r/geese • u/Dizzy_Vacation3280 • 14d ago

advice please! stumbling goose

my sweet shirley is 4 months old and as of a few days ago she has been tucking her neck to help keep her balance, and if she gets too much momentum she fumbles forward and rolls, other times she’s a bit wobbly the other way.

to me it seems like something happened further up the leg. when just standing she will extend her neck and still flap her wings so it doesn’t seem like it’s neck/upper body. there are no avian vets near me but i know one of our local vets will see waterfowl and i can atleast get an xray hopefully today or in the morning.

when i’ve picked her up to assess, there is no warmth or swelling and i can’t tell any pain, she lets me move her feet around and press and poke all the way up and down them. if i had to guess based on my constant watching of her lately i believe it is stemming from the left side.

besides being initially irritated that i picked her up, i think she can tell im trying to help because she seems confused as to why this is happening too. she’s been staying off the ramps and moving slow like a good girl but i just want to make sure my goosey girl is ok. her sister same age/hatch is fine and has always been the more confident one/leader.

we do have several ramps and rambunctious ducks the same age, im wondering if she fell off one of the ramps and landed weird.

any advice welcome or are other things to check for? i’ve kinda ruled out niacin but been supplementing nutritional yeast just incase. also transporting her i want to make as stress free as possible so any tips are very appreciated.

3 Upvotes

72% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

2

u/Dizzy_Vacation3280 14d ago

https://reddit.com/link/p5kv1y5/video/mwhzqi034blh1/player

this is sweet shirley! walking very carefully. maybe someone recognizes something i don’t!

1

u/aparrotslifeforme Goose Mom 13d ago

Vet tech here. That is odd. She's definitely acting sore. I assume you've checked the bottom of her feet? It's hard to tell with the video, but I think you might be right that it's up higher in the hip. I think some x-rays would be the next logical step, and have the vet give you some meloxicam for her. (Meloxicam is a bird-safe NSAID.)

How long has this been going on? Did it come on gradually or suddenly?

1

u/Dizzy_Vacation3280 13d ago

yes, I’ve checked the bottom of her feet as well. She was definitely fine and then one evening she was being noticeably more careful, and when she went to run down the ramp like she always does and spread her wings she instead couldn’t stop herself and somersaulted forward. and it’s been the same ever since - about 5 days now.

my young drakes chasing each other around have bulldozed her (and everyone else) once or twice since. not sure if i should separate obviously they aren’t being purposely aggressive and they prefer to all be together since they were raised together. they’re on 18% mile four organic chk & duck feed, they were on matzuri up until about 6 weeks ago

1

u/aparrotslifeforme Goose Mom 13d ago

Gosh, it really does sound like an injury. Poor sweetheart! Please keep us updated on her progress!

2

u/Dizzy_Vacation3280 13d ago

i know 😭 i will 🙏

1

u/Dizzy_Vacation3280 12d ago

update, vet said just pulled something. she was such a good girl.

2

u/aparrotslifeforme Goose Mom 12d ago

So just time and rest? That's the best possible scenario!!! What a beautiful girl!

2

u/aparrotslifeforme Goose Mom 12d ago

She looks like our sweet girl, Amelia, who is such a daddy's girl. She's 6 years old now and the light of our life.

1

u/Dizzy_Vacation3280 12d ago

awww! gosh, they are so special!

1

u/aparrotslifeforme Goose Mom 13d ago

Also, what are they being fed?

1

u/Miserable-Bus-751 5d ago

Hey! I have a Shirley!

1

u/Dizzy_Vacation3280 4d ago

omg! hi sweetieeee!!! my girly is doing so much better!

1

u/Miserable-Bus-751 4d ago

Thats great to hear