Very dizzy goose, maybe riemerella anatipestifer?

[CrazyGooseLady2000]

Hi all,

We rescued a goose about four months ago. In about mid January we suspect that he had an impacted crop, he was dizzy, falling over, had somewhat of an appetite (but couldn't stretch down to eat), and he couldn't put his head under his wing. At the time, I massaged his crop and helped him to drink some water in apple cider vinegar (I saw that recommended on this website). That seemed to help and was himself again in a day or so.

Now, a few weeks later he is very dizzy again and shaking his head, but his crop is not full. He's not very keen to drink anything either and he's very lethargic. I'd say the past three days or so he's been quieter and sleepier than usual. He is a domestic goose and sleeps inside the house. There are cats and dogs in the area so, when he's outside, I watch him like a hawk! It is (not impossible) but highly unlikely that he has eaten anything weird. I contacted an online avian vet who suggested riemerella anatipestifer infection and recommended penicillin, but I'm not sure because the only symptoms of that that he has is dizziness and diarrhoea and this vet did not actually see the goose, he just asked a few questions.

He is really not that keen to drink water, but he loves grapes and watermelon and he wants to eat that. We chop it up and put it in water for him so that he can have more fluids. He's sleeping a lot. This morning he was very very lethargic. I picked him up to take him outside and his legs, wings and head just hung down. I put him in the grass very gently, but he sat right down and kind of fell/rolled onto his wing. It's about 12 hours later now and he has a little more energy. He's not his normal goofy self, but he has a little more energy. He is still very tired, but I'm just letting him sleep to try to recover. I love him very much and I don't want him to suffer. Is there anything I can do to help him?

Important Info:
-Shakes his head often (though he doesn't have a "wobbly" neck, which I've read a few times)
-dizzy
-won't drink water
-eats a little grass
-eats watermelon and grapes
-can walk if standing
-struggles to stand up
-is making cooing/purring noises
-lethargic and sleeping often
-diarrhoea(brown-green from watermelon)
-Some of the time, he just sits with his eyes open with his head under his wing.

 

[azygous]

Need to know location, city, state, country so we know your climate. Did you happen to have a frigid or below freezing spell lately? Have you looked with a strong light into his ears? Look for swelling, redness, gunky deposits. Look into his throat for anything unusual. Look his body over for wounds, rashes, swelling, etc.

On the chance this is weather or stress related, give him sugar in his water and load it up with grapes and grated carrots if he likes carrots. Or grated apple. He needs his glucose elevated and much more fluids as he's likely dehydrated for some reason.

Wait on the antibiotic until after you see what the sugar and fluids do. You can also give him vitamin E each day for a while and egg or selenium in case there's a deficiency causing these symptoms.

 

[CrazyGooseLady2000]

I would take him to an actual in-person avian vet or farm vet ASAP. The hanging wings/head when you lifted him sounds like he is incredibly ill and he needs to be seen by a professional.

I hope he recovers soon. I'll tag a few people here too.

@Isaac 0
@azygous

Thank you very much. He's doing a little better at the moment. I appreciate your help!

 

[CrazyGooseLady2000]

Need to know location, city, state, country so we know your climate. Did you happen to have a frigid or below freezing spell lately? Have you looked with a strong light into his ears? Look for swelling, redness, gunky deposits. Look into his throat for anything unusual. Look his body over for wounds, rashes, swelling, etc.

On the chance this is weather or stress related, give him sugar in his water and load it up with grapes and grated carrots if he likes carrots. Or grated apple. He needs his glucose elevated and much more fluids as he's likely dehydrated for some reason.

Wait on the antibiotic until after you see what the sugar and fluids do. You can also give him vitamin E each day for a while and egg or selenium in case there's a deficiency causing these symptoms.

I live in Constantia, South Africa. It's pretty temperate here, but we have had a few warmer days, but average is about 26(78F) degrees Celsius with a low of about 16(60F). It's never been incredibly cold, but I have had a high, oscillating fan circulating the air in his room. I've not yet looked into his ears, but I've inspected him for mites/flees, etc... He loos completely healthy other than the symptoms that I mentioned.

I think he may be dehydrated. I gave him quite a lot of watermelon and grapes as well as grass chopped up in water. I recently gave him some scrambled egg with a fraction of a vitamin B tablet crushed onto it. He ate it all quite happily. He's still quite dizzy and shaking his head, but his eyes look a bit brighter and a bit more open than they were. He's sleeping on my lap so that I can monitor him closely.

Thanks, I was also thinking that I should wait on the antibiotic. I've been trying to do research the whole day, trying to figure out how to help him. The primary conclusion that I've come to is that he might be nutrient deficient.

When he was younger, I read so so so many times that a pet goose can just eat the grass and weeds in you garden and be happy and healthy, but quite a few people on this site seem to say that pet geese should have supplements and/or waterfowl food too. Would you say that that's the case? I wish I'd known.

Thank you for your response!

 

[azygous]

Vitamin B complex doesn't have zinc in it. It will be just one big pill. The vitamin E will come in a gel-cap. Neither one has a risk of overdose in the short term, and B vitamins are water soluble so the excess gets pooped out.

The thing that will cause the greatest and quickest improvement are fluids and the sugar. You need to work on getting those into him. If you can't trick him into drinking by putting lots of favorite veggies or fruit into a bucket of water with sugar, then you may need to tube feed the water solution. It's not hard to do, but you will need to hunt down the supplies.

The easiest way to get tube feeding supplies is to ask a vet to sell you a tube feeding kit. It's easy to put together your own out of oxygen tubing or aquarium tubing. Then find an oral syringe that will fit into the tube. The tube should be around around half a centimeter. You'll cut it to fit from his throat to the bottom of his crop with about three inches sticking out so you can fill it. It's really much easier than trying to syringe a tiny bit of water at a time which is stressful for you and him both.

But try to get him to drink the sugar water. The best case scenario is that he's dehydrated and this will cure everything.

 

[azygous]

Yes, vitamin deficiency can mimic more serious disease. Vitamin E and B-2, B-6, and B-12 all can affect leg strength and the nerves governing the muscles. We use ordinary people vitamin supplements to treat poultry.

Start out with the sugar water to hydrate him and get his glucose up. He will respond very fast to this. Then you can assess where he still is having problems. If the dizziness is resolved by hydrating him and elevating his glucose, you may not need the vitamin E. The leg weakness may resolve also and the B vitamins may not be needed.

If he continues to have balance issues and weakness, then give one whole vitamin E400iu once a day with selenium (just a sliver to help with absorption). Find a good B-complex formula that has the most B-2, 6, and 12 as you can find. You can buy the individual B vitamins, but if you can find them all in one B-complex pill, it's way easier. Give the pills uncrushed and whole right into his mouth each day.

He should respond to this and get better. If not, then it's likely something much more serious that doesn't have an easy cure.

 

[CrazyGooseLady2000]

Yes, vitamin deficiency can mimic more serious disease. Vitamin E and B-2, B-6, and B-12 all can affect leg strength and the nerves governing the muscles. We use ordinary people vitamin supplements to treat poultry.

Start out with the sugar water to hydrate him and get his glucose up. He will respond very fast to this. Then you can assess where he still is having problems. If the dizziness is resolved by hydrating him and elevating his glucose, you may not need the vitamin E. The leg weakness may resolve also and the B vitamins may not be needed.

If he continues to have balance issues and weakness, then give one whole vitamin E400iu once a day with selenium (just a sliver to help with absorption). Find a good B-complex formula that has the most B-2, 6, and 12 as you can find. You can buy the individual B vitamins, but if you can find them all in one B-complex pill, it's way easier. Give the pills uncrushed and whole right into his mouth each day.

He should respond to this and get better. If not, then it's likely something much more serious that doesn't have an easy cure.

Thank you. I assume I should find a vitamin B-complex without zinc in it, right? Do you know how long it should take for him to show improvement? I also think he may have lost a little weight over the past weeks, but I'm not sure. I didn't weigh him, I just thought that he felt a little lighter.

 

[CrazyGooseLady2000]

Update: he is now able to keep his wings and head up on his own. He paddles his feet with more energy than before, but he's still not great. He still does not want to drink anything. I tried to use a dropper to give him some water, but he just shakes his head and it flies everywhere. He is still very off balance and shaking his head often. He is not able to stand up on his and and topples forward if he tries, but if I help hime up he can stand and walk on his own.

How much vitamin B can I give him? Is it possible to give him too much?

 

[azygous]

One teaspoon to one cup of warm water. More sugar is better than too little.

 

[CrazyGooseLady2000]

One teaspoon to one cup of warm water. More sugar is better than too little.

Got it! Thank you very much!