lot of time with her head tucked under her wing. She is going through a very heavy molt.

Suggestions? Thanks.

 

[LikeTurkeys]

I wouldn't worry about it Mine do it a lot of the time (and yes, even standing). I would guess she's just resting from all that energy going into a molt (interestingly, mine do it more when molting as well). Sometimes they'll get a feather stuck in their nose because of that!

Chinese geese are a light breed and active laying contributes to that, so I'm not surprised. If she is acting normal and has a good appetite she's probably ok keep us posted if she loses interest in food or starts acting lethargic!

 

[Goosebaby]

What kind of feed is she eating?
What do her droppings look like?

Head tucking like this can be normal, and every goose does it now and then.

But doing it more often than normal is a sign of depression, which is usually caused by illness. Molting is a huge stress on the body, so that could be why she isn’t feeling good, but still this sounds abnormal even for molting.
Is it possible to get her checked by a vet?

I would get her some multivitamins to booste her health and probably worm her just to be safe.
Treating for coccidia with Corid is another thing to try, but don’t give her B vitamins while she’s on Corid, otherwise it makes the treatment pointless.

 

[jajeanpierre]

I wouldn't worry about it Mine do it a lot of the time (and yes, even standing). I would guess she's just resting from all that energy going into a molt (interestingly, mine do it more when molting as well). Sometimes they'll get a feather stuck in their nose because of that!

Chinese geese are a light breed and active laying contributes to that, so I'm not surprised. If she is acting normal and has a good appetite she's probably ok keep us posted if she loses interest in food or starts acting lethargic!

Thanks! She seems absolutely normal except the new behavior. I was really worried but couldn't even pin point anything off other than resting a lot of the day.

She is very bright, good weight for her (she even seems to be gaining a bit), eyes bright and clear. No respiratory issue. Out grazing with the gander. Food in the night pen is eaten at the usual rate. She started laying far too early--before her 5 month birthday in December!--so maybe a long season of laying eggs, the heavy molt has depleted her.

 

[jajeanpierre]

What kind of feed is she eating?
What do her droppings look like?

Head tucking like this can be normal, and every goose does it now and then.

But doing it more often than normal is a sign of depression, which is usually caused by illness. Molting is a huge stress on the body, so that could be why she isn’t feeling good, but still this sounds abnormal even for molting.
Is it possible to get her checked by a vet?

I would get her some multivitamins to booste her health and probably worm her just to be safe.
Treating for coccidia with Corid is another thing to try, but don’t give her B vitamins while she’s on Corid, otherwise it makes the treatment pointless.

That was my thought, that it was abnormal.

They free range during the day but have as much Breeder Mazuri Waterfowl formula as she wants when I lock them up at night until about 9:00 a.m. when I let them out. Droppings are normal.

Can I worm with Panacur? Where do I buy Corid?

 

[Goosebaby]

keep a close eye on her, you know her better than anyone else and if you feel something isn’t right then it’s probably because it isn’t.
One of my geese did that for a week or two before he got really sick, so it would be nothing and she just has the molting blues, or it’s something that could resolve itself without notice or manifest as something nasty later, it’s hard to say.


I’ve never used panacur so I can’t advise with that, I’ve used albendazole and safeguard personally. Corid I’ve gotten from tractor supply or amazon, same as with the safeguard. I think Jeffers is where I got the albendazole, they might have the others too, albendazole is pretty pricey though, and safeguard works as well from what I’ve seen personally anyway.

 

[Goosebaby]

So I think I might have a hunch at what the problem is, Mazuri breeder is 17% protein.
Molting requires a lot of energy, and feather structures are primarily made of protein. 17% protein is alright when a goose isn’t growing or molting, I question wether it’s enough for laying too, so I’m a little surprised Mazuri doesn’t have more protein for their breeder mix.

Right now I would put her on something that has 20 to 22% protein.

 

[Goosebaby]

Another idea is getting her soldier fly larva, though geese can be picky and it’s hard to get them to eat those if they’ve never had them.

 

[Goosebaby]

I learned something new, panacur is fenbendazole, same thing as safeguard.

How is your goose today @jajeanpierre ?

 

[jajeanpierre]

I learned something new, panacur is fenbendazole, same thing as safeguard.

How is your goose today @jajeanpierre ?

She's the same. She seems perfectly fine except she rests a lot. I will worm her with Panacur but I don't think that is the problem. I think you might be right--that it's just the stress of such a heavy molt after laying at such a young age.

What bothers me is that in a few days I will be taking the two geese from nice cool Wyoming to brutally wicked heat near Houston, Texas. Temps seem to be over 100F in Houston. They don't have a pond in Houston so I am a bit worried. They travel back and forth with me (in a crate in my back seat) between Texas and Wyoming. They were last in brutal Texas heat in early June.