# Help, my goose acts drunk!



## uarelovedbygod (Nov 1, 2003)

We have 6 geese 4 adults, 2 goslings.
One of our female geese (Joan) woke up today acting strange. When she is sitting down, her head wobbles and shakes. When she stands up and starts to walk, she kinda falls forward til she gains her balance. When she walks, she walks slower and with wider steps like she is drunk or trying not to fall over. 
Of the geese, she is lowest in the pecking order, if that makes any difference.
She has plenty of grass and water. Any ideas?:help:
Noah


----------



## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

The first thing I would do is get some activated charcoal into her asap. Won't hurt to treat all your geese at the same time. Squirt some charcoal mixed with water down the throat of the sick one and mix it with feed for the others.


----------



## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

What antibiotics do you have on hand?


----------



## uarelovedbygod (Nov 1, 2003)

Thanks...we just got 3 capsules worth of charcoal mixed w/ water into her.
My son who held her said he thought she felt very light.
She has fresh water and lives in a pasture with grass and weeds that is mowed once per week. We don't typically feed grain.
Antibiotics we have are Baytril, Duramycin, moxidectin (all for larger animals)
and Terramycin that says for poultry and other animals.
Thanks for any opinions.
Noah


----------



## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

Give her Baytril 0.2cc/# of body weight.
Put some sugar in her drinking water and get her on some feed such as layer mash or chick starter.


----------



## uarelovedbygod (Nov 1, 2003)

We've never given a goose a shot before. Where do you give it?


----------



## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

I would think in the thickest part of the breast but I don't understand why you would give an antibiotic.

Here's a good source of info. http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp


----------



## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

Inject it in the breast. 2x/day for 5 days. Give a probiotic orally for at least a week.


----------



## uarelovedbygod (Nov 1, 2003)

Now for an update....within 3 days of giving the goose charcoal, it completely recovered. Praise God! Now, however, she is sick with the same thing again. I don't think it involves something she ate because none of the other geese in the same pasture got sick. But yesterday and today she has been wobbly again--acts like an equilibrium issue or maybe weak ankles- she tends to fall forward or backward, sometimes when she is walking or sometimes when she is just standing still. When she sits in the grass she looks perfect. One of my sons thinks she feels rather light for her size. I am wondering if these symptoms could be partly due to dehydration. For now we have isolated her in a small cage in the shade--plenty of water, I will give her feed and may have my son mow a little grass so we can put some grass clippings in the cage with her.
By the way, my wife decided against giving her antibiotics last time....she did not feel comfortable with her farm skills to give the shots.
Any thoughts?


----------



## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

Has she been getting feed or just grass in the interim?


----------



## sunflower-n-ks (Aug 7, 2006)

Is there a place in the pasture that stays moist? Check for mold. It is deadly. Maybe she is finding some goodies that the others have missed and there is also mold there. 

That was a problem I had one year. Old dead grass covering new grass sprouting and the wet conditions grew mold also. Lost a couple of geese before I figured out the problem. Antibiotics saved the last to be affected by it, 

Weak, shaky, sitting a lot were the symptoms they had.


----------



## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

I would put some electrolytes with vitamins in a pan of water. Then tear up some lettuce and float it in the water. Let it sit for about 15 minutes so the lettuce can absorb the vitamins before giving it to the goose.


----------

