Useful Drugs/Medication to ALWAYS have at hand?

[Leader Bee]

Just so i'm never caught up in an emergency is there anything in particular that I should always have available when keeping geese?

I'm thinking Flubenvet and Invermectin but I really don't know for sure.

Could someone give advice?

Thanks!

 

[DiYMama540]

So far my go to that have proved extremely helpful with all my birds:

Saline Wash
Vitamin B
Nutridrench
Poultry Electrolytes
Neosporin/Bacitracin w.o pain relief
VetRx

....just to name a few
Good idea to stock up now though so you have it on hand if needed. I will find the article that goes over a lot of the emergency supplies for backyard birds.

 

[azygous]

Read this. https://opensanctuary.org/article/common-goose-health-issues/ It will give you a general idea what you may encounter keeping geese.

You would want to have a first aid kit with saline, bandages, antibacterial ointments and wound sprays and appropriate vitamins. For example, I've kept vitamin E and selenium on hand for years in case any of my chickens ever came down with wry neck. After twelve years of never encountering it, just this week I had to treat a rooster with it. I was glad I didn't have to wait a week to get to the store to get it as I'm living quite far from stores.

Living where you do, antibiotics are something I strongly suggest you try to chase down before you need one since it can make the difference between life and death to be able to treat a sick goose immediately. I keep amoxicillin on hand at all times.

 

[DiYMama540]

Here's a great article that goes over a lot of supplies

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...essential-supplies-and-how-to-use-them.64830/

 

[Leader Bee]

Here's a great article that goes over a lot of supplies

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...essential-supplies-and-how-to-use-them.64830/

Thanks, I did see this but I wasn't sure with it being a chicken article how much of it was transferable to geese. It seems there is much much more information out there for chickens!

 

[DiYMama540]

Thanks for that link @azygous! Bookmarked that...great resource!

 

[chickmed]

I don't have geese but I had a bunch of chickens, and I'm a human doctor, and I'm sure a lot of the same ideas translate, both for people and birds! My first aid kit for birds would include:

Vaseline - helps to protect from cold, also a great general skin barrier
Blue kote (or some type of gentian violet spray) - old timey antibacterial and anti fungal medicine which stains whatever you spray purple (so you know where it went). It will stain fingers, wear gloves. Easier to apply than ointment
Neosporin
Coban (or vet wrap) and gauze and non stick bandages
A good pair of tweezers/pickups
Saline wash and big syringes or a turkey baster
Here in the US you can buy penicillin at animal supply stores. This is good to have
You can also buy ivermectin which is an antihelminth. I've used this in rabbits.
Depending on your confidence you could include suture, needle driver, etc. I think it would be extremely difficult to suture an injured bird as they will likely not cooperate. But I'm sure it could be done with enough hands.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Thank you so much for this info.

As for Blue Kote I buy the one with the dauber and it the wound if around the face use a q tip to apply. But the dauber works so much better than the spray. I usually blot it on paper towel before using and if very careful it won't get everywhere like the spray will. I have purple clothes and towels

 

[azygous]

I don't have geese but I had a bunch of chickens, and I'm a human doctor, and I'm sure a lot of the same ideas translate, both for people and birds! My first aid kit for birds would include:

Vaseline - helps to protect from cold, also a great general skin barrier
Blue kote (or some type of gentian violet spray) - old timey antibacterial and anti fungal medicine which stains whatever you spray purple (so you know where it went). It will stain fingers, wear gloves. Easier to apply than ointment
Neosporin
Coban (or vet wrap) and gauze and non stick bandages
A good pair of tweezers/pickups
Saline wash and big syringes or a turkey baster
Here in the US you can buy penicillin at animal supply stores. This is good to have
You can also buy ivermectin which is an antihelminth. I've used this in rabbits.
Depending on your confidence you could include suture, needle driver, etc. I think it would be extremely difficult to suture an injured bird as they will likely not cooperate. But I'm sure it could be done with enough hands.

Yes! A lot of poultry medicine is very like human medicine. Probably easier in some ways as it's legal to put a sick or badly injured goose or chicken out of their misery when medicine fails.

As for sutures, it's best to skip that as poultry skin is pretty thin and sutures pull loose. Super glue is a better and easier.

 

[Leader Bee]

Well hopefully I won't need to worry too much about injuries as much as illness - Mine will be a pair of house-geese kept as pets, allowed to graze in the garden during the day; There shouldn't be screws or any random bits of metal or whatever in there so I think the only injuries I can imagine is from dogs/cats or an absolutely atrociously behaved child passing by thinking "oh cool, geese, that's weird, lets throw something at them or feed something they can't eat" (maybe i worry too much)