My goose has cancer? Or something else?

Adrisducks

Songster
6 Years
Oct 26, 2016
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My goose is sick and one chicken. I have 2 geese, 5 ducks, 23 chickens total. No one else is showing any signs.

My goose is 5 years old and chicken is 4 years old.
Many ducks chickens of different ages acting fine. No new birds introduced to flock for 5 months

Diet is Purina's Pride layer formula with added vitamins


Goose: Lethargic, lost weight, doesn't preen or bathe, barely eats. That's all. Vet said possible cancer of reproductive organs.
Gave me antibiotics twice daily. No improvement at all. Calling him in the morning.

Chicken: lethargic, lost weight, open mouth breathing/gasping occasionally, sneezing, swollen face/comb. Tried treating for URI with no improvement, then treated for worms ivermectin possible gape worm, no improvement, tried antibiotics from vet no improvement.

I don't think they are having the same issue even though they have a few symptom similarities. But I don't know what to do from here. Any help advice would be greatly appreciated

Picture of her at the vets office.
 

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Do you mean producers pride feed?

Layer feed in general is bad for waterfowl, it’s formulated for chickens and doesn’t have nearly enough B vitamins, other vitamins, and protein, plus its generally bad for non laying females, juveniles, and males because it has unnecessary amounts of calcium which over time can cause pancreatic and kidney problems as well as causing anemia due to binding with iron.

I strongly recommend that you put your goose of manna pro duckling/gosling start, purina flock raiser, or nutrena all flock and get some liquid B vitamin complex and a liquid multivitamin.

For fastest weight gain you can put her on purina gamebird start also.

You can try adding water to her feed to make a soupy mash, sometimes this can encourage them to eat. If she still refuses you’ll have to tube feed her, it’s the only way to keep her alive until she’s strong enough to feed herself.



Do you know why your vet thought cancer was a possibility? Cancer isn’t unheard of in geese but it’s very unusual, especially in only a 5 year old goose, where any xrays done or are there any noticeable lumps internally?

Have you noticed any other symptoms, even the subtlest difference just prior to falling ill or since?

What does her droppings look like? Bright green, black, red, pink, or completely or mostly white? Are they solid or mostly liquid? Are they bubbly?

Have you noticed frequent swallowing, drooling, head shaking? bubbles or foam in eyes to any degree?


What antibiotics did the vet give you? what tests if any did he run on either bird and did he think it was viral bacterial, or mycoplasma That your hen has?


It could be unrelated but considering your hen is also ill with an upper respiratory illness it’s possible that your goose also has it, geese often don’t show as severe facial swelling as chickens do with infections like this.
 
Yes I mean producers pride. But I also buy Purina all flock/waterfowl
I add B vitamin complex, joshes frogs yeast.
My ducks always eat more egg shells I put out for everyone separately than my chickens.

I forgot to mention I tried nutri-drench after reading it helped URIs

I tried the soupy mash food but not the gosling starter food yet. My geese only like the food dry. My ducks only like it soupy.

The vet thinks it's cancer because he felt a very large lump in her reproductive area. He gave me amoxicillin. He said X-rays wouldn't show anything. And she needed a cat scan which they don't have at that facility. It's the only vet that sees exotics.
He said cancer in the reproductive system is common for domestic geese.

No subtle differences the past few weeks..vet said they are extremely good at hiding symptoms because of being prey animals. I check them quite often and work from home so I'm with them all day but the geese don't like being handled as much as the others. Still I watch them like a hawk.

Her droppings were still normal on Thursday but now are bright green liquid. Getting it on her back feathers.

No swallowing or head shaking, drools a little as of today. Eyes perfectly fine.

I did not bring my hen yet. I'm bringing her tomorrow. I don't think my hen has a URI because nutri-drench and antibiotics didn't help at all.
My hen is moving around but barely eating now
 
Yes I mean producers pride. But I also buy Purina all flock/waterfowl
I add B vitamin complex, joshes frogs yeast.
My ducks always eat more egg shells I put out for everyone separately than my chickens.

I forgot to mention I tried nutri-drench after reading it helped URIs

I tried the soupy mash food but not the gosling starter food yet. My geese only like the food dry. My ducks only like it soupy.

The vet thinks it's cancer because he felt a very large lump in her reproductive area. He gave me amoxicillin. He said X-rays wouldn't show anything. And she needed a cat scan which they don't have at that facility. It's the only vet that sees exotics.
He said cancer in the reproductive system is common for domestic geese.

No subtle differences the past few weeks..vet said they are extremely good at hiding symptoms because of being prey animals. I check them quite often and work from home so I'm with them all day but the geese don't like being handled as much as the others. Still I watch them like a hawk.

Her droppings were still normal on Thursday but now are bright green liquid. Getting it on her back feathers.

No swallowing or head shaking, drools a little as of today. Eyes perfectly fine.

I did not bring my hen yet. I'm bringing her tomorrow. I don't think my hen has a URI because nutri-drench and antibiotics didn't help at all.
My hen is moving around but barely eating now


If your hen has CRD amoxicillin won’t really help, typically Tylosin will work if it’s that.
Viruses and fungal infections also won’t be affected by antibiotics.

The green droppings are likely from not eating, the drooling could be from a mass pushing/ obstructing her digestive system or from an infection.

Could you feel your goose’s abdomen for the lump yourself? Sometimes with a lower intestinal infection from clostridium they can get a similar problem to a mega colon in humans and it will feel like a large lump in the lower abdomen. Work your way down until you feel two bulbs near her tail feathers, “that’s her pelvis” just below that but before you get to the rib cage you might feel a hard round lump. Technically that could be a tumor or something pushing an organ out of place but if it occasionally bubble, gurgles, or moves it’s her intestine. Normally this is soft and squishy but if it’s enlarged and compacted it will feel like an egg stuck in there.
 
Is this the same thing? Could I use it on both?
 

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YES! Tylosin/ Tylan is also effective against clostridium perfringens and intestinal spirochetes also so if there’s a chance it isn’t a tumor and is an inflamed intestine from clostridium it will help.
 
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Also do you happen to have a syringe? Your goose probably won’t want to drink it in her water, it’s very bitter, giving it to her with a syringe is the only way to be sure she takes it.
 
Yes I have a syringe. My hen now has foamy eyes


QUOTE="Goosebaby, post: 27119969, member: 552797"]
Also do you happen to have a syringe? Your goose probably won’t want to drink it in her water, it’s very bitter, giving it to her with a syringe is the only way to be sure she takes it.
[/QUOTE]
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Yes I have a syringe. My hen now has foamy eyes


QUOTE="Goosebaby, post: 27119969, member: 552797"]
Also do you happen to have a syringe? Your goose probably won’t want to drink it in her water, it’s very bitter, giving it to her with a syringe is the only way to be sure she takes it.

For your goose direct oral dosage with Tylan powder is 40 mg per kg

Has she eaten anything since yesterday?
 

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