Something wrong with my Sara goose.

[LadyHayleyHalo1]

Two weeks ago today my Sara goose was in the yard and suddenly started flapping her wings and stumbling. She fell with her wings spread out. I picked her up and put her in her pen and closed the gate to keep the others away from her for a time. As the days passed she was having a hard time walking. She walks very stiff legged(as if marching). She gets tired out and starts to stumble, down she goes, wings spread out, her bill on the ground to balance herself, her tail also pointed down. She can get in and out of the pool, bathes and grooms. The past few days she is not eating hardly at all, drinks a lot.. She is very upset. Their bedding is Timothy. She will dig thru the bedding to the ground the whole time grumbling about it, very cranky.Yesterday I gave her some Romaine lettuce, showed a little interest in it and ate a little. This morning I gave her some more, she showed more interest and ate more than yesterday. This afternoon I gave her some more and she ate a lot. She appears to be slowly improving. Could she have a vitamin deficiency? If so how much do I give her in a three gallon water bucket, how often. She is 15 yrs old . I also have three other geese and two ducks. I want to treat them all. I cry all the time over her, I love her so much. I adopted her 10 yrs ago to be the mate to the gander I rescued the day before I adopted her. Her mate Sam is so worried about her. She's been sleeping in her house at night. Could somebody please help me. Thank you. Lady Hayley Halo

 

[The goose girl]

It seems unlikely that an elderly lady like your Sara should suddenly develop a vitamin deficiency, unless she's been living on lettuce for longer period of time.

I presume you're feeding your birds a good, balanced layer feed during the winter and only give them lettuce as a treat?

Domestic geese are prone to arthritis when they get older, probably because they weren't bred to live long lives as pets. They do get very much heavier than their wild cousins, and their legs are simply not built to carry that extra weight.

Do you think that's a possibility?

 

[livininbrazil]

Two weeks ago today my Sara goose was in the yard and suddenly started flapping her wings and stumbling. She fell with her wings spread out. I picked her up and put her in her pen and closed the gate to keep the others away from her for a time. As the days passed she was having a hard time walking. She walks very stiff legged(as if marching). She gets tired out and starts to stumble, down she goes, wings spread out, her bill on the ground to balance herself, her tail also pointed down. She can get in and out of the pool, bathes and grooms. The past few days she is not eating hardly at all, drinks a lot.. She is very upset. Their bedding is Timothy. She will dig thru the bedding to the ground the whole time grumbling about it, very cranky.Yesterday I gave her some Romaine lettuce, showed a little interest in it and ate a little. This morning I gave her some more, she showed more interest and ate more than yesterday. This afternoon I gave her some more and she ate a lot. She appears to be slowly improving. Could she have a vitamin deficiency? If so how much do I give her in a three gallon water bucket, how often. She is 15 yrs old . I also have three other geese and two ducks. I want to treat them all. I cry all the time over her, I love her so much. I adopted her 10 yrs ago to be the mate to the gander I rescued the day before I adopted her. Her mate Sam is so worried about her. She's been sleeping in her house at night. Could somebody please help me. Thank you. Lady Hayley Halo

Sounds like signs of vitB3, or niacin deficiency, though at this age I´m surprised she hasn´t shown any problems before. Romain lettuce is rich in VitB3, so this is probably why she´s improving. Keep going with the Romaine lettuce, and you could always add some Brewers Yeast or niacin too to help her along.

 

[Speceider]

At that age, I wouldn't rule out that she had a heart attack or stroke....the neck and tail suggest a heart attack.

Clint

 

[Iain Utah]

I'm sorry to hear about your goose and how wonderful of you to care for your birds for so many years. My advice is to take her to a vet for blood work and exam. I would also start her on human pharma grade fish oil. It is a wonderful supplement for elderly animals.

 

[LadyHayleyHalo1]

Thank you for the information. First I would love to take her to the vet, but money is very tight here . My husband lost his job a week before Thanksgiving and just found another job. We just can't afford the vet. Which tears me up because she deserves to feel well also. Next, how much vitB3, niacin, Brewers Yeast do I give to her? Do I give her all three, put it in the water and for how long ? They only get lettuce as a treat. We don't have a lot of grass here for them to forage on. We are on a water restriction here, so no watering lawns, our water level is severely low. Could that be a problem also, not enough grass? I am at such a loss over this. She was chatting this morning when I went to check on her. Thank You.

 

[Iain Utah]

Blood work and fecal (it would be good to rule out worms) are the best way to go, but I understand being cash strapped. Have you checked into a pet care card for emergencies?

In the meantime, if it were me, I'd sink my money into getting a bag of mazuri waterfowl maintenance and some high quality fish oil capsules (contents of one capsule per day over her grain). Also offer her crushed eggshells for calcium right away.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I was wondering at her age if it could be an egg laying problem?? just thinking out loud. Do you know if she is still laying?

 

[livininbrazil]

Thank you for the information. First I would love to take her to the vet, but money is very tight here . My husband lost his job a week before Thanksgiving and just found another job. We just can't afford the vet. Which tears me up because she deserves to feel well also. Next, how much vitB3, niacin, Brewers Yeast do I give to her? Do I give her all three, put it in the water and for how long ? They only get lettuce as a treat. We don't have a lot of grass here for them to forage on. We are on a water restriction here, so no watering lawns, our water level is severely low. Could that be a problem also, not enough grass? I am at such a loss over this. She was chatting this morning when I went to check on her. Thank You.

Grass is ofcourse, the best food for geese as it´s natural, romaine lettuce being rich in vitB3 (also called niacin) is very good if you can possibly give it to her, as it also encourages her to eat. Brewers Yeast tablets have niacin in them, along with other things, so either one will be fine. Dosage depends on which you give her. Utah´s suggestion of fish oil shouldn´t put you out of pocket too much, either. Have a read of the other threads about geese not walking....they´ll be interesting for you, and also they´ll have the right dosages for niacin. Ruru´s a bit of a whizz with this, also Miss Lydia..look for their posts, or pm one of them?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Grass is ofcourse, the best food for geese as it´s natural, romaine lettuce being rich in vitB3 (also called niacin) is very good if you can possibly give it to her, as it also encourages her to eat. Brewers Yeast tablets have niacin in them, along with other things, so either one will be fine. Dosage depends on which you give her. Utah´s suggestion of fish oil shouldn´t put you out of pocket too much, either. Have a read of the other threads about geese not walking....they´ll be interesting for you, and also they´ll have the right dosages for niacin. Ruru´s a bit of a whizz with this, also Miss Lydia..look for their posts, or pm one of them?

I believe the Brewers yeast it's 1 cup per 5 lbs of feed niacin at her age can be 500 mgs per 1 gallon of water this has to be crushed and added and mixed well. and niacin has to be plain not time released or flush free, since so many are having a hard time finding plain niacin I rec Brewers yeast[not baking yeast] .