What to do about organophosphate pesticide poisoning in farmed geese?
Geese become poisoned after accidentally eating vegetables or grass that have been treated with organophosphate pesticides, or drinking pond water contaminated with the pesticide.
[Symptoms] Most cases are acute poisoning. In acute cases there are almost no obvious symptoms; about 10 minutes after feeding, the bird suddenly flaps its wings, jumps, convulses and dies. In cases with a slightly longer course, the bird shows restlessness, difficulty breathing, inability to honk, unsteady standing, tearing, markedly constricted pupils, drooling and thin nasal discharge, and shakes its head frequently, flinging the feed it has eaten out of its mouth; muscle tremors, diarrhea, and finally convulsions and death. Some can survive it. There are also chronic poisonings. Sick geese refuse feed but drink water, and lie prone on the ground; they pass watery white droppings, and if held upside down they vomit black fluid from the mouth. Laying geese show a drop in egg production rate. The course is longer in some cases, and some die in about 1 week.
[Pathological necropsy] In acute deaths, the liver and kidneys may be seen to be enlarged and brittle, the gastrointestinal mucosa shows hemorrhagic inflammation, sloughing, ulcers and other changes, and the gastrointestinal contents have a garlicky odor. In chronic deaths, the keratinoid lining of the gizzard may be seen to be blackened and bark-like, the duodenal mucosa is congested and hemorrhagic, the liver is anemic with white necrotic spots on the surface, and there is slight hemorrhage in the coronary fat. The yolk is watery and the eggs are deformed.
[Diagnosis] Diagnosis is mainly based on the history of exposure, combined with pathological necropsy.
[Treatment] Once organophosphate poisoning occurs, rescue must be prompt. Immediately stop using the suspected feed and drinking water; incise the crop or press the crop upward to squeeze out its contents, and give 0.01% potassium permanganate (contraindicated in 1 605 poisoning) or 2.5% baking soda (contraindicated in trichlorfon poisoning) solution to drink; promptly use atropine for symptomatic treatment, injecting 0.5 mg subcutaneously per goose, reduced for chicks, repeat once after 15 minutes, and thereafter as needed [check whether the pupils dilate and whether drooling stops] atropine may be given orally every 30 minutes, one tablet each time, dissolved in water and fed; where conditions permit, pralidoxime (0.2-0.5 ml per bird, intravenous injection) or chlorpralidoxime may also be used.
[Prevention] Organophosphate pesticides should be strictly managed; do not graze in areas where organophosphate pesticides have just been used (generally an interval of 1:2 weeks or more should be allowed). It is best not to use organophosphate pesticides to kill mites, flies, etc. in goose houses.