Geese training?

[Miss Lydia]

Miss Lydia, a huge thank you! I was really hoping you would say to cuddle the goslings haha! They are too cute not to! I just did not want to imprint and cause a huge problem in the future!

So, I should free range them out of the brooder and correct any negative behaviors immediately, just to confirm? This way they are learning the dos and don'ts and (hopefully) who to respect.

Ideally I would love for them to free range all day everyday but I know during breeding season, that will not happen as I can't risk my kiddos unintentionally bothering them when they will be on their "baddest behavior," so they will be fenced in. Is it okay to free range all the time except during breeding season?

Do you have an intermediate are set up for them so when they come out of the brooder they are in a smaller area. They maybe too young to go into a large pasture area preds and such. I'd gradually get them us to large open area by supervising.

They may try and bully your kids just depends on the nature of the geese. Celtic Oaks Farm had her young 18month old with her when she would be out with the geese and she taught him to use the long pole to keep them away. I used the long pole to teach mine to stay away from the dogs. All geese are bullies and if they can get away with it they will A broom works well too. Just putting these between them and the geese to teach them their safe distance Never used to hit or abuse. Although my adult gander gets pushed out of the way quite often with the broom in breeding season. At that time I wouldn't let the kids have much interaction with the geese. but that also depends on age of kids. Just always beware ganders can be unpredictable. Even females if they have young can bite and beat with their wings if they feel threatened. This is all normal behavior though so not too much you can do other than let them know they cannot be that way with you and family. I have never grabbed a bill though so can't say much on that one. Most of what I have talked about is for adult geese. Just enjoy your babies they grow super fast and won't be long till they will be independent but you always want to have a good relationship with them so they know and respect you as their leader.

I am waiting for some one more experienced with this new system to find the geese training thread we use to have.

Here it is https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/geese-training.561849/

 

[Anabariful]

Do you have an intermediate are set up for them so when they come out of the brooder they are in a smaller area. They maybe too young to go into a large pasture area preds and such. I'd gradually get them us to large open area by supervising.

They may try and bully your kids just depends on the nature of the geese. Celtic Oaks Farm had her young 18month old with her when she would be out with the geese and she taught him to use the long pole to keep them away. I used the long pole to teach mine to stay away from the dogs. All geese are bullies and if they can get away with it they will A broom works well too. Just putting these between them and the geese to teach them their safe distance Never used to hit or abuse. Although my adult gander gets pushed out of the way quite often with the broom in breeding season. At that time I wouldn't let the kids have much interaction with the geese. but that also depends on age of kids. Just always beware ganders can be unpredictable. Even females if they have young can bite and beat with their wings if they feel threatened. This is all normal behavior though so not too much you can do other than let them know they cannot be that way with you and family. I have never grabbed a bill though so can't say much on that one. Most of what I have talked about is for adult geese. Just enjoy your babies they grow super fast and won't be long till they will be independent but you always want to have a good relationship with them so they know and respect you as their leader.

I am waiting for some one more experienced with this new system to find the geese training thread we use to have.

Here it is https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/geese-training.561849/

I'll have a mini fenced in area for them till they're old enough to free range. Great idea on the pole! I will have to start instilling that on my kiddos now. Thank you again for all the information! <3

 

[Miss Lydia]

Let us know how things are going. and of course with pics.

 

[fearnowsh]

Hello everyone! Boy am I ever glad I found this thread! I started out last year with a breeding pair (Brutus and Lucy). I was able to hatch one egg this past spring and named the gosling Thanksgiving (yes our plan was to eat it for thanksgiving). But Lucy died this summer (reason unknown), so we haven't killed Thanksgiving yet because everything I've read says that geese need someone to keep them company. Brutus is too aggressive towards my ducks in general so that was not an option (we even tried it out during part of the summer, but it just wasn't working, plus I have too many drakes at this point anyway). Brutus never charged at me when he was with Lucy, the ducks, or by himself. But now it has gotten quite ridiculous, and it's not even breeding season yet. Both Brutus and Thanksgiving are both acting quite aggressive towards me and dh, so much so that we are pretty sure Thanksgiving is a male. I never checked earlier under the premise that it wouldn't matter. I'm hoping the new tactics I found in here help with dealing with them! I had almost thought we'd just have to eat Thanksgiving for Christmas leaving poor Brutus by his lonesome until we could order or find some a female for him. He was so lonely this summer I really don't want to go that route. Here's to staying positive!

 

[Miss Lydia]

If you follow the info here and stay consistent you should get a handle on the aggression.

Keep us updated.

Geese really do need their own kind to be really happy and content.

 

[Anabariful]

Checking back to ask a few questions!

My Pilgrim geese pair are all around excellent mannered and a joy to have! I was thinking of adding an additional female in the spring to create a trio. The original pairing will be almost a year old. Is this an acceptable choice? Are the original pair too old to add an additional female? Is 3 a good match or is just the usual two the best combo?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Some ganders will accept another female some won't and can make life miserable for a new female. My gander accepted a new female because she started out as a day old and grew up here. That might be the best way to go.

 

[Linda Hicks]

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First things first. Don't make excuses for him. The sandals very well could have been what caught his eye. It doesn't matter. His behavior is unacceptable. I don't care if you were wearing giant hot pink goose eating slippers with 4 carat diamond encrusted soles he is not to be aggressive with you for any reason at any time. Period. No excuses.

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How so?

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Treating him like a rare fragile treasure rather than potentially dangerous livestock.

Do not scratch him. KICK HIS BUTT! Literally if you have to.

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He knows you're bluffing. How does it not work? He doesn't back down? And then what do you do?

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Step one: do not imprint a gander onto a human. You're way past that, unfortunately. Step two is to not bluff. You absolutely, positively MUST follow through. You must have every intention of putting him in his place by whatever means necessary whenever he challenges you. Every time he calls your bluff and wins it confirms that he is alpha to you.

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First, stop anthropomorphizing the bird. They're not love pecks, they're dominance pecks. He is exerting dominance over you. Nothing more, nothing less. Second, stop feeding him out of your hand. You will never see a goose lower on the gaggle hierarchy being allowed to freely eat out of any area that "belongs" at that moment to one of his superiors. You are telling the bird he is your boss.

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She too thinks you're lower on the hierarchy. As for the noise. Yep. Geese. Louder than train whistles. LOL! Nothing you can do about that, really.

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There is no such thing as friendly pecks, those are just the small pecks that he used to test the water to find out whether or not you were dominant to him. You allowed it, he confirmed he is, in fact, alpha and now he dominates you as he pleases.

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Good! Use that frustration. Stand up, get BIG, spread your wings and DEMAND your space. I guarantee, based on what you've typed here, if I saw you do this in person I would tell you you were not big enough and mean enough. Get bigger, get meaner and most of all FOLLOW THROUGH. If he comes back at you, you have to go back at him 10 times harder. If it gets physical and you have to grab him you do not "carefully" put your hand around his neck, you grab on sweep him up and hold him hard, very firmly pin his wings down. You have to mean business. You are not going to hurt that gander. Put some force behind whatever you do with him.

Some people come by this naturally. They have dominant personalities, they demand respect with their presence. Others don't. You may simply be one that needs to work at it. Good Luck!

Hi olive...I have a gander that has imprinted on me. The goose stays away and keeps her distance. My problem with the gander is that he chases the horses and corners them in the corral. The horses break into a sweat and nearly goes through the fence before I can get out there. I have grabbed him when he does this and been quite ferocious with him but he continues when I'm not around. It is a dangerous situation with horses and the gander.

 

[Miss Lydia]

You need to separate your geese from your horses. Especially during this time of year breeding season makes them unreasonable to say the least and someone is going to get hurt or killed.

Olive Hill hasn't been on BYC for a few years.

 

[Linda Hicks]

They are housed separately and I try to keep distance but the horses can be in the corral and the gander can be a half acre away then he gets a bee in his bonnet. Maybe after breeding season we will get a "discussion" going between us. He is like this year round. I think it is now a game with him because he can't bully the rest of the farm. He minds me when I am out there but when I leave the house I have to lock the geese up.