I am ready to send the geese out of here!

[Mrs. Turbo]

I love my Sebastopols except for this time of the year.......if my 4 and 5 year old kids take one step in the field the ganders run 1/4 mile across the field to bite them! They think they own this place......ok rant over. Hmmm....never tried roasted goose before.

My husband has been goosed a couple times..he turned his back on them...I could hear him cussing from the back porch....

 

[VerlonCox]

That's going to be a high dollar roast!

 

[Mrs. Turbo]

These guys eat a lot of feed........would save me a ton on the feed bill.

I am glad the grass is starting to green up and grow. Last year we let a group of Sebs raise goslings and we ended up fencing them away from the kids and other animals. They are the nicest geese when not breeding.

 

[Hillside]

I don't think it matters what breed they are. Nice except for this time of year and then watch out. None of the internet poppycock about geese being such sweet pets applies to the breeding season. They're just plain not nice and we just get through it. The birds that should not be sold for someone else to breed from are great on the table. Culls have to go somewhere. Some try to sell for high $$$ and some have found that goose is pretty good. Here the oven is very welcoming.

 

[chickenlittle32]

I had the same problem with my geese (Chinese)...nicest until breeding season...they'd attack anyone walking in the run...My boys were afraid to go in there without us...so we got rid of them....I don't want them to be afraid (still dealing with a grouchy tom..may have a good turkey dinner soon...

 

[VerlonCox]

I have Pomeranian and have always wanted Sebastopol's. You make a very good point Hillside. My geese are the exact same way this time of the year but luckily its just hissing and never any biting involved. I personally like it when they get territorial of their young because I am the same way, especially now a days. Then again mine are in our lake behind the house and they have their own little lake front property established so I leave them alone other then feeding them and giving them treats (I love catching her off of the nest so that she can get treats). Mine are more like dogs to me then anything and I will eat every other animal on the farm except for them, I just cant do it. I am sure that I have sold some of their goslings that made for some excellent table fare but I HONESTLY try to sale only to people who have a pond or a lake and want to watch after them. I have even changed my fishing style because of them (I cant use bobbers any more) because they will chase after them but I always have a few geese by the boat to talk to or watch so its a give and take with me.

 

[Mrs. Turbo]

I have 2 ganders that are horrible....the other 2 don't seem to bother us much.....just hissing and they go on. Maybe I need to weed out the monsters, but they are some of my best of course.

I can't even get my husband to butcher the roosters, no way would he touch a goose. If he can haul it off the the slaughter house he is all for it....hmmm wonder if they would do the roosters for us?

 

[cayuga26]

People seem to get confused when talking about “aggression” in geese.

If the goose is aggressive all year long (and it is noted to be one of the calmer breeds) that is a bad thing and the bird should likely be culled (but keep in mind unlike all other poultry the past experiences that particular bird has had in it’s live can affect it’s disposition).

When it comes to the breeding season ALL geese are not safe around small children, dogs etc as there hormones WILL kick in eventually and if they think they can push it someone will get attacked. In the grand scheme of things it is a short period of time once a year that they do it. There is nothing that can be done about it as the birds know who they can and can’t push around. Our one Pilgrim Gander is very aggressive right now with everyone but me, and that is probably only because he knows I am capable of beating him (I have had to move him and his mate a few times this spring so he gets the idea, no aggression required I just will move him when I need to and he knows it). I would never trust him not to test it though even with me. Once the breeding season is over his aggression levels drop to pretty near nothing but there is no way to stop that behaviour at this time (he is just trying to protect his “wife and kids” in his mind.

My personal opinion is if people want a completely safe type of poultry there are only a few they can chose from, mallard derived ducks of any breed, quail, pigeons or doves possibly guinea fowl (since they lack spurs) and that’s about it. All the other types of poultry “can” be aggressive during there breeding seasons and can hurt small children or pets.

 

[fancbrd4me02]

My gander is devilish this time of year - But that's normal and we don't hold it against him. My hubby says that it's like when Spock had to go back to Vulcan to take a wife and he lost all his civilized behavior and reasoning! Anyone remember that episode? lol

 

[Soccer Mom]

Quote:
This cracked me up!

Fortunately, my gander is a big sissy. He occasionally tests me, but not often and not too hard. Mostly, he waits until I'm about 30 paces away before he drops his head and charges for two or three steps. Then he leaps up and does the head up, wings out, "victory run" back to his mates, trumpeting how he chased me away. He does the same thing to the horses, goats, guineas, and my car.

It's pretty funny actually.