Geese coming in at night.

[BethinIrving]

My geese are stubbornly attached to what they knew as hatchlings. After they arrived from the hatchery, they lived in a small box type thing that had a small straw pad.

When they got too large for it, they were moved to a larger pen. They made such a racket I had to put them back in the small box. It was outrageous because they were way too big for the thing. It looked like they were wearing the box.

Their cage was taken outside every day, and as they began feathering out, they were allowed out of the cage to roam and swim as long as someone was there to watch them. But, when it got dark, they wanted back in that little box. They had bonded to that thing.

Finally they were left outside in the dark, in their cage. The noise went on until 2 am when I finally had enough and took them back to the garage where their box was. Ultimately, I had to leave them outside, out of the cage, in the dark and they hushed at last but only after I put their little box out there with them.

To this day my geese live the way they want to live, and reject anything I have to offer other than food and water. They are out there in all kinds of weather, when I think it's too cold or too wet, and try to catch them, it's a miserable chase, and in a cage they still raise cane.

Healthy and hearty, beautiful as well, my geese have somehow won our hearts over with their unique personalities. No matter how hard we tried, we could not change them.

 

[peachick]

Quote:
That might depend on the breed of goose you have. Sebastopols are not big swimmers, and really just splash around. But my Cackling geese ARE huge swimmers and sleep in the kiddy pool in their pen at night.

I keep the door to the goose pen open all day. at night most of them are in the pen already. When they see me walking out there the remaining few will waddle in before I get there... all i do is close the door each night. If I go out too early though and they are not ready to"go to bed" usually I'll just get a dog out and that convinces them

 

[banter]

I shamelessly walk toward mine saying "Time for bed, Mommy said" and it works every time. Unfortunately, when I have people watching my geese for me they balk at that idea-can't figure out why!

 

[mothergoose1963]

Mine all go in when they see me coming, too. It isnt really ever a problem. The only time I have trouble is when they are all sorted in the Spring and they have to learn where their new home is. My older birds know the routine and remember from the previous years which nesting houses are "theirs". My birds like routine. They dont like strangers feeding them, a change in housing or feeding schedules. I had to laugh at the little "box" story. They are definately creatures of habit!

www.fancygeese.com

 

[eggchel]

I recently put up a temporary night shelter for my Runner ducks so that we could easily find their eggs in the morning. We will eventually get breeder pens built for them, I hope. It took a couple weeks of herding them in at sunset before they got the idea. Now they are often already in the pen when I go out and if not, as soon as they see me they head for the pen. I dont feed them in their pen. They have have access all day to the range feeders that they share with the geese.

Right now my Sebastopol geese sleep outside on the gravel area where I store a few trailers. I keep one of their pools on the gravel so that the ducks cant muddy it up so much.

This week we are building a big covered flight pen for the peafowl and the bantam ducks. Then next week I hope to build a new night shelter and nesting area for the geese. I need to get it built and get them into it at night so that they are used to it before they start to build nests in Feb.


Chel

 

[Cottage Rose]

I have info on teaching geese (or ducks) to come in at night on my websites raising waterfowl tip page.

 

[muscovy94]

Thanks for the great info everyone!!!

 

[glenntwo]

My geese actually do it in reverse. In the evening I let them out of the pen and they make their nightly tour of the grounds, then come up on the deck and talk to us if we are sitting outside. In the morning, I go out to feed and water them and the gander will follow me into the pen. when I am done with the chores, I go out and herd the goose into the pen with her boy.

I had to do it this way because our dog likes to chase them around, and since the dog comes in at night, the geese get the run of the yard until the next morning. Doesn't seem to bother them at all.

I don't have any predators in the area, so this seems to be fine for all concerned.

 

[glenntwo]

My geese actually do it in reverse. In the evening I let them out of the pen and they make their nightly tour of the grounds, then come up on the deck and talk to us if we are sitting outside. In the morning, I go out to feed and water them and the gander will follow me into the pen. when I am done with the chores, I go out and herd the goose into the pen with her boy.

I had to do it this way because our dog likes to chase them around, and since the dog comes in at night, the geese get the run of the yard until the next morning. Doesn't seem to bother them at all.

I don't have any predators in the area, so this seems to be fine for all concerned.

 

[austinhart123]

Quote:
i just herd my gese into their house and hey go without a fuss,