Spring goose raising focuses on disease prevention, what are the key management points?

I. Gosling indigestion

Goslings under 2 weeks of age have not yet fully developed digestive organs and have weak digestive function, so improper feeding and management can easily cause indigestion. For example, feeding goslings feed with a high crude fiber content shortly after hatching; suddenly changing the feed formula and feeding amount; feed lacking fine sand grains, resulting in poor digestive function of the gizzard. In addition, factors such as sudden weather changes can also easily lead to the occurrence of this disease.

1. General symptoms. Sick goslings are listless, with head lowered and eyes closed, dull feathers, drooping wings, and reduced or lost appetite. The droppings are thin, with increased frequency of defecation, pale green or white, sometimes with foam or mucus, and a sour odor. The area around the vent is soiled and stuck together, and the sick goslings grow poorly.

2. Prevention and control methods. First, improve feeding management. Gosling feed should be nutritionally complete, easy to digest, and free from spoilage, preferably mixed and fed fresh, with no overnight feed. Feeding should be regular and quantitative. During the first 7 days of the brooding period, mix the feed with an appropriate amount of warm water. The drinking water for young goslings should be replaced with warm boiled water. After 5 days of age, add an appropriate amount of fine sand to the feed. For goslings that have already become ill, feed yeast tablets or lactasin, 0.2 grams per goose each time, mixed into the feed, for 2 consecutive days; for goslings with diarrhea symptoms, add 0.04% furazolidone or 2% charcoal crumbs to the feed, and they will recover after 2 consecutive days.

II. Gosling plague

This disease is an acute, septicemic infectious disease of goslings. Sick geese show symptoms such as listlessness, loss of appetite, diarrhea, and anal incontinence. It generally occurs 3 to 5 days after hatching and can spread through the whole flock; geese after 1 month of age generally do not develop it. The typical pathological change is the formation of plugs in the small intestine, which in severe cases can block the intestinal tract.

1. General symptoms. This disease can be divided into 3 types: peracute, acute, and subacute. Peracute type: sudden death for unknown reasons. It mostly occurs in goslings within 1 week of age. Acute type: mostly occurs in goslings 1 to 2 weeks of age, with listlessness, loss of appetite, severe diarrhea, and yellow-white or yellow-green watery droppings; the course of disease is mostly 1 to 2 days, with nervous symptoms appearing before death. Subacute type: mostly occurs in flocks over 2 weeks of age, with poor spirits, not eating, and watery diarrhea. Some geese will recover on their own.

2. Prevention and control measures

About 1 month before the breeding geese lay eggs, vaccinate twice in succession with gosling plague vaccine, so that the eggs contain maternal antibodies, thereby enabling the goslings to develop passive immunity. If the breeding geese have not been injected with gosling plague vaccine, then newly hatched goslings must be injected with attenuated gosling plague vaccine. For breeding geese that have already been vaccinated, the vaccine may also be injected as appropriate according to the local epidemic situation. For sick geese and geese in the same flock, hyperimmune serum against gosling plague should be used for prevention and treatment.

III. Goose influenza

Goose influenza, abbreviated as goose flu, mainly occurs in goslings. It is mostly caused by sudden climate changes, poor feeding management, and young geese catching cold. The mortality rate of this disease is relatively high.

1. General symptoms. Sick geese show listlessness, poor appetite, huddling of goslings, runny nose, difficulty breathing and head shaking; when shaking their heads, the nasal mucus sticks to the feathers, and the feathers become soiled, damp, and ruffled. The course of disease is generally 3 to 5 days, with severe diarrhea before death.

2. Prevention and control measures. Keep goslings within 1 month of age warm and provide scientific feeding management. In areas where this disease occurs frequently, an inactivated vaccine can be injected for prevention. For sick goose flocks, intramuscular injection of penicillin and oral administration of sulfadiazine tablets have good effects; at the same time, pay attention to cold protection and warmth, and improve feeding management conditions.