Gheistvasser
Hatching
- Sep 15, 2025
- 1
- 3
- 9
This post contains images of a dead goose, dissection, organs, blood, etc.
EDIT 9/16/2025: Unfortunately, with such a new account, it seems I do not have permission to upload videos to BYC, and youtube will only allow ~15 uploads in 24 hours. I will post the rest of the videos tomorrow.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFxV3LomKQ6lZC_tUkv79E_ULUHXn9ygH
As there are a number of videos, here is a guide.
I apologize as there is some profanity in a few vids. I know there alot of vids, so here is a guide. Videos not listed below are somewhat less interesting.
Goose 3: Tumor exam
Goose 4: Tumor removed
Goose 5: Tumor dissection
Goose 9: Liver removal
Goose 10: Bladder view
Goose 12: Bladder + bloody mass
Goose 15/16: Leg removal
Goose 17-20: Leg cleanup
Goose 22: Removal of hip (not great but I didn't care about the spine..)
Goose 23: Internal tumor removal
Goose 24: All tumor mass together
Goose 28/29: View of suspected bone injury that cause immobilization
*I am having some issues posting videos due to the size of the files. If you are interested I will take the time to upload them.*
About a year ago one of my white chinese geese was unable to walk. Feeling her hip region, I could feel what I would describe as some break or dislocation of her right leg. Most of my research indicated that this was a terminal condition for such a large bird. Miraculously, with no intervention, she began to walk again after 2 weeks, and displayed no problems, until this week.
Again I counted 11 geese exiting the barn, while the 12th goose was unwilling to walk, perhaps on Sept 7, 2025. I picked up the goose and observed a large mass, about the size of 1/2 of a lacrosse ball, on her lower back. I believe this explains why she was immobile.
I made a mistake here I believe. I thought that even if she is dying, she would enjoy the company of her flock, so I placed her in the field with them. Unfortunately, female geese sit on land as a mating position. If you hold many geese then you will also know that mating is a fairly social event. The males compete, and the females harass each other and seemingly try to compete for mates. I have 2 males and 10 females. Perhaps this harrassment is due to a wrong ratio between males and females. Long story short, the males attempted to breed the female due to her being in a mating position. This caused the mass on her back to bleed; therefore I separated her from the flock to allow her to heal. I wish I would have let her relax away from the flock. (Perhaps she died as a reslut of infection due to this. However, I can see she would have died in short order anyway.)
In the same day, I observed a somewhat large wasp nest in the barn, on the heat lamp that I turn on for them in winter, roughly about the height of the head of the goose. I considered that perhaps the mass may have been due to a wasp attack. I especially considered this as, over the next few days, the goose became more mobile, and able to be within her flock without additional harassment. I considered that the goose may heal.
Unfortunately, on Sunday the 14th of Sept, 2025, the goose hid herself in the barn around midday. I observed that the tumor had started bleeding again overnight. It is possible that this may have been due to mating attempts or harassment from other geese, however the wound was bleeding for multiple hours during the day, which I believe indicates that there was an issue with the blood not clotting. She hid around 2pm and she was dead by 4am.
I am posting this video(s) of the rudimentary necropsy that I performed. The mass of the tumor totaled around 7oz compared to a total mass of around 6lbs for the entire bird. She may be slightly light as she was not eating much in her last week.
I called an avian expert at the University of Maryland, and she told me that tumors in birds are often the result of viruses, or the encapsulation of an injury. I believe this is the goose who broke her leg long ago, and potentially developed this tumor to encapsulate the injury. However, you will see that the tumor is not "around" the suspected broken hip/leg. Nearby, but not what I think would be an "encapsulation". Therefore, I do not know exactly what happened.
I am considering whether it would have been better to euthanize the goose, upon the first leg injury, or perhaps after this next episode of immobility, or some time before she hid herself in the barn, I had reasons to believe she would make it, but I also wonder if I could have prevented some pain. Some people have a deep enough relationship with their birds that they can pick them up and hug them. My relationship is that they know I give them food, and I am not a danger. However, I do not handle them unless absolutely necessary, and they all run from handling. I did not want to cause more stress to an already dying goose by chasing her down. I am weighing if that is the right thing or if I could have prevented some pain.
I see this event in a different way from all of my other bird deaths. I have had birds die from fences that foxes got through, from hawks, from overheating on 100+ degree days (for this reason I do not keep/buy Niederrheiers - they are prolific layers/weight gainers, but there has been a pattern of them dealing with heat worse than other chickens. Just my opinion.) This death has been different for me because I do not think I did anything that could have been avoided. I am absolutely open to any of your knowledge that could help me care for my birds better in the future. However, I think sometimes life just happens, or doesn't.
In the videos I show the removal of the tumor which was largely outside of her skin, yet also penetrated into her body cavity. You can also see that there are some blackened areas on the liver, perhaps unrelated? There seems to be a very enlarged bladder, perhaps indicating an issue here. I wish I had taken more time to view the kidneys, heart, and other organs, but it was obvious to me that this was a very serious tumor. It explains for me the immobilization, lack of clotting, and quick decline.
I don't know if any of this information is valuable, but I have a hard time finding specific information on geese, or white chinese geese. Perhaps this can be a data point for other goose keepers.
I loved my goose dearly. She was four years old. The rest are honking and healthy as usual. I would not give up the practice of raising my own food, and respecting the animals, and giving them a better life than most agricultural animals. It is a very rewarding life experience and I consider myself blessed to have the opportunity to be with these animals, and with the land. However, at times I have experienced sadness in this.
This is my first post, but I have been lurking for years. In caring for my birds, I have a much richer life.
Thank you for reading this far, and thank you for giving your birds a good life.
z
EDIT 9/16/2025: Unfortunately, with such a new account, it seems I do not have permission to upload videos to BYC, and youtube will only allow ~15 uploads in 24 hours. I will post the rest of the videos tomorrow.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFxV3LomKQ6lZC_tUkv79E_ULUHXn9ygH
As there are a number of videos, here is a guide.
I apologize as there is some profanity in a few vids. I know there alot of vids, so here is a guide. Videos not listed below are somewhat less interesting.
Goose 3: Tumor exam
Goose 4: Tumor removed
Goose 5: Tumor dissection
Goose 9: Liver removal
Goose 10: Bladder view
Goose 12: Bladder + bloody mass
Goose 15/16: Leg removal
Goose 17-20: Leg cleanup
Goose 22: Removal of hip (not great but I didn't care about the spine..)
Goose 23: Internal tumor removal
Goose 24: All tumor mass together
Goose 28/29: View of suspected bone injury that cause immobilization
*I am having some issues posting videos due to the size of the files. If you are interested I will take the time to upload them.*
About a year ago one of my white chinese geese was unable to walk. Feeling her hip region, I could feel what I would describe as some break or dislocation of her right leg. Most of my research indicated that this was a terminal condition for such a large bird. Miraculously, with no intervention, she began to walk again after 2 weeks, and displayed no problems, until this week.
Again I counted 11 geese exiting the barn, while the 12th goose was unwilling to walk, perhaps on Sept 7, 2025. I picked up the goose and observed a large mass, about the size of 1/2 of a lacrosse ball, on her lower back. I believe this explains why she was immobile.
I made a mistake here I believe. I thought that even if she is dying, she would enjoy the company of her flock, so I placed her in the field with them. Unfortunately, female geese sit on land as a mating position. If you hold many geese then you will also know that mating is a fairly social event. The males compete, and the females harass each other and seemingly try to compete for mates. I have 2 males and 10 females. Perhaps this harrassment is due to a wrong ratio between males and females. Long story short, the males attempted to breed the female due to her being in a mating position. This caused the mass on her back to bleed; therefore I separated her from the flock to allow her to heal. I wish I would have let her relax away from the flock. (Perhaps she died as a reslut of infection due to this. However, I can see she would have died in short order anyway.)
In the same day, I observed a somewhat large wasp nest in the barn, on the heat lamp that I turn on for them in winter, roughly about the height of the head of the goose. I considered that perhaps the mass may have been due to a wasp attack. I especially considered this as, over the next few days, the goose became more mobile, and able to be within her flock without additional harassment. I considered that the goose may heal.
Unfortunately, on Sunday the 14th of Sept, 2025, the goose hid herself in the barn around midday. I observed that the tumor had started bleeding again overnight. It is possible that this may have been due to mating attempts or harassment from other geese, however the wound was bleeding for multiple hours during the day, which I believe indicates that there was an issue with the blood not clotting. She hid around 2pm and she was dead by 4am.
I am posting this video(s) of the rudimentary necropsy that I performed. The mass of the tumor totaled around 7oz compared to a total mass of around 6lbs for the entire bird. She may be slightly light as she was not eating much in her last week.
I called an avian expert at the University of Maryland, and she told me that tumors in birds are often the result of viruses, or the encapsulation of an injury. I believe this is the goose who broke her leg long ago, and potentially developed this tumor to encapsulate the injury. However, you will see that the tumor is not "around" the suspected broken hip/leg. Nearby, but not what I think would be an "encapsulation". Therefore, I do not know exactly what happened.
I am considering whether it would have been better to euthanize the goose, upon the first leg injury, or perhaps after this next episode of immobility, or some time before she hid herself in the barn, I had reasons to believe she would make it, but I also wonder if I could have prevented some pain. Some people have a deep enough relationship with their birds that they can pick them up and hug them. My relationship is that they know I give them food, and I am not a danger. However, I do not handle them unless absolutely necessary, and they all run from handling. I did not want to cause more stress to an already dying goose by chasing her down. I am weighing if that is the right thing or if I could have prevented some pain.
I see this event in a different way from all of my other bird deaths. I have had birds die from fences that foxes got through, from hawks, from overheating on 100+ degree days (for this reason I do not keep/buy Niederrheiers - they are prolific layers/weight gainers, but there has been a pattern of them dealing with heat worse than other chickens. Just my opinion.) This death has been different for me because I do not think I did anything that could have been avoided. I am absolutely open to any of your knowledge that could help me care for my birds better in the future. However, I think sometimes life just happens, or doesn't.
In the videos I show the removal of the tumor which was largely outside of her skin, yet also penetrated into her body cavity. You can also see that there are some blackened areas on the liver, perhaps unrelated? There seems to be a very enlarged bladder, perhaps indicating an issue here. I wish I had taken more time to view the kidneys, heart, and other organs, but it was obvious to me that this was a very serious tumor. It explains for me the immobilization, lack of clotting, and quick decline.
I don't know if any of this information is valuable, but I have a hard time finding specific information on geese, or white chinese geese. Perhaps this can be a data point for other goose keepers.
I loved my goose dearly. She was four years old. The rest are honking and healthy as usual. I would not give up the practice of raising my own food, and respecting the animals, and giving them a better life than most agricultural animals. It is a very rewarding life experience and I consider myself blessed to have the opportunity to be with these animals, and with the land. However, at times I have experienced sadness in this.
This is my first post, but I have been lurking for years. In caring for my birds, I have a much richer life.
Thank you for reading this far, and thank you for giving your birds a good life.
Last edited:
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