Hello!
You've been very kind to advise me on how to help this goose with a broken wing. Knowing the wildlife hospital here had euthanized a gosling I brought it because it was never going to fly, and prompted by an environmental scientist, I did some research about goose/ birds with broken wings, types of injuries that can be healed, etc, and outcomes at rescue centers/ universities around the country… and I am 100% convinced that the wild life center would euthanized him. I read about the University of Virginia euthanizing a young tundra swan because her humerus was not healing fast enough!! It also seem that legally, they don’t have a choice, with protected species of waterfowl. Also, a maintenance man in my building was confident that he never saw that pond freeze, plus, I was very tired that week-end and didn’t feel I had the strength to orchestrate it all. I continued to feed them every day (poultry pellets and bird seeds) and if the other geese were around they knew once they saw me to come discretely, no honking, to an area sheltered from the view of the rest, depending on where they were settled that day, and get their quiet, private feeding. If they others showed up at some point, they knew I would leave and meet them at the other “safe” place of the lake. Really smart geese. I saw them last that Saturday morning and Monday at noon he was a widower ;(( She was lying dead on the median of the road where they liked to graze, most likely hit by a car. I’m sure that’s how he ended up with a broken wing. He was not over there crying for her as I hear they do (but maybe she was killed soon after I left on Saturday), but he has been alone ever since, so it must have been his mate.

I continued to feed him every day and he really looks stronger. At least I think he does. When the other geese to show up they would immediately try to steal his food so I had to be right next to him for them not to approach. You can imagine, I ended up feeling bad for them and I would feed them too in the end. The gander got to trust me since I was defending him from the other geese, until one day, when he couldn’t see well where the food was and me, forgetting he is not a puppy (so sorry), I grabbed him and repositioned him with his bill on the food. You can imagine, he was screaming and they all ran into the water. He’s been more cautious since then, I am still protecting him from the rest, but once hunger no longer suppresses his fear he stays at a distance. Unfortunately the lake froze over completely last week, and he was completely alone for a few nights until it thawed. When there was no more snow on the ground I broke the ice by the edge of the pond, at a good distance from him, with my car snow broom, but he was frightened by the noise. I still think I can catch him, but I am concerned with whether the sanctuary is legally allowed to keep him and I’m planning to ask the to look into it.

In the meantime, I’ve noticed something disturbing about his injury. I still can’t take him to the ohio wildlife hospital as they would euthanize him, and from what I’ve read vets might refuse to see him, or worse might be compelled to “turn him in” to ohio wildlife. When he was preening a few days ago, I could see the broken bone very prominently, he even inserted his head in between the bone and the wing, the gap being so big. I did not have the camera then, but I took a few pictures this morning (although I didn't get teh same view). After he preens you can even see the broken bone from the top, which was not the case before. It might be because he’s picking at surrounding feathers. A week or so ago he had wet feathers in that area (which fortunately look normal now), but it could have been from something he was doing. So, once again, I would like to ask you whether you can infer from the picture/ description that he needs antibiotics although so much time has passed or some local treatment to the edge of the bone (that would not involve a vet). He looks like he is thriving, although it breaks my heart to see him segregated from the rest of the geese. He finishes eating, preens and then goes on his separate way (100 feet from the rest) to sleep...

Thanks again for your time and advice.
Nelly