very sick goose- goodbye sweet Lucy

[bibliophile birds]

when i went out to put them up for the night, i found my goose Lucy (tufted roman ~2-3 yrs old), laying in the grass. she didn't get up when i approached her which was strange. she let me pick her up, which she has never done. she obviously couldn't stand up and was breathing irregularly. she had foamy slime coming out of her mouth and a little out of her nose.

what should i be doing? i've got her wrapped in a cool damp towel and i've been squirting water on her beak to rinse the slime away and hopefully hydrate her a bit. she will drink from the bucket, but not much. she's tried to stand a few times but she falls over after a few steps with her legs straight out behind her.

it's been very hot today, but she's been fine every time i've gone out to check on them. an hr and a half ago she was up drinking out of the bucket. they free range in the yard and have tons of places to get shade. is she overheated? dehydrated somehow? or is this something else? i've only had these geese about 6 weeks and they are my first, so i'm truly out of my element here.

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

She sounds possibly stressed, which could be heat induced, but I'm not sure about the green slime.

I had a stressed out duck act like this, and overnight in a pen alone where she was quiet and away from other ducks helped. It took a couple days, but she is fine now.

I'm sorry I'm not more help.

 

[bibliophile birds]

She sounds possibly stressed, which could be heat induced, but I'm not sure about the green slime.

it's clear slime. does that help?

thanks for saying it's probably going to be ok. i'm probably more worked up than her. poor dear.

thanks for the hugs.

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

OK, I'm still not sure about what would be causing the slime, though.

I'm fairly new to geese myself

Could she have possibly aspirated any water and that's the cause of the slime????

I still say keep her quiet and calm. She's still drinking, right?

I did answer your PM, too.

 

[bibliophile birds]

thanks for the response, all around. i went all panicky and posted this everywhere, BYC, here, sent to certain goosey people.

i don't think it's mating. now that i think about it, i've never once seen them mate... they just seem to spend a whole lot of time pooping on my patio and watching the chickens. they are very dedicated to each other though. i know she was fine around 7pm because i heard Ricky going bonkers. i went to see what the fuss was about and didn't see Lucy with him, which is unheard of. he was on the patio teasing the chicks. i found her under the tree happily drinking water. i had to herd him up to her so he'd shut up.

tonight, he's sat by her the whole time i've been doctoring, even though he doesn't like being that close to me. i went and put her in their pen and he got confused. he was standing next to the porch where i'd been checking her, honking his head off looking for her. it took me 15 mins to get him herded into the pen, which usually takes no time at all- he wasn't about to go anywhere when he thought she was still over there.

i really, really hope she pulls through. i'd be seriously upset to loose her, but more than that, i just don't know how Ricky will survive it. they are the only (domestic) geese we've got and they are obviously a bonded pair. do geese die of broken hearts?

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

I honestly don't know if geese can die of broken hearts or not

but -

she's not dead, so let's not borrow more trouble right now We'll cross that bridge IF IF IF and ONLY IF it comes to that....but right now, we're crossing the she's still drinking and is alert bridge.

Cottagerose said this on BYC :

Awww, so sorry!
I have no idea what is wrong with your goose.
Just keep her in a quiet area and put chick electrolytes in her water
and offer her fresh tender greens to nibble on.
Best wishes...I hope she pulls out of it.

 

[bibliophile birds]

symptom description for avian botulism is sounding eerily spot on.... i'm now afraid that she's eaten moldy feed from where the chicken tractors have been.

well, i like knowing about these kinds of things, but i sure hate figuring them out first hand.

 

[bibliophile birds]

i went out to check on her about 30 mins ago and she was already gone. i have to say, that was one of the most heartbreaking sights- wings extended, neck gracefully curved on the ground. at least it was fast and she didn't suffer for long.

poor Ricky seems so confused. he didn't want to let me pick her up to move her out of the pen. now he's standing out there, periodically honking quietly. poor little guy.

what do you do when a goose looses it's mate? now he's the only one, so he's not only lost his mate, but he's all alone. should i try to rehome him? i don't know if i'm up to taking on more geese at this moment after this. i know i will have more in the future (since that was always my plan) but i think trying to "replace" Lucy so soon, soon enough to cheer up Ricky, would be too hard.

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

Oh no! I'm so sorry.

 

[freemotion]

Sorry..... I know nothing about geese, but if it helps, our guinea cock lost both of his two wives last summer and is doing just fine now. He screeched for weeks. Still does, he is a guinea after all....but he is happy again.