Geese training?

[KDailey]

Thank you so much for this information OliveHill! I'm sure it will be very very useful. I just got my first pair of goslings today in the mail and was looking around for information on care as well as what to do about the aggression if they ever developed it and I'm so glad I've stumbled onto this. Definately should be a sticky if it isn't already.

It's very similar to horse behavior. I have 7 horses and it is absolutely necessary to make sure the horse knows from day one, minute one, second one that I am the boss and there will be no horseplay when I am around. Because of my experiance with horses I think I problably would have responded correctly to any dominance behavior my little goslings may give me in the future but is nice to know that I would have done it right.

I just had a little bantie rooster try to spur me yesterday and I gave him the scoop-kick aross his pen. It took several times and I actually resorted to chasing him while booting him in the fanny until he finally got the picture.

 

[kateseidel]

Great post - debating the acquisition of a pair of goslings, and this insight into behavior was great. I have horses, dogs, cats, sheep and chickens. One of the horses checks every day to see if I will let him be the herd leader that day. The others are fine with my being the boss. The dogs, hens and sheep have never challenged me - and everyone on the farm knows the cats rule the world. Not sure I am up to another breed I am going to need to battle for dominance (I am not really very dominant by nature).

 

[littledear]

Wonderful post OliveHill, I really enjoyed reading it. I agree that any time you work with an animal you must assume the dominant position. I have a Chinese gander and he backs down as soon as I look him in the eye and move towards him. I had to pin him several times to get him to behave but it was worth it. Geese bites hurt! The first time my gander got me I was wearing a red shirt and he took exception to it and jumped at me, grabbed hold of my sleeve and arm and left a nasty bruise. You better believe I grabbed him around the neck and pinned him.

 

[LarissaBuffMom]

all this advice is so wonderful, I am about to get my baby geese on the 17th and I was wondering about training them. I remember going to my grandmothers on weekends as a child and how I loved her geese , all the way up until I was chased by her goose and from that point on I was afraid of him. After having my chickens I was able to deal with my fear of the pecking or being goosed and now I am ready to have my own geese . So ofcorse I started thinking about that mean old goose of my grandmothers and it was that thought that brought me here to see if I could keep from having my own mean goose.

 

[btwhitaker]

I raised four goslings in 2009, three ganders and one goose. Charlie was the oldest and by far my favorite, however, he passed away that December after being hit by a car. Marco, Polo, and Shadow (three siblings) were left. That following January-February after Charlie passed, Marco and Polo reached sexual maturity and became INCREDIBLY aggressive. They lived at the park across from my house and wreaked havoc on humans and birds alike. There were several other older ganders at the park, and Marco and Polo wasted no time in getting around to beating everyone up. Polo was the dominant brother, and Marco backed him on everything. I had several physical altercations with Marco and Polo during this time. The trio could be in the water 20 feet out, and if I walked past, Polo would charge across the water, neck extended, until I turned to face him. On land, the two ganders would charge me from a good 50 yards out. I put Polo in his place several times, grabbing him, laying his neck out flat on the ground, and straddling him on my knees (allowing some of my body weight to rest on his back). Of course during this time, I had to always watch out for Marco because he would become furious when I touched his brother. Polo and I had it out several times, and he continued to pursue me every couple of days. Finally, I decided I was going to initiate the attack. I'm sure I looked like a lunatic to the other park goers, but I came across the small flock from a distance, and I charged them. Polo and Marco charged back, as they usually do, but this time, Polo didn't stop. We slammed into one another and I got him down on the ground in a subordinate position. The whole while, I had to hold Marco off with one hand because he was in the process of tearing into me. This is where things get interesting... Another gander, whom I named Stripeneck at about age 10 because of a few horizontal stripes on his neck, who had been put out by the dynamic duo took the opportunity to surprise attack Marco! Marco was completely taken off guard, and without his dominant brother, he panicked. Stripeneck sent Marco packing, but the minute I realized Polo and sent him on his way, he called on a full fledge attack on poor old Stripeneck. I felt terrible for the old gander, but Marco and Polo proved too much for him. Polo and I had no more trouble after this fight, but I eventually had to move him to a different pond because Parks and Rec had gotten too many complaints about their aggression. Marco calmed down considerably after I moved Polo, so everything worked out.

I agree with Olive Hill, geese are incredibly physical creatures. Dominance, hierarchies, and doing as you're told are incredibly important to them. I may look like a nut, but I treat them exactly how they treat one another. If they are out of line, they get hissed at by me or I give them a mock charge into the water. Even though they live at a public park, they respond to my voice and image, but they know the rules. You can't train them in the same sense you can train a dog, but being dominant is a universal language, especially to animals, and in particular geese. If you want them to be happy, healthy, and respectful: PUT EM IN THEIR PLACE. They won't hate you for it, they'll be wary of you, but still loving creatures. You don't have to hit them. Olive gave an excellent description of how to handle it, and it's exactly how goose fights play out.

 

[bwindell]

Thank you Olive Hill!! I have been having problems with our Chinese Gander Harold. He suddenly became aggressive to everyone, including me. I started grabbing him by the neck and scooping him up and held him for a few minutes. And you're right, that really does work! He is no longer aggressive to me, although his neck shakes at times when he is near me, and I take that as an indicator of pre-aggression attack. But he does attack my husband. (And everyone else). I am so happy to see that I did the right thing and have told my husband this IS the correct way to go as he was afraid we would hurt him by grabbing him by the neck. We also use cane poles to guide them with and if Harold decides to go after one of my grand kids, he gets a good wack.

 

[Winisk]

I will jump on board and say thank you for one of the more informative and useful posts on here. As a biologist I have dealt with thousands of wild Canada geese, herding them into nets, grabbing them, sexing them, and banding them. The outstretched arms are incredibly useful in rounding them up. I never connected that to a goose perceiving it as a dominant goose with outstretched wings. Once in a net, I have to get in there with them all and prove my dominance to the flock and literally pin them all, one by one. Most try to escape capture. It`s the odd one that challenges, resists discipline. The most effective and efficient way is to grab them by the base of the wings with one hand. Both wings! This quickly immobilizes them and will not hurt them or you in any way. You can hold them up or pin them to the ground at this point. They will struggle but hold tight with the feet and beak away from you. You are the boss in control of them. I need to do more work with them so I need to subdue them even more. We grab their head and tuck it under a wing so that you are basically holding it like a large watermelon. They usually calm right down to the point where you can lay it on the ground without holding it and they won`t move for a short moment. Try it and see. Only the rare gander challenges me after letting it go. If it physically charges me with a lot of hissing, I kick it in the chest.

 

[squirrelbug]

I would like to thank Olive Hill also!

My husband threatened to get rid of my gander, Clyde (I have a pair of pilgrims) but I made him read your post...I printed it out and put it on the fridge!...so now Clyde knows that I am the boss which has made our lives a whole lot better!! He does still challenge my husband at times but backs down when hubby stands up to him

I think they should give this post to everyone who owns and/or buys geese! I will give a copy to everyone who gets any of mine

Thank you again!

Squirrelbug
aka Joanne :}

 

[zooweemama]

Awesome information!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I used this with my gander he is totally different towards me now, This should really be a sticky at the top.