Can you teach geese simple commands or concepts.

I have done minor conditioning on mine. When babies I say "dinnertime", when I feed. I taught them to herd forward with my arms outstretched walking towards them. I let them into a day yard and at night I'd say "bedtime' and start herding t hem. Now I can just call" bedtime goose" across the yard and they come. Same with my ducks. I also have each go into separate pens. They learn which is theirs. When the geese start doing something I don't want them to I yell "goose", if they don't stop (usually eating something I hadn't fenced off yet, I stomp towards them.Now they pretty much listen. I say "outside" in the morning, and now I no longer herd them I just tell them. They also know 'greens' and will come if I call greens.
They also figure out if I am weeding the garden i throw goodies over the fence, so both geese and ducks if they see me come out the back door tend to come running. They also come down and wait for me at night to come out and feed and put them to bed.... They aren't dumb, you just have to be consistant, They can connect any behavior to food....
 
I only have one goose, he's only a few months old but he is very smart. He used to be a house goose but now he only comes in occasionally. (With the diaper of course). He comes to his name. When I say Ryan, come its dinner time! He runs to me flapping his wings. He's imprinted and the sweetest thing. He sometimes follows me inside an I say "out Ryan" and he honks at me and turns around. He used to hop up in our porch swinging bench and I didn't like all of the feather dust he leaves behind.. So I just say "down Ryan and he'd hop down. He no longer does it. He follows me around a lot. My ducks are catching on too. When I'm herding them into the stables to get them to sleep for the day, I say "nap time" and they're no longer having to be chased around . they just come waddling. (But there's always a few stubborn ones who I find sitting on our porch steps)
 
I only have one goose, he's only a few months old but he is very smart. He used to be a house goose but now he only comes in occasionally. (With the diaper of course). He comes to his name. When I say Ryan, come its dinner time! He runs to me flapping his wings. He's imprinted and the sweetest thing. He sometimes follows me inside an I say "out Ryan" and he honks at me and turns around. He used to hop up in our porch swinging bench and I didn't like all of the feather dust he leaves behind.. So I just say "down Ryan and he'd hop down. He no longer does it. He follows me around a lot. My ducks are catching on too. When I'm herding them into the stables to get them to sleep for the day, I say "nap time" and they're no longer having to be chased around . they just come waddling. (But there's always a few stubborn ones who I find sitting on our porch steps)
Geese are smart and know certain words. and sound of voice, when my goose is acting like a bully towards the ducks/chickens I can say Missy a little sterner than normal and she knows she's in trouble. lol
 
I'm glad I got him ! I was amazed by how smarter they are than chickens!
Very much smarter, actually I read somewhere [maybe they are smarter than me because I can't remember where] but it was said they are the smartest of the barn yard fowl
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We live on 8 acres and the geese go into the front pastures where there is a chat road right in front of our property. If I catch them in the road or across the road in the neighbors pasture I yell at them get your butts back over here and they come right away.
Geese are a whole lot smarter than people give them credit for!!!


I will go out with left over cooked corn in the cooking pot and they see the pot and I say momma has some goodies for you. They stamped over to me! The come every time I say momma has a treat for you. They always know.
They even try to tell me when they do not like something. They listen to me when I talk sweet talk to them and they sweet talk back to me.
 
I've trained my geese not to go out the front gate by herding them back every time they head in that direction - took a while but now they don't even look at that gate. It is basically the same principals as training any animal - dogs, sheep, horses, birds and even kids - you use pressure and release. When they are doing something they are not ment to do you apply pressure to get them to stop (in the case of geese usually by herding them). When they are back where they are supose to be (or away from your precious plants) you take the pressure off - they learn to look for the pressure release really quickly and once they do then you can train them.
 
I have Pilgrims...1 male and 4 females at the moment....mine have their fenced area that they call home but whenever I am outside, they are allowed to wander around the yard. When it's time for them to go back home, I just tell them that it's time "to go home" and they will stop what they are doing and go back to their fenced area :) At night, when I put them to bed in their house, I tell them it's "time for bed" and they will all go inside and let me lock the door. They also know what "hush, quiet now" means....it stops them from raising the dead when I go let them out in the mornings. :)
They are very smart, even my hubby is surprised when they do what I ask them to do :)

Love those little critters!

Joanne
aka Squirrelbug
 

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