What is Wrong With This Goslings' Legs??

[Laurajean]

I'm not a geese owner, but more of an accidental babysitter. The guy across the street has geese and a few chickens and they all prefer to spend their days in my yard, only going home at night. I'm at home all day and he is not, so I'm not sure if they come over here because of the safety of my presence or what, I have no idea. I don't feed them, but neither do I mind their company.

The two big geese now have an adopted baby that my neighbor recently got. I don't know geese at all, so I couldn't even guess his age, but he's still fuzzy but about the size of a small house cat. Unlike his white yellow-beaked "parents", this little guy is gray with a black beak. Again, no clue on breeds, just offering what I can see for details.

So the other day they were napping in my yard. They do that a lot, fine. But the when the parents woke up to roam around, the baby was crying and crying. I soon realized he couldn't get up. After a while, he made an attempt to get up and I could see that his legs were just flat out beside himself, seemingly useless. He'd get tired of struggling and would just lie there in the sun panting. Not wanting to interfere, but still wanting to help, I went out and set a bowl of water next to him (with a broom in the other hand because the big "Daddy" goose can be vicious.) The baby drank the water, and within minutes, miraculously got up and wandered off with his parents who had been dutifully waiting for him. I was baffled. Didn't know how he could make it all the way to my yard with injured legs, didn't understand if or why water would help him stand, didn't get any of it.

Now today, same thing is happening. They were napping out there for a couple of hours, now Mom and Dad want to go and baby can't get up. I brought out the water again and even tried to help him up, but Dad got ready to attack me, and he is huge, so I had to give it up and come in. I didn't want to add to the stress. So he drank some of the water, but in his attempts to get up, he's pulled himself about 6 feet from the water, so now he doesn't even have that, but at least he's in the shade. He's lying upright, in that his head is alert and his neck is up, he looks like he's comfy except for the fact that he can't seem to stand on his legs.

Any ideas what is going on? I keep trying to catch the neighbor to let him know in case he doesn't already but I haven't been able to run into him. Of course I realize this is his "problem" so to speak, but I wanted to at least check on here to see if anyone can tell me what's happening. I've come to really love his geese, as I said they spend all their days here. If someone has any ideas of what's wrong or how to help, I can pass it on to my neighbor, who I know doesn't go online at all.

Thanks guys.

PS: Now he's up and walking off again, seemingly fine after about an hour or two of not being able to get up.

 

[JROOSTER]

I would print your post out and paste it on the door of your neighbor. That might get him to take a look at his geese before he leaves for work.

 

[Laurajean]

Thank you, but does anyone know what might be wrong with this little goose?

 

[crazy goose lover]

perhaps a niacin deficiency. type niacin in the search box and it will give you threads that can tell you the proper dosing.

 

[The goose girl]

Since giving him water helps, maybe he just gets really hot, tired, and thirsty.

Do they have easy access to water and shade at your place? Is the gosling panting with his beak open?

He won't want to go anywhere without his parents even if he's miserable, and since they're bigger - and white - they don't need to cool off and drink as often as the little dark one does.

I know the geese are your neighbor's responsibility, but you obviously care about them. If you place a bowl of water in the shade near the geese, that may help the little gosling.

If it's not the water and shade, I don't know. I hope you get hold of your neighbor and wish you and the little gosling the best of luck. I admire you for caring!

 

[Laurajean]

Quote:
Yes, he does pant, which is what prompted me to bring him water at first. It's hard to know if he's stuck there because he's hot or if he's hot because he's stuck there. Then yesterday the water didn't seem to help that much, so it's hard to say. I know it the water doesn't hurt, that's for sure. When I tried to help him up he did feel very hot, but he was lying in the sun. Mom and dad drink from my birdbath, but he can't reach, so now I've placed a large bowl out for them which they use.

His parents wait for him every time. They wander around, staying close to him, and wait until he can walk. Each time I swear the little guy isn't going to get up, he struggles and then gives up. But about an hour or so later, he just gets up and walks off, it's so strange.

I think my neighbors may be out of town, I haven't seen them at all. When they do get back, I have to admit I'm apprehensive to tell him, because he might do something rash. He is not the type to try and research this. I just hope the sweet little thing is okay.

 

[The goose girl]

If your neighbor is the kind of person who will leave town without getting someone to care for his animals, he may also be the kind of person who gets a gosling without finding out what it needs.

People generally tend to underrate the growing gosling's nutritional needs and think they can live on grass like their parents. As a result, many goslings slowly starve to death or get seriously malnourished.

Do you think that may be the case?

If it is, it's tricky. Getting your neighbor to care for his geese properly would be the best solution. If he doesn't want to do that, you can't twist his arm. Personally, I would get some growth food for waterfowl and start feeding them. Then I would try to find another home for them.

My own across-the-street neighbor got two little kittens last year and left them for the winter to fend for themselves. I tried to talk to the guy, but he wouldn't listen, just told me they could eat the mice they caught. I got some kitten food for them and watched them closely. Then one day they were gone - another neighbor had done the same thing I did, and then he had called an animal rescue center and asked them to pick up the two "homeless" kittens. He told me the neighbor had done exactly the same thing the year before, and he couldn't bear to see the poor little creatures lost, lonely and hungry.

 

[Laurajean]

Quote:
Oh no, it's nothing like that. I am actually the person he has care for his geese when he leaves, so I'm guessing there may have been some sort of emergency, or, I could quite possibly be just missing him at night, which could very likely be the case. We have opposite schedules and they go to bed very early and have many vehicles, so it's hard to know if they are home. He has geese, chickens & turkeys, none of which are neglected. I have no concerns about him, I only mentioned it to explain why I posted while knowing nothing about geese. My only apprehension with him is what he might do if he thinks it's "lame" or whatever, but otherwise they are very well cared for. That's why I didn't just leave a note on his door. I am just trying to find out what the problem could be so he doesn't just cull it, in case something can be done. I'd rather mention to him if/when I have some theories on what it could be. He's up in the early morning hours when I am sleeping, so he may very well already know about it already.

My main concern is trying to do a little research about what could be wrong with the gosling, not my neighbor. My neighbor is a good guy. I just thought if I could find something out about what's wrong I could pass the info on to him in hopes of saving the gosling, that's all.

 

[chickenzoo]

Perhaps you could put some poultry vitamins in a pan of water for them so when they come over the baby can drink it and see if the added vitamins help it. Perhaps he gets dehydrated. I think when people get dehydrated don't their muscles go limp?