orphaned gosling

[mhopson19]

So, my husband and I found a gosling yesterday. The parents were no where to be found. We sat in our car for a long time and saw no geese. So my question is what kind of gosling is this? I realize that if it is a Canadian gosling I will have to let him/her go when he gets big. But I am not sure if it IS a Canadian gosling. Also, has anyone had any experience in raising a Canadian goose in the United States? I know the fines are high if caught but will they really care if I have one gosling and don't pen it up, just make sure it has food? The only problem is that I think the poor guy has imprinted on me, if he is a Canadian goose will he still leave and migrate when it comes time? Thanks for the replies.

 

[Miss Lydia]

So, my husband and I found a gosling yesterday. The parents were no where to be found. We sat in our car for a long time and saw no geese. So my question is what kind of gosling is this? I realize that if it is a Canadian gosling I will have to let him/her go when he gets big. But I am not sure if it IS a Canadian gosling. Also, has anyone had any experience in raising a Canadian goose in the United States? I know the fines are high if caught but will they really care if I have one gosling and don't pen it up, just make sure it has food? The only problem is that I think the poor guy has imprinted on me, if he is a Canadian goose will he still leave and migrate when it comes time? Thanks for the replies.

Looks like something is wrong with it's wing. Poor lil thing must not have been able to keep up with the rest. Did you find it close to a body of water? Do you know how to care for water fowl ? Not sure on breed. might be Canada

 

[mhopson19]

We found it kind of close to a lake. We were at a park yesterday and saw it as we were leaving. We didn't see any adult geese all day. And yes I know how to care for waterfowl; we have 2 ducks. I was thinking it was left behind as well, it is young and does not walk like other goslimgs I have seen- it is very awkward. But I am concerned about the laws. Legally, if it is Canadian I can't keep him, even though I plan on letting him free range and come and go as he wants when he is an adult.

 

[Miss Lydia]

We found it kind of close to a lake. We were at a park yesterday and saw it as we were leaving. We didn't see any adult geese all day. And yes I know how to care for waterfowl; we have 2 ducks. I was thinking it was left behind as well, it is young and does not walk like other goslimgs I have seen- it is very awkward. But I am concerned about the laws. Legally, if it is Canadian I can't keep him, even though I plan on letting him free range and come and go as he wants when he is an adult.

Do you know of any wild life rehabbers in your area or water fowl rescuers you could call them and most likely on or the other would take the gosling. It may have a birth defect if it's not walking normal. which would mean it probably may not be able to be released anyway which is where a good water fowl rescue would come in handy, Majestic water fowl is one and Carolina water fowl rescue is another they are both on line and maybe able to help you locate someone in your area if you contact them. I'd start giving this gosling so really good poultry vitamins that have B3 [niacin in them] because niacin dif sometimes shows up as leg problems lameness, stumbling even neurological problems. seizures. The law stinks because who can turn their backs on a gosling or any animal let alone when we know what will happen to it. It means alot of us would be breaking the law I am sure. So your choices are keep it and do as your saying keep a low profile about it or checking into rehabber or rescues.

 

[mhopson19]

I am putting some brewers yeast on the food right now, but I am going to order some vitamins to put in the water for him/her. I think I will keep an eye on it for a few days and see if it gets better, if so I will just raise it until he/she can be released or leave on his own, if not I will look into a wildlife rehabber. It breaks my heart. I know my chickens and ducks are happy in their pen, but this is a wild goose and I know it will not be happy in our yard without a big pond to swim in (our ducks have a large wading pool, but I don't think that is big enough for a goose). I just couldn't leave it to die, if it was nice I would have left it alone and came back with food to check on it but it was starting to rain and getting colder. I hate that the law won't even let us help babies that need it.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I am putting some brewers yeast on the food right now, but I am going to order some vitamins to put in the water for him/her. I think I will keep an eye on it for a few days and see if it gets better, if so I will just raise it until he/she can be released or leave on his own, if not I will look into a wildlife rehabber. It breaks my heart. I know my chickens and ducks are happy in their pen, but this is a wild goose and I know it will not be happy in our yard without a big pond to swim in (our ducks have a large wading pool, but I don't think that is big enough for a goose). I just couldn't leave it to die, if it was nice I would have left it alone and came back with food to check on it but it was starting to rain and getting colder. I hate that the law won't even let us help babies that need it.

There are quite a few members on here who have Canada geese, and it's a misconception that geese have to have a big pond to be happy, I have 2 geese that are happy as can be in a very large kiddy pool, And you know once your goose grows up and migration begins most likely it will leave so your just giving it a good start in life. As long as you give it the option that to me is what's important. Just don't give out any more info that necessary. there is no way you could have left that gosling there it would have been eaten before night fall most likely. Please keep us updated on how it is doing. Brewers yeast is good for niacin. also shredding up Romaine lettuce is another good source and grass. just be sure to offer grit when giving anything other than crumble Geese are grazers so having access to some good grass will benefit this lil one alot.

 

[mhopson19]

I definitely will keep you updated! Once this stormy weather passes I am going to set up a pen outside so he can learn to graze during the day. And I just meant I wasn't sure if he would be happy if for some reason he could not migrate because of a birth defect or something.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I definitely will keep you updated! Once this stormy weather passes I am going to set up a pen outside so he can learn to graze during the day. And I just meant I wasn't sure if he would be happy if for some reason he could not migrate because of a birth defect or something.

Just be sure to keep him warm for now. being a new hatch or he looks to be in his first week they need to be kept at about 80* and a nice cuddly stuffed animal and a non breakable mirror for company would help too. They adapt real well so if it does turn out he has some kind of defect as long as he has a safe place to live he should do fine. Make sure he is on something that he can have traction under foot, like an old clean towel this way if he does have something going on with it's legs it won't get worse .Do you have other water fowl?

Look forward to updates.

 

[mhopson19]

Just be sure to keep him warm for now. being a new hatch or he looks to be in his first week they need to be kept at about 80* and a nice cuddly stuffed animal and a non breakable mirror for company would help too. They adapt real well so if it does turn out he has some kind of defect as long as he has a safe place to live he should do fine. Make sure he is on something that he can have traction under foot, like an old clean towel this way if he does have something going on with it's legs it won't get worse .Do you have other water fowl?

Look forward to updates.

I do have two ducks, they are both 8 weeks old. Right now I have him in one of those big 50 gallon rubbermaid tubs with a heat lamp.The bedding is sand (we use it for all of our babies) with some pine chips on one side to lay down on. We will see how long that lasts, lol. I hope not too soon, the next biggest container I have is a 300 gallon rubbermaid tub, and that is a pain in the butt to set up and maintain. But oh well! I am so happy to have him, he is such a sweetheart! We let him out for a couple of hours each day to have some exercise and run around in the house and he will snuggle up to you if you let him.

I will put a stuffed animal in today to keep him company. And he is still walking funny but he is eating more and running around more when we let him out, so I take that as a good sign.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I do have two ducks, they are both 8 weeks old. Right now I have him in one of those big 50 gallon rubbermaid tubs with a heat lamp.The bedding is sand (we use it for all of our babies) with some pine chips on one side to lay down on. We will see how long that lasts, lol. I hope not too soon, the next biggest container I have is a 300 gallon rubbermaid tub, and that is a pain in the butt to set up and maintain. But oh well! I am so happy to have him, he is such a sweetheart! We let him out for a couple of hours each day to have some exercise and run around in the house and he will snuggle up to you if you let him.

I will put a stuffed animal in today to keep him company. And he is still walking funny but he is eating more and running around more when we let him out, so I take that as a good sign.

Does sound good. just the gosling by himself should be okay for a while in a 50 gal, Hopefully as the gosling eats and gets some good vitamins into it it will make great progress and getting all the exercise is so good for it too. Maybe in a couple weeks you can gradually start introducing it to your ducklings. It will have to be done slowly but they should accept it after a while.