The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: jaykay on June 10, 2011, 05:27:41 pm
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Well, my new boy has arrived. OMG! :o
He is skinny, scared and has wet feather :'(
I think, from the general look of him he hasn't been feeding properly and someone has been pecking his feathers. So maybe his oil gland isn't working or maybe he's just miserable and was bullied. He certainly looks miserable. Poor thing. I know he's had an overnight journey but there's no way that has caused this :-\
Please don't let him die and please let him pick up fast.
Cirrus seems to like him at least :)
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Fingers crossed jaykay, why is it never simple, its all such a worry and I lose sleep over such things very easily :-[
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I've just blow-dried him :D He was sopping wet and shivering and the evening is getting cool. With a few 'nibblings' he just sat on my knee, bless him, and let me. Has he been so wet since he was picked up yesterday evening? What in earth happened to him before?
Well, I'm not aware of any mites then - and we cuddled quite a bit :D (if I start itching wildly in a minute....). His preen gland doesn't seem to be blocked though not very oily. So I think it's been caused by under-feeding and maybe bullying.
Hopefully with good feed and a dry house at night, he'll start to improve. Haven't seen him try to preen yet. Maybe because he's miserable?
But yes, Amanda, why couldn't I just have bought a happy, healthy gander that settled in and was fine ::)
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Where on eath did you get him from? They surely didn't charge for him to come to you in that state did they? ::)
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I paid £75 for him and another £75 to have him brought up here from the south >:( I'll follow that up in due course, right now I'm just bothered about him :-\
He came from a large and apparently reputable wildfowl place, which was recommended by someone on the Practical Poultry forum. She bought goslings, so maybe they were still ok :-\ I just don't think he can have been looked after properly. It's a big place, by all accounts with a very wide variety of waterfowl.
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Gosh, what a lot of money! I had no idea Geese were so expensive. I won't have one as I am scared of them (got chased when wee) but that price would certaily put me off for good. Glad he's found a good home now. He'll be safe now. Give him an extra cuddle from me - just don't want one back thanks :-[ :-[
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He's a pretty rare breed hence the distance and the price. I like Steinbachers because they're beautiful but also friendly - they don't do that aggressive chasing thing, I didn't want nasty geese either. But he should have been as sleek and glossy as Cirrus ::)
He's still shivering :-\ Please let him be OK. Yes, if I can fix things for him, I'm glad he's here with me now, being looked after!
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He's still shivering :-\ I've emailed the chap I got him from expressing my concern and disappointment, will see what he says :P
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Poor gander - he does sound in a bit of a state. I cannot understand how he got so wet? Was he stored overnight outdoors and it rained or something? But surely he would have dried off on the journey.
Do hope he starts to improve soon. Or I would be asking for a refund .....
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He got 'wet feather' which basically means his feathers have lost all their waterproofing. That's why he's so wet.
Can happen if they are persistently muddy. Or too ill/ depressed to preen. Think both could've been the problem here.
It's difficult to remedy apparently....
No email back yet.
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No reply yet.
I'm a bit more hopeful this morning. He's eating and drinking, and sticking close to my goose. More to the point he's preening - I didn't see him do this at all yesterday and was getting worried that's what the problem was, he didn't know how to. But he does :)
So I'm hopeful with good food to get his preen gland making oil again and access to clean running water, he'll be able to sort it out in time. Fingers crossed!
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Poor lad. He's very lucky he's ended up with you! You'll have to post 'before and after' pics when he's fully recovered.
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Oh I'm so sorry to hear this. Completely agree - why are things just not straightforward? I sometimes feel this kind of stuff is just reserved for me! Poor chap! (loving the blow drying image though ;-) I really hope he gets through his wet feather but where in the south did you get him (if anywhere by me I know a few places I could recommend/not!)
Fingers crossed for you and don't give into breeders excuses. I stand no chance of getting anywhere with the breeders I know are responsible for giving me infected stock but by god am I going to make a noise about it! And they'll get a visit at the next show they appear at and I'll tell everyone around who'll not have me down as a mad-cow, what's happened.
Good luck and keep us posted
Mx
http://selfridgestoscats.blogspot.com (http://selfridgestoscats.blogspot.com)
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Just caught up with your thread again - funnily enough I had to blow dry baby gosling last night as a bit of freedom with mum meant it ended up soaked and left in a hollow in the grass, luckily we could still hear it. OH came in with it and it looked unlikely to survive by that point - but a blow dry and a night in my daughters bedroom snuggled deep in a fluffy towel worked wonders, now back with mum tonight in the goose house. I have this image of both you and I sitting blow drying our Steinbachers yesterday evening either side of the border! You're never alone! Hope these images below cheer you up and bring back some memories - your gander has the best chance of survival under your wonderful care jaykay, all the best...
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...sorry crick your neck for the bottom one... ::)
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Great pics Amanda, thank you :)
He's looking much better already..... :)
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...sorry crick your neck for the bottom one... ::)
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ok don't! Thanks - a dog that can do tricks! ;D ;D ;D
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dog can do not dog an jo ;D ;D ;D ;D
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Gosling no.2 gone - out with mum, dad and aunty yesterday afternoon all quite happy in the orchard, left for 45 mins alone and hey presto no gosling. We searched for four and a half hours (4 of us) but heard no cries of help and could see nothing, searched under everything, stopping occasionally to listen but nothing. Geese seem bemused too and kept coming up to us as if we had it. Can only assume a heron took it. Lesson no.2 - make a smaller pen next year so a heron can't swoop down......and confiscate some of the eggs off the nest and incubate them as back ups. The geese seem to have finished laying now so have to wait until next year....a learning curve for all of us, lets hope we don't forget it by next spring... :-[
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Oh Amanda, I'm so sorry :-*
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Ah sorry to hear that. These learning curves sure are tough at times though arent they? It's the uncertainty too - if only we could catch, interrogate and interpret heron talk!!
Mx
http://selfridgestoscats.blogspot.com (http://selfridgestoscats.blogspot.com)
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...and always that feeling of should have known better that goes with these things...oh well, thanks for words of comfort all.
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oh, what a shame. Its upsetting when young birds disappear like this. We have a lot of birds of prey here, on the lookout for chicks etc. Some of mine went last year, and apart from the blooming tom cat, I think a giant bird feeding young helped herself. Much as I would like to I refuse now to let chicks out until they appear enormous, and too big to carry off (hopefully)