Death of a Goose

Sadly one of my beloved geese died this morning from what I thought was being egg bound.  She was fine yesterday and when we put them in for the night last night, and when I let them out this morning she remained on their nest.  I thought she was laying an egg but then noticed some blood bits on the others so I went back to check her and she had died.  I was very upset.

Now I've done some research and I'm not so sure.  She had lots of forming eggs inside her but none that was blocking up her body, unless she'd already laid it.  When I found her, lots of her innards had come out of her rear end.  My neighbour said that perhaps the others had done that to her    Surely not.  They all look out for each other and her other friend is desperately looking for her today (we got the 4 of them in 2 lots of 2) - all females, we don't have a gander.  Any ideas?  I don't want t be missing something that could happen to the others.

Prolapsed oviduct. That doesn't answer what causes it, but this site says it's sometimes caused by straining to lay an unusually big egg. Like when humans get hernias, the muscles around the vent weaken or tear and can no longer hold in the oviduct. Birds don't always die of the prolapse, but they will bleed to death if their innards are torn as a result. This is just a guess, but if for some reason the prolapsed vent sticks to the eggshell, I imagine it could cause it to tear. Sometimes other birds will peck at the prolapsed vent—I don't know whether this is more likely to be aggression or just plain curiosity and lack of understanding that it causes damage. I've never seen a prolapse in person. If you ever find it in process, it's my understanding that you can poke it back in gently with a clean finger.

I'm sorry this happened to your goose. It sounds really upsetting. It doesn't sound like it's an indicator of infectious disease, though, so your other geese should be okay.

A little more on prolapse almost all the way down the page.

Here are two more informative links:

Recurring prolapse in a goose

How to treat prolapse

Thankyou Kerrick, at least I know now for the future.  It makes me feel a bit bad though as maybe I could have saved her.

While I can understand feeling bad, you're certainly not at fault. You can't be with them at all times, especially when they're laying. I hope you'll feel better soon, knowing you gave her a good and loving home throughout her life, and that you're doing the same for your other geese who are still alive.

Hi there heninfrance,
sorry to hear about your Goose     it is trerribly upsetting when an animal dies unexpectadly,but dont feel bad, as Kerrick says you cant be with them all the time and you obviously look after your animals well. It happens, its shit when it does, but it does happen.
It does sound like a prolapse, lots of good info there Kerrick.
suomi.