House Goose Thread

[EvenLater]

Oh my goodness! Not only another "crazy" house goose person, but a parrot person too! Welcome!!! And, as soon as possible yes, pics are a MUST here!

I used to rescue parrots years ago and have been birdy Mama to everything from parrolettes to macaws. Currently, the only feathers in my family are Biscuit (the half bald umbrella 'too) and Cas, the new gosling.


Biscuit enjoys talking to Cas (who she calls "the Baby") but now that he dwarfs her in size, she's not so sure! Lol It's also kind of neat to hear someone else says "What what?" to their house goose! Cas's diapers (I also chose Party Fowl) are here, but are still a bit too big so we are getting him used to the idea even before he can actually wear it, and he seems to be taking it quite well. I've found that laying a clump of yard clippings in front of him keeps him quite occupied while I slip the neck loop on and tuck the back around like I'd be putting it on him. He wasn't thrilled the first time, but now he seems to almost look forward to it.

For the feather itching, I have used that Aloe spray with Biscuit as well. She however developed a craving for its taste and would pluck at herself. (She also can not have any sunflower seeds because the secreted oils drive her so mad and she'll mutilate herself, and because there isn't much to find on the market for parrot feed that doesn't contain sunflower seeds, we have to mix up our own.) I've taken to giving Cas now a warm water Oatmeal soak, which soothes his itching and I don't have to worry about it being safe because rolled oats are ok anyway!

 

[GiddyGoose]

Oooo she looks SO offended! "MOM! IT'S LOOKING AT ME!"

Yes, I'm a crazy bird lady, I guess. We have 2 cockatoos, 3 macaws, 1 amazon, 1 cockatiel, and 1 sun conure, aside from our pretty goosey boy that we thought was a girl.

One of our 'toos is an Umbrella. She's a complete diva, but is more intrigued by poultry than offended. Somewhere I have a pic of her perching on my leg with 3 chicks. She was just so calm, I was so proud of her!

Admittedly, most of mine were purchased as babies, prior to knowing about their plight. Ever since our first adoption, a Green Wing Macaw named Quincy, I've always asked myself,"Why did I ever buy, and why did I ever buy babies?" Don't get me wrong, I loooove all my fids to death, but, to be honest, Quincy is my favorite. He's just got so much charm and I find solace in knowing he's older and won't have too much change in personality from puberty, except for the hormone season. I'm a Macaw person, if I had to choose one type only, hands down, it would be macaws. My fiance loves cockatoos.

Our only talkers are the macaws and the amazon. Neither of our cockatoos talk, but, Nirmala, the Umbrella, sure can babble! She loves babbling at us. That, and licking the window, which baffles us. Quincy has a very limited vocabulary of come here, wake up, and hi. He learned 'come here' from me, though, so I have hope that he'll expand over the years! It may not be words, but he tries his best to sing with me in the car! Our others, however, have a HUGE vocabulary.

The other two macaws are bonded males. Rosco, the B&G was a christmas present. At the time we had him and the 'toos. He wanted to play with them SO bad but their body languages and idea of play were so different, the 'toos just weren't having it. We do spend plenty of time with them each day, and did back then, too, but we like to give them a playmate if possible. We got him Scruff, a Military. They're the best of friends. Rosco learns everything from us, and Scruff learns everything from Rosco. Rosco knows hi, whatcha doin?, batbiiiiird!, hi nir, hi scruff, whatcha doin scruff?, what what, sarge(name of the dog), ow(learned from the 'zon), peekaboo, I love you, scruffaluff, rosco, never ever, no, and a lot more.

Zeki, our amazon, knows hello, hi, what are you doing?, never ever, ow, stop, no, bad bird, good bird, polly wanna cracker, I'm hungry, awww, boop, rawr, stop it, and then some sounds like barking, wolf whistle, beeping, ringing, baby crying, kid screaming, and some others we haven't figured out yet. He did come with some colorful vocabulary because the store owners were awful people and I was tired of seeing him antagonized and abused by them, other adults, and kids. A lot of his vocabulary was learned there and from the store owner's old Yellow Nape Amazon.

As far as food, we also try to avoid sunflower seeds. They do have nutritional value, but in excess, it's detrimental. Problem is, almost all feeds with them are PACKED with them. We do a blend of pellets and then dried fruits and veggies, of course, on top of any cooked meals(we looove to fix them Worldly Cuisines) and the daily fresh produce. We've tried Roudybush pellets, Zupreem Fruity pellets, and then for veggies we do either My Safe Bird Store's Bountiful Harvest Plus or Higgin's(I think) Mayan Harvest: Celestial. My friend said Zupreem has had TONS of dangerous recalls on their fruity pellets over the years, so we stick with medium Roudybush now. We found the 'Large' ones to be a little toooo large. People rave about Harrison's, but, after a while, my babies would just dump it on the floor and screech for other food.

The second time around with a goose we decided to forego baby diaper training because they poo soooo frequently. We got his diaper at roughly 5 - 6 months old and started training. It was a lot of struggle, at first, but now a days he pretty much just sits there while I try to make it quick. I'm still trying to perfect my diaper changing precision.

I'm so glad I'm not the only one that goes what what! I dunno why I did it but it just kinda happened and stuck. Now, when I feed wild geese some feed, I talk to them in what whats and they honk back. Usually twice. Makes me question if it's common for two honks or if they're just so keen to pick up syllables.

 

[EvenLater]

Biscuit is a real chatterbox when it comes to Umbrellas. She's got a pretty decent vocabulary, but also mumbles to us almost as if having a full conversation. Her daily phrases include: Hi, Hi there, Hello, Pretty girl, Pretty Biiiiiiiird (reminds me of how Bambi said it lol), Whatcha doin?, Com'ere (which sometimes sounds more like 'mear'), Some (how she asks for a treat because I always say "want some?"), Peeeza (she LOVES pizza lol), Awww Baby (everything smaller than her, and small children to her are 'babies'), Be nice, Good girl/bird, Bad dog (sometimes with 'No no!'), Knock it Off! (usually directed at the dogs being crazy or the kids being loud when she wants to sleep), and Ni Ni (at bedtime). In addition to these, she's got several she'll add at times, or string these together in a new way, and she does also, uh, have a few 'not nice' words she will drop on occasion (she came with those as part of her vocab and we've been working to correct that, but every once in awhile...) like an F bomb here or a "Dam it" there. It's hard not to laugh some times Lol

When we first brought Cas home, he was "babeee" and she adored him. Now he's far larger than her and she's still adjusting to the rapid growth, lol. She's a complete Mama's girl, so she's still adjusting to "sharing" me. I make sure I give her extra loves and cuddles and reward her when she behaves while I snuggle with Cas. She's getting much more tolerant and curious of him, and I'm sure she will adjust. She's accepted the dogs, and chases the cats (lol)

 

[Carrosaur]

This thread makes me want to have another house goose this summer. But I would feel terrible about it, I think. Especially because I would like one goose more than the rest. One goose inside and 16 outside would be sad, wouldn't it? And while it would be fun for me I still don't think it would be fun for the goose.

 

[Skyfire]

What a great vid Sky! I can't wait to see part 2 where you get Jup to wear it. I just got Cas's on Thursday, but it's still a bit too big for him (I'm not worried tho with how darn fast he's growing!) so I'm just getting him used to it by slipping the neck part on and tucking the bottom under him (so like he feels it on his tummy) and I reward him with treats for leaving it be. I plan to keep doing this until he actually fits it and my hope is that by then (I'm thinking it'll be about a week) he'll be somewhat used to the idea so actually clipping it won't be much different. Right now I've been having him sit with a basket of yard clippings while I mess around with it on and around him, and that's working great. He'll stop on occasion and try to nip or pull at it, but I just redirect him to his greens and he munches happily and forgets all about the 'thing'. LOL

Ya, it's not always pretty getting the thing on. Hubby left early this morning on a business trip. I'm going to try getting it on her myself then post the video. Wish me luck!!!

As someone that has spent years studying avians, particularly parrots, and reading books on avian social structure and behavior, I would not underestimate the intelligence of any avian specie. Brain size is not always an indicator of intelligence, worth, or capabilities. Parrots, for example, have a much smaller brain than our own, yet studies show that they understand the concept of item permeance, possess complex puzzle solving skills, and can even form sentences and create their own vocabulary by mishmashing present words(mostly African Grey species). They are on par with small children. To suggest they are not smart based on brain size is ludicrous. Even some have observed individual personalities and quirks in avians such as sparrows or finches.

Also, to the more recent posts about itchy feathers growing in, I have another suggestion.

We adopted a plucker macaw some time ago, and have found that, when he has pin feathers coming in, yes, it DOES cause irritation that can result in them being plucked back out. To ease his skin irritation, we mist him with an aloe vera solution called 'Avivera'(I think). He's not as tempted to pluck them when his skin is soothed by the aloe.
On to myself(kind of response to other comments), I decided to delve into goosey parenting after being driven mad by the hundreds of residential canadian geese at a call center I used to work at. I have always found them elegant, and have always been fascinated by birds. After enduring hours of honking, on a daily basis, I went goose crazy and started researching. At first, I wanted a Canadian(and still do), but found it would be very expensive to legally obtain one and it seemed most farm suppliers(like Metzer) demanded you order 6 minimum.. and I wanted one.

I eventually fell for the beauty of the Africans and ordered two girls from McMurray. I wanted one, but two was the minimum and wasn't such a stretch. Unfortunately, the sister sustained a head injury during shipping and later succumbed to it. We were left with Matilda, and promptly spoiled her rotten. She was the best goose we could have asked for, so loving, so well behaved, rode amazingly in the car...

She was 1 or 2 when she passed. There seemed to have been an A/C malfunction in her bathroom(we have two and didn't use the other, so it was hers), and it became scorching hot while we were away for work. We firmly believe she died of heat stroke... We were SO distraught... and not only us, but our two macaws, too. At the time we had two bonded male macaws(I adopted Scruff, a Military, for my B&G, Rosco). See, we talked to 'Tilda. Ever since she was a couple days old, we just called to her with 'Matilda' or 'What what?'. She knew her name, even honked three times when we said her name, or twice for 'what what'. Even the macaws loved talking to her. When she stopped responding, they knew. For the next several weeks they squalled,"What what?... What what?!... WHAT WHAT! WHAT WHAT! WHAT WHAAAAAT?!" Poor Rosco took it the worst... Many of my parrot friends said that, sometimes, showing the body consoles them... I tried, but Rosco seemed to blame me, and acted very angrily towards me for a while. Scruff seemed to be at a loss for a reaction and just stared at her. They're over it, now, and, while it still hurts, that we dearly miss her, and she can never be replaced, we've moved on, but she will never be forgotten. We buried her with her favorite toys and blanket, and we have a dated goose doll in her memory.

Shortly after her passing, we felt an emptiness in our home. We decided to have another house goose, and preordered for an Embden. We felt it would be too heart breaking to have another African. April came around and in came our baby and a duckling companion! Oh the joys of gosling rearing began again! I have to admit, a duck is nothing like a goose. Gotta say, I'm goose HOOKED.

This time around, we decided to forego Avian Fashions and went with Party Fowl. We LOOOVE Nessy's work! Avian Fashion has no liner, and it was so not fun to be cuddling and suddenly have a wet spot on your chest because of a soggy diaper.

Angel, the Embden, is a little bossier, and full of sass, but that's ok.

He's about a year old now(thought he was a she). I'd post pics and videos, but not a good enough connection here.

I leave for a few days and come back to find a new addition to our little BYC family. Welcome, Giddy Goose!

Maybe you know the answers to these questions I have pondered ever since getting our goose.

Are they self aware? When Jupiter sees a mirror, will she always think she's looking at another goose or will she realize she is looking at her own reflection?
When I call her name, (provided she isn't being defiant), she looks up and comes to me. She responds to her name, but does she understand that she is Jupiter? Does she understand the concept of names?

I'm so terribly sorry for the loss of your African. The bond we forge with our goose companions is beyond anything I've experienced with another animal. I dread the day her life force leaves her body. I hope that day isn't for a very long time to come. I always thought of all the geese, embdens are the most physically beautiful. Such regal birds with personality to boot!

 

[Skyfire]

Biscuit is a real chatterbox when it comes to Umbrellas. She's got a pretty decent vocabulary, but also mumbles to us almost as if having a full conversation. Her daily phrases include: Hi, Hi there, Hello, Pretty girl, Pretty Biiiiiiiird (reminds me of how Bambi said it lol), Whatcha doin?, Com'ere (which sometimes sounds more like 'mear'), Some (how she asks for a treat because I always say "want some?"), Peeeza (she LOVES pizza lol), Awww Baby (everything smaller than her, and small children to her are 'babies'), Be nice, Good girl/bird, Bad dog (sometimes with 'No no!'), Knock it Off! (usually directed at the dogs being crazy or the kids being loud when she wants to sleep), and Ni Ni (at bedtime). In addition to these, she's got several she'll add at times, or string these together in a new way, and she does also, uh, have a few 'not nice' words she will drop on occasion (she came with those as part of her vocab and we've been working to correct that, but every once in awhile...) like an F bomb here or a "Dam it" there. It's hard not to laugh some times Lol

When we first brought Cas home, he was "babeee" and she adored him. Now he's far larger than her and she's still adjusting to the rapid growth, lol. She's a complete Mama's girl, so she's still adjusting to "sharing" me. I make sure I give her extra loves and cuddles and reward her when she behaves while I snuggle with Cas. She's getting much more tolerant and curious of him, and I'm sure she will adjust. She's accepted the dogs, and chases the cats (lol)

The devil in me wants to see video of Biscuit cursing. Just thinking about it makes me giggle

 

[andreacroyle]

An edit: Here's pictures that should help because it might be awhile til i can do a video Lol A good shot of new (pin or blood) feathers coming in. You can see the casings covering the new feather inside. For feathers at this stage, i would only preen the tips open. Here's a good shot of the casings on feathers a bit more ready for help. The casings are fairly clear so you can see where the blood flow stops. You can safely help them preen away anything ABOVE that line with no issues at all. They actually enjoy the extra cuddling and bonding. And just like clipping a dogs nails, I usually stop a bit away from the blood line just to be safe. As long as you don't remove casing below that line, you won't hurt them. IF a feather should get preened too low (either by you or sometimes they over preen themselves) and it's bleeding and won't stop, take a pinch of corn starch or flour (basically the same thing as the pet store product Quik Stop) and apply pressure to that feather. If it bled a little but then stopped, it should be fine. Young birds often get over excited when preening themselves (because it's itchy!) and this can happen. Wing feathers are ones that will pulse blood right out of them and that bleeding would need to be stopped.

thanks for posting this I wasn't sure what a feather casting was

 

[andreacroyle]

hello all just want to post some current photos since I haven't been on in a while. forest and Mandy stay in my son's bedroom to sleep then they go out into the tractor during the day

 

[EvenLater]

The devil in me wants to see video of Biscuit cursing. Just thinking about it makes me giggle

It IS very very hard NOT to giggle (and thus encourage) when she curses! She is very much like a toddler (who I also find impossibly adorable saying naughty words! LOL) and will do ANYTHING she finds funny, or that makes us laugh. I often have to literally leave the room when she goes into her "naughty" words because I can not help but smile! I don't want to encourage her so I've taken to removing myself from the situation and quietly laughing where she can't see or hear me!

I don't have a vid of her cursing because of that, but I do have one of her "playing dead" because we were ignoring her pleas for "Peeeeeeza" and she is hooked on her pizza! She will literally (after many failed attempts at asking, begging, even pant pulling) fall over, onto her back, kick her feet up and 'cough' while making her feet 'twitch'. It's an absolute hoot to see and, well, I can't help but give in so it's something she obviously repeats now!

No one taught her this which is what baffles us most. She just randomly did it one day when I was ignoring her (we had company over and were having conversation lol) and she REALLY wanted my pizza. At my ignoring she pleaded with my friend who (at the time) wasn't a "bird person" and when she was again ignored, this is what she did. It caused us all to laugh so hysterically that she remembered and now does it whenever she wants her way!

 

[Carrosaur]

I think I may allow TWO geese to live in my house only if they can be with each other 24/7