Injured Goose Rescued, Bread Warning Issued: Stratford Animal Control

STRATFORD, CT — Stratford Animal Control officers rescued a goose that had a hook stuck in its leg Thursday at Wooster Pond in Stratford, according to officials.

“Thanks to Snowflake Pet Center for helping us remove the hook and giving it an antibiotic injection,” officials wrote in a post on the Stratford Animal Control’s Facebook page. “The goose was transported to a wildlife rehabber for recovery.

“In addition to the hook, this goose and several other geese at Wooster Pond have Angel Wing. This is when their feathers grow too fast causing them to be deformed and they lose the ability to fly and protect themselves from predators.

“There is NO cure and is directly caused from feeding them BREAD.”

Angel Wing is a condition that is attributed to an “unhealthy diet of rich protein and carbohydrates,” according to WagWalking.com.

“Birds in local parks that are fed bread on a consistent basis which causes accelerating the growth of the bird, may experience rapid wing development that outgrows proper bone support,” a post on WagWalking.com reads. “Even just a few days of eating bread can cause irreparable damage. An adult bird with angel wing deformity cannot be treated, it will remain deformed and unable to fly while young birds, if treated early, have a much better chance of overcoming the condition.

“Angel wings in birds is a deformity in the last joint on one or both wings. The result is that the wings twist unnaturally outwards rather than lying flat as they should.”

Read more from the Stratford Animal Control here, or in the Facebook post below: