Help! Panting in gosling getting worse, she is now sneezing too

[littlegosling]

Hi all,

As some of you know, we took in a lame goose in our house. We have noted that she tends to pant on a daily basis. She has been doing this on and off and to different degrees since we got her 5 weeks ago. Most of the illnesses associated with panting that we read about would have already killed her by now and would come with other symptoms which she doesn't have. All she has is panting, usually when she gets herself worked up in her box (we believe she is still quite upset at not being able to walk even if we take good care of her). It will go away on its own. If she is really worked up we'll give her a nice bath or hold her and once again it goes away without any treatment.

My question is does anyone know if this could be a normal-ish behaviour given her disabled situation? What is the role of panting in geese? Is it like dogs where they use it to reduce their body temperature? Should we do anything about this?

We have changed her environment a few times to include more stimulation for her and I am sure the transitions don't help reduce her stress level. She eats well, drinks well and preens multiple times per day. Her poop is solid and consistent. She makes lots of whistling happy noises throughout the day.

Important point to mention is we do not have access to an avian vet within a more than 3-hour radius around our town. Therefore we rely only on our judgement and online information.

Thanks!

 

[EvenLater]

How big is her box? Are you still using a lamp for her? I think it sounds like she's just getting worked up and hot? If she's eating, drinking and pooping well she sounds otherwise healthy. We keep our house a bit cooler than most (youngest son has a medical issue so we have to) but we don't notice Cas pant unless he's outside where currently it's 90+ out. He'll be foraging and panting and then he'll lay down and take a dust bath in the cool dirt until he stops panting. I'm no expert, but given what you describe and what I've seen with Cas, it sounds like she's just a little hot.

Side note...be VERY careful using a bath to cool her. Many people think "Oh she's hot so I'll dip her in a cold bath" but too cold could send her into shock. (Again, I've been through heat related seizures with my human child so that's where I get that knowledge). The bath should be no cooler than room temp, or slightly "tepid". One thing I have done for warm pets before is to keep a towel (damp and rung out completely) in the fridge (not freezer! lol) and if they seem hot, I'll lay it in their area and let them snuggle it as they want to to cool down. (My oldest child used to show chickens and goats for 4H and this was a recommendation they gave us, as well as freezing water bottles and laying them under the towels, so the animal can either lay on it or not as they want to).

You could also try misting her with room temp water from a spray bottle. This is what I do to cool down my parrot and she loves it. I haven't tried it with Cas, but as a waterfowl I'm pretty sure he'd enjoy it! Lol

Hope that helps a bit? If you're still worried, and the vet is too far to drive, you could always call them and see what they say. My best guess though would be that with no other symptoms like a runny nose, or raspy breathing, or lack or appetite or energy, or runny poops...I think she's just getting herself too warm. But again, I'm no vet!

 

[littlegosling]

How big is her box? Are you still using a lamp for her? I think it sounds like she's just getting worked up and hot? If she's eating, drinking and pooping well she sounds otherwise healthy. We keep our house a bit cooler than most (youngest son has a medical issue so we have to) but we don't notice Cas pant unless he's outside where currently it's 90+ out. He'll be foraging and panting and then he'll lay down and take a dust bath in the cool dirt until he stops panting. I'm no expert, but given what you describe and what I've seen with Cas, it sounds like she's just a little hot.

Side note...be VERY careful using a bath to cool her. Many people think "Oh she's hot so I'll dip her in a cold bath" but too cold could send her into shock. (Again, I've been through heat related seizures with my human child so that's where I get that knowledge). The bath should be no cooler than room temp, or slightly "tepid". One thing I have done for warm pets before is to keep a towel (damp and rung out completely) in the fridge (not freezer! lol) and if they seem hot, I'll lay it in their area and let them snuggle it as they want to to cool down. (My oldest child used to show chickens and goats for 4H and this was a recommendation they gave us, as well as freezing water bottles and laying them under the towels, so the animal can either lay on it or not as they want to).

You could also try misting her with room temp water from a spray bottle. This is what I do to cool down my parrot and she loves it. I haven't tried it with Cas, but as a waterfowl I'm pretty sure he'd enjoy it! Lol

Hope that helps a bit? If you're still worried, and the vet is too far to drive, you could always call them and see what they say. My best guess though would be that with no other symptoms like a runny nose, or raspy breathing, or lack or appetite or energy, or runny poops...I think she's just getting herself too warm. But again, I'm no vet!

We always make sure we don't give cold baths! She can get the chills sometimes even when the bath is at the right temperature so I'm always careful.

Her box is about I would say 4 foot long x 1 foot and a half wide x 3/4 foot high. We can go bigger but then she would get herself turned around away from her food and would really yell at us until we turned her back LOL. We also tried higher sides as she can make a mess but then we realized she couldn't shake her head or stretch her wings as easily. So that seems to be the best compromise so far.

I certainly see no other sign that would point towards illness.

 

[Miss Lydia]

The only time I have seen my geese pant was when we had a heat spell a couple weeks ago it got into lower 90's which is very unusual for NC mountains. My geese were panting, so in this case panting was from heat.

 

[littlegosling]

Hi all,

The panting has suddenly gotten worse. Now she is also sneezing or coughing. No discharge. No change in poo. Still happy to see us and whistling but very fussy today. Eating well. She is 7 weeks old.

I thought about gapeworm and I will try to order the right medication to treat it. I know it is rare but she was initially on a property where there were a lot of other wild animals, including wild Canada geese. I wonder if she got something there. She is fully indoors now.

Any other ideas? I have NO access to vet care. Called about 10 of them, they will not touch a goose at all. Very frustrating.

 

[Carrosaur]

Hi all,

The panting has suddenly gotten worse. Now she is also sneezing or coughing. No discharge. No change in poo. Still happy to see us and whistling but very fussy today. Eating well. She is 7 weeks old.

I thought about gapeworm and I will try to order the right medication to treat it. I know it is rare but she was initially on a property where there were a lot of other wild animals, including wild Canada geese. I wonder if she got something there. She is fully indoors now.

Any other ideas? I have NO access to vet care. Called about 10 of them, they will not touch a goose at all. Very frustrating.

It really could be from her not being able to walk. You know how if horses lay down for too long the weight of their own body can hurt them? It may be because she isn't exercising or able to move around much. The ONLY time my geese pant is when its 95+ here.

Pear has NEVER panted, we keep our house 72 solid year round and give Pear baths as cold as we can make them because if it's too warm he'll panic. Tried room temperature, nope. It's strange. We have to put ice cubes in his water sometimes or he won't drink it. Spoiled brat

You should definitely look into the not exercising thing, I don't remember how well she swims or if she can even stand, but if she can't do those things it may be a huge possibility. Notice how geese stand most of the day, only one of my outdoor geese lays down during the day, and I'm pretty sure Kiwi sleeps standing up.

 

[littlegosling]

It really could be from her not being able to walk. You know how if horses lay down for too long the weight of their own body can hurt them? It may be because she isn't exercising or able to move around much. The ONLY time my geese pant is when its 95+ here.

Pear has NEVER panted, we keep our house 72 solid year round and give Pear baths as cold as we can make them because if it's too warm he'll panic. Tried room temperature, nope. It's strange. We have to put ice cubes in his water sometimes or he won't drink it. Spoiled brat

You should definitely look into the not exercising thing, I don't remember how well she swims or if she can even stand, but if she can't do those things it may be a huge possibility. Notice how geese stand most of the day, only one of my outdoor geese lays down during the day, and I'm pretty sure Kiwi sleeps standing up.

Hi!
Are you saying that the fact that she is laying down all the time might be affecting her lungs? I had not thought about that. She cannot stand at all. She can lift herself on one side of her body just enough to clean her belly but that's it. She swims mainly with one leg. We let her swim about 1 hour every day to try to get her some exercise. Should we let her swim more? We have the capacity to let her swim in the bathtub up to 2-3 hours a day if that would help. We do not have a pond close by and I worry given her directional difficulties that she may be vulnerable in a large lake with some degree of current.

 

[Carrosaur]

Hi!
Are you saying that the fact that she is laying down all the time might be affecting her lungs? I had not thought about that. She cannot stand at all. She can lift herself on one side of her body just enough to clean her belly but that's it. She swims mainly with one leg. We let her swim about 1 hour every day to try to get her some exercise. Should we let her swim more? We have the capacity to let her swim in the bathtub up to 2-3 hours a day if that would help. We do not have a pond close by and I worry given her directional difficulties that she may be vulnerable in a large lake with some degree of current.

Hello!

It could be her weight, lack of exercise, or she may just be getting sick because her disability is more than just in her legs?

Think about an overweight human, or large animal like the horse earlier. When they lay down for a long time (longer than normal) their organs and bones can literally be crushed by the weight. Maybe even moved around because the body position isn't letting them rest normally, if that makes sense. I think if I was 5'4 and 250lbs instead of 5'4 and 135 and was constantly laying in bed, my breathing would be compromised, all of my organs would be pulled down because of gravity. Your disabled goose is probably a tiny bit overweight just because she can't walk around 24/7, and the fact that she's laying down flat on her stomach all day cannot be good for her. Instead of at an angle/upright?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Hi!
Are you saying that the fact that she is laying down all the time might be affecting her lungs? I had not thought about that. She cannot stand at all. She can lift herself on one side of her body just enough to clean her belly but that's it. She swims mainly with one leg. We let her swim about 1 hour every day to try to get her some exercise. Should we let her swim more? We have the capacity to let her swim in the bathtub up to 2-3 hours a day if that would help. We do not have a pond close by and I worry given her directional difficulties that she may be vulnerable in a large lake with some degree of current.

Don't take her to a body of water to swim, either get a small kiddy pool or use the bath tub but 2-3 hrs would wear her out most likely, try 30 mins at time may so she doesn't get exhausted maybe 3 X a day to start, even an hour might be too much to start. That may relieve the panting getting pressure off her lungs but gape worm I doubt she has. They literally gape like yawning but alot. You could be seeing some other genetic problems now too. Can you listen to her chest do you hear any rattling or fluid?

 

[littlegosling]

Don't take her to a body of water to swim, either get a small kiddy pool or use the bath tub but 2-3 hrs would wear her out most likely, try 30 mins at time may so she doesn't get exhausted maybe 3 X a day to start, even an hour might be too much to start. That may relieve the panting getting pressure off her lungs but gape worm I doubt she has. They literally gape like yawning but alot. You could be seeing some other genetic problems now too. Can you listen to her chest do you hear any rattling or fluid?

It is really odd as in the mornings, she is completely free of gasping or sneezing or gurgling. Then as the day goes on, it will get worse and worse. At night, she sleeps in her dog bed. She never stands or walks so I don't understand why it resolves at night and she is fine until she is placed in her day box. We are going to try a towel hammock today to see if that makes a difference. If it doesn't and she goes to gasping and sneezing again, I will listen for anything in the lungs and let you know. It is very heartbreaking to see her struggle with her breathing and if we cannot identify the cause soon, I may consider putting her down. I don't want to, but I can't see her suffering like this either. I ordered worming medication just in case and I was also wondering if I should try to treat for aspergillosis as I heard it can present like this.