Sick goose...HELP

[crazyanimal lady]

I have a 5 year old Toulouse female goose that i have had for about a month. I got her to be friends with a male Embden mix goose who randomly showed up at my farm about 8 months ago. I also have 14 various breeds of ducks and 40 chickens. The female goose was given to me because she did not pair with any of the male geese at the previous owners (they had about 20 geese and many ducks). The goose was fine when she arrived although did not seem interested in my male goose or my ducks. She stayed very much to herself. After about 2 weeks she began picking at her feathers. She is now almost bald and has scabs all over from her constant self mutilation. She also appears to be partially blind!! All other birds are fine and show no symptoms. I took her to the vet and he checked her for mites (neg) and internal parasites (neg fecal) and then treated her for both just in case (ivermectin injection and de-wormer in water) I have her seperated from the rest of the flock in a heated (about 40 degrees) room at the barn. She seems to be picking at herself less than before and I am thinking that she is less stressed as she is in a crate making it easy to locate food and water (she is eating and drnking) but still appears to have vision issues. The vet just started her on antibiotics (amoxicillin 250mg, 1 cap 3 X day) since he is at a loss of what is going on. He recomended getting another female goose in case she is just lonely. Although being stressed and alone could cause the picking I don't think it would cause the blindness. Anyone out there have any ideas, thoughts, or suggestions?????

 

[dorsetduckowner]

Hiya, what an awful situation for the poor goose, it sounds like you are doing everything you can for her.
Wondering if it is a nutrition issue as sometimes they can start to ingest feathers for the nutrients (although there are little other than keratin, I know turkeys do this quite regularly).
What was she used to eating in her previous home? Did she graze or was she fed pelleted food or grains? If she is blind then she may be having difficulty finding food, especially if she hasn't got the same food presented in the same way as in her previous home.
A sighted female goose could be really helpful for her to adjust.
Where are you based?

 

[Katydid]

Dear Crazyanimal lady,

Since you say you are keeping the goose in a barn at 40deg I am guessing that you may be in the States. This is not a problem that I have experienced before with birds. As you probably know some birds pull there feathers and the reasons seem to be one of 4 things:
1) Parasites
2) Allergy
3) Nutritional deficiency
4) Boredom or other behavioural/stress cause.

I must admit my first thought was parasites since I know that some internal parasites can affect eyesight, but the vet seems to have ruled that out and has treated her for that anyway. Do you know how old she is?
As has been said, do you know if she had eyesight problems before she came to you and do you know what and how she was fed? I feed my geese wheat in their water. They also have access to grass. Leafy greens would be good for her (not spinach)

When I have introduced new birds to the flock they have not always got on with each other straight away, so I am not too surprised if she showed no interest in him.
I know this may be an odd question, but you know she is pulling her own feathers - it wasn't the gander doing it? Because I have had that.

I have also had blind birds, both from birth and due to subsequent problems and they usually do very well. However, if she was blind or partially sighted when she came to you then I could easily see that this whole behaviour is stress related with being somewhere new where she doesn't know her way around.

 

[Marigold]

Do you mean 40C, or 40F? One sounds much too hot, the other one just about OK though if she lacks so many feathers, could she be a bit cold?
What's the outside temperature ATM where you live?

 

[crazyanimal lady]

The goose is 5 years old. She is free range so she has access to grass (when not snow covered) and is also fed a balanced crumble diet as well as occasional cracked corn and vitimins in the water. She is pulling her own feathers out as I have seen her do it. She did not appear to be blind when she first arrived at our farm. She was distant with the other birds at her previous home as well. She is in a heated wash bay in a barn with the temperature at 40 degrees F. I am located in Pa so it is cold outside!! She seemed cold when out in the main pen due to having limited feathers. Since she has been confined she seems to be picking less at herself but is still acting blind. She is eating and drinking and has normal feces. I think checking bloodwork is the next option.

 

[Katydid]

Dear crazyanimal lady

From all you say you are doing all the right things. Is the gander with her, or near her? I would put him nearby so they can get to know each other and hopefully they will eventually form an attachment and he can be her guide.

Having bloods done is a good idea. There may be a deficiency that might affect either her sight or behaviour. Hopefully you have a good avian vet to see.

It is highly likely that moving to a new place she doesn't know has produced stresses which are' exhibiting themselves with feather pulling, etc. being confined so she can find all she needs has reassured her which is why she is improving.
I know from my own partially sighted birds that their problem is not always obvious, just like people they do have ways of compensating.

You use different food terms in the States. Is 'cracked corn' maize, or wheat? and what is 'crumble' ? If it is powdery you know it is not recommended for Toulouse geese.
My geese are given nothing other than wheat in addition to grass, all year round. Wheat is the best all round feed for geese if they have access to grass most of the time.
This is probably the best guide for geese that I know. http://www.ashtonwaterfowl.net/keeping_geese.htm

I hope some of this is useful and good luck with your goose.

 

[Katydid]

Please could you let us know how things are with your goose.

Thank you.

 

[crazyanimal lady]

Well the goose has shown no improvement. The crumble food is a balanced diet bought from TSC for poultry and waterfowl. I believe it does contain wheat. The cracked corn is simply dried corn that has been cracked into small pieces. I have also started her on chopped cabbage. The vitimins in the water were also purchased from TSC and is labeled for poultry and waterfowl. She has almost completed her antibiotics. I have determined that the self mutilation is stress related as she starts attacking herself anytime I try to do something with her. I pourchased some purple goo at TSC called "no Pick" and have been putting that on her and it seems to stop her from picking until it wears off. She is most definately blind and I believe that is the reason for her excess stress. We were not told of her vision problems when we purchased her and thinking back, I believe she had vision issues when she first arrived. I plan to continue with the no pick and keeping her in the crate in the heated wash bay until the weather is a bit warmer and then will re-introduce her to the ducks and goose. If she does not fit in with the flock and make friends that can assist her in getting around, I feel I will have no choice but to euthanize her. I do not want to see her always alone, miserable and self mutilating!! It is a tough decision but I can't stand to watch her suffer. I am hoping with spring coming that once she is able to go to the pond with the others she will settle. We will see!!

 

[dorsetduckowner]

I hope she picks up, you must be really worried. It certainly sounds stress related and you have covered all bases with treatment. Have you considered putting your other goose in with her?

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