Sick geese

[menageriefarm]

I have lost three geese in four days. The vets have no idea why and I have only had geese for about two years so fairly new. I have never had a goose get sick and die until this week. The first two geese were two year old african ganders one was found dead and the other one was just laying there still breathing and blinking but when I picked him up he was like dead weight wouldn't pick his head up. I moved him to a seperate pen and as soon as I got him situated he started siezing after the 4th seizure he died. A day went by everyone else was fine. The day after my one year old African goose started stumbling and had sagging wing but she was eating and drinking. I got her to the vet and they could not find anything wrong with her they gave me antibiotics and last night she did fine. This morning she was okay still stumbling but if I picked her up she kicked her legs. She then died a few hours later. I have sent her off to get a necropsy done. None of my ducks have gotten sick, my turkeys come and go and none of them have gotten sick. Has anyone else experienced anything like this?

 

[AGeese]

Could they have been posioned? Otherwise it sure seems like something was spreading.

 

[menageriefarm]

Could they have been posioned? Otherwise it sure seems like something was spreading.

I looked and didn't see anything. I don't keep any poisons on the property. I will have to wait and see if the necrospy shows anything. So far no one else is sick. I'm just confused as to why only the geese and not the ducks. I wasn't sure if there was a disease specifically for geese I just didn't happen to know about.

 

[AGeese]

Well the other possiblity is they got into something. I've found mine chewing out insulation from my siding, they're always looking to chew on something.

 

[Goosebaby]

I’m so sorry!


AGeese is right, geese love to chew on things and if they’ve been nibbling on something with a zinc coating or swallowed something with zinc or lead that could very well cause nervous system issues, seizures and death.

Disease could be a factor but if your ducks are like mine and get into everything and muck about they probably would have caught it first, so I have doubts botulism could be the cause, though it could still be possible. Bird flu can cause neurological symptoms but you'd be seeing signs of upper respiratory illness.

Another possibility is mold, if they’ve been eating mold it can cause all sorts of serious symptoms including neurological symptoms.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Very sorry for your loss, please let us know what the necropsy says.

 

[menageriefarm]

I still have not found anything in thier pen that would cause this. Still waiting on the necrospy results. I have been able to keep two alive on smz/tmp antibiotics. The 6 that have not come down with it yet are doing fine. The ducks and turkeys are also fine. This is definitely a mystery. They do not run loose they have a very large pen. We change waters consistently. No old food or any rotting vegetation. Leaves just started falling but we are raking those up. As soon as I get results of the necropsy I will post.

 

[menageriefarm]

I’m so sorry!


AGeese is right, geese love to chew on things and if they’ve been nibbling on something with a zinc coating or swallowed something with zinc or lead that could very well cause nervous system issues, seizures and death.

Disease could be a factor but if your ducks are like mine and get into everything and muck about they probably would have caught it first, so I have doubts botulism could be the cause, though it could still be possible. Bird flu can cause neurological symptoms but you'd be seeing signs of upper respiratory illness.

Another possibility is mold, if they’ve been eating mold it can cause all sorts of serious symptoms including neurological symptoms.

I have not found any mold. Not possible for mold in food or the ducks and turkeys would be sick. The test was negative on avian flu I do know that much I am pretty sure if it was that all my birds would be coming down with it not just my geese. I would think the zinc or lead poisoning would also be effecting my ducks too? Definitely my turkeys they eat everything.

 

[TwoRavens]

What were the necropsy results?

 

[Miss Lydia]

What were the necropsy results?

@menageriefarm