Underfed geese?

[Chickenkeeper23]

I saw some geese recently and I only own chickens so I don’t know what the body condition of a goose should be. There keel bones seemed pretty prominent. Does anyone have any pictures of what a goose should look live vs an underfed/skinny goose?

I belive one is a african goose

I wanted to get some answers from people with goose expierence. Thanks!

 

[Chickenkeeper23]

I just wanted to find out if they are being fed enough. They are in a fenced area with little grass and access to corn from what I’ve seen

 

[Goosebaby]

The only way to really tell is a physical examination to feel the keel. Even on an emaciated goose you can’t actually see the keel given how thick their feathers are, and different geese can have different body types which can make it even more tricky when relying on visual cues.

 

[Berd Man]

There may not be many photos of emaciated geese on the forum as most people here are feeding and caring for them well. Some have taken in some rescues in bad shape so maybe they’ll chime in…

But essentially like every other fowl/bird; healthy geese have nice plumage, clear alert eyes, the bill and feet should be brightly pigmented (unless they have dark pigment), and there may be a few lobes of fat present on an aged and well fed goose.

On the other hand, a malnourished goose may exhibit lethargy, sunken eyes, poor feather condition, and if you feel the around the breastbone (keel) area it may be bony and not meaty.

I’d definitely add a more balanced feed. Corn is more of a treat.

 

[Chickenkeeper23]

Thankyou

They aren’t mine so I’m not really sure what they eat other than occasional corn I’vs seen. They are alert and don’t seem to have any malnourishment problems such as bad eyes. I have just noticed what looks like there keel is pretty pronounced.

But I’ve never owned geese so I didn’t know?

 

[Goosebaby]

Thankyou

They aren’t mine so I’m not really sure what they eat other than occasional corn I’vs seen. They are alert and don’t seem to have any malnourishment problems such as bad eyes. I have just noticed what looks like there keel is pretty pronounced.

But I’ve never owned geese so I didn’t know?

Could you post a picture of them? Are these geese at a public pond?

Geese store fat in what are called lobes, depending on type or individual geese can have different kinds of lobes, and sometimes they can change as they age.
Some have two lobes that resemble little poofy pants, others have a long single lobe that falls under their keel and can look like an extended keel, then there are lumpy mixtures of the two.
Most of the time a lobe indicates fat, but sometimes even emaciated geese can retain a pseudo lobe that isn’t anything other than loose skin where fat used to be which is why periodic physical examinations are important.

If these geese are only fed corn that is an awful diet and I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re underweight, geese should be fed a waterfowl formulated feed or an all flock, multi flock, or flock raiser type feed that has proper protein and B vitamin percentages. Smaller breeds can get by better on what they can forage compared to heavy breeds so diet can vary.

 

[Chickenkeeper23]

I’ll see if I can get a photo. It’s not a public pond and I’m not sure who owns them. They are definitely domestic though.

 

[Chickenkeeper23]

 

[Berd Man]

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That white embden appears to be in good physical condition IMO. Again, putting hands on the bird as mentioned is the sure way to tell.

 

[Goosebaby]

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The eyes are bright and clear, the feathers are clean and in god condition and I don’t see any stress bars, I see a good sized lobe. Overall those are good signs of health but don’t necessarily mean that they aren’t underweight so the most I can say is that they appear to look well and that they’re stable.