I picked up an orphaned gosling in Margaree Forks today on behalf of Hope for Wildlife, and s/he is staying the night with us!
Here are some interesting gosling facts:
- Goslings can't regulate their own body temperature, so they need help staying warm. Hot water bottles or heating pads (on a low setting) wrapped in a towel are great for this. Make sure the gosling has a place to go if the heat becomes too warm! I like keeping a towel and heating pad in half of the gosling's space and a towel without a heating pad in the other half.
- Goslings like to eat chopped up grass and duck grower or chicken mash. Stay away from oatmeal. It expands a bit much in their little bellies. They also need plenty of water to drink. You can put some duck grower or chicken mash in the water, if you like. They like that.
- Goslings can splash a bit each day in a little bowl of water (neither too warm nor too cool), but they need to be supervised, and they should only be in the water about ten minutes. They get waterlogged easily, and their temperature starts to drop.
- Remember that the best person to raise a gosling is a goose! Try to reunite babies with their moms whenever possible. And don't worry about mama rejecting her baby because of the way you smell. That smell thing is a myth. Birds can't smell you on their babies.
I took a video of our house-guest this evening. Couldn't resist. Here you go: