Imprinted Canada Gosling - MILLIONS OF QUESTIONS

[torch21]

Hello! I'm from the midwest and after interning at a wildlife rehab over the summer, I now have an imprinted Canada goose with a wing injury (she cannot fly... a blessing in disguise to be brutally honest).

Because she's imprinted, she does not get along with other animals. Not our cats, not our chickens, not our dog, not other geese - this goose is a lone wolf. She only wants to be around people... since she too is a person! HAHA!! No obviously there's only so much time we can spend with her. We're currently building her a 5-15 enclosure next to the chicken run. It'll be separated with chicken wire so she cannot torment them (which she LOVES to do, sadly), but this way we're hoping to provide her with entertainment and a sense of companionship. We're going to build her a small makeshift pond within her enclosure and provide her with a duck/dog house for shelter.... though I don't know if I'll ever be comfortable with her sleeping outside, so she may still come inside in the evenings to go to bed.

We adore her and we want to give her the absolute best life possible! I fear that we'll get "caught" with her, since a permit for her is nearly impossible to obtain with the Migratory Bird Act. I have soooo many questions for anyone with insight into our situation.

1.) She screams when we're not in sight, and she's not too loud right now at 4 months old, but I know she'll get louder. I thought perhaps a radio on a NPR or other talk radio station in / near her enclosure may help with her squaking. I'd love other suggestions!

2.) I would be overjoyed to hear of stories in which folks had an imprinted bird that they were able to find a companion for... somehow.

3.) What the heck do I do if she has a medical emergency? According to the Migratory Bird Act, it's possible that she'd be seized from me if I brought her in to see a vet. She lives a pain free, healthy, safe life with me and would be heartbroken to see her be put down in case she cannot be placed as an education animal somewhere. (Waterfowl are very difficult to maintain as permanent residents at wildlife facilities bc they're so dirty and require a lot of time to care for... this is the main reason I ended up with her in the first place)

4.) This goose is a VERY picky eater. She loves dandelion greens, long grasses, and walks on the beach. Wait... forget that last one, that's ME! Anyway, I live in the midwest and I'm becoming concerned about what to feed her in the winter. I've read they can eat wheat, but I have no idea where to get it from. It was also suggested to drown the wheat in water so that it's not available to rats/other pests, but this isn't helpful for the winter. I'm working on a microgreen collection for her right now, but she cares for very little store bought greens... or she'll chew on them for a bit and then get bored with them. DOES THIS BIRD WANT TO STARVE? WHAT KIND OF ROYALTY DOES SHE THINK SHE IS?? MAYBE SHE'LL EAT THE GREENS IF SERVED ON A SILVER PLATTER???

5.) I have a lot of ideas for enrichment for her in her enclosure, especially since she'll be alone. Shiny things hanging, mirrors, her "pond," a radio, but I also don't want to overstimulate her. Thoughts or suggestions on this?

6.) Will a filtration system that keeps the water continuously flowing be enough to keep her "pond" from freezing over the winter, or do I need to do more?

7.) I cannot decide between a metal trough vs. deep rubberized plastic pool for her. Our yard is on a slope, so part of the makeshift pond will be embedded into the slope, while the other side is exposed. The exposed portion will be east facing. Suggestions?

I'm working with a dog trainer right now to clicker train her into some better behaviors (like NOT "attacking" the cats in their own house, not eating the toilet paper, learning "go to your bed," sending smoke signals, doing the dishes, etc.) Ok, so I'm being silly about the commands but I am actually working with a trainer. Wish me luck on that front!

Did I mention that this is a spoiled-ass goose? Thank you for reading until the end. I friggin appreciate you.

 

[Pyxis]

2.) I would be overjoyed to hear of stories in which folks had an imprinted bird that they were able to find a companion for... somehow.

My goose Lacie was imprinted on me. Her mate died in shipping and I had a really hard time finding more geese. For awhile she lived with the chickens, which she got along with after an introduction period. Eventually I was able to get some juvenile geese. She was unsure of them at first but before long they got along as a flock very well.

 

[MistyandLuna]

https://housegoose.com/?id=380

This is a very helpful link for training geese, and I really learned quite a lot from it. So let's start from the beginning.
1) My geese used to do this ALL the time when we got them, and they were deeply imprinted to us, and happily I still have a great bond with them even as they are teenage geese, I love them so much! Anyway, your goose has to self soothe, don't always go to them when they cry for help, and it can be loud and sad when they cry, I know, and sometimes I honestly have to give in because they are so cute, but a radio will help too if you want to give it to them, and also, because your goose is alone, it probably sees you as it's only companion, and geese are very social, so of course it's very attached to you, even though my geese have each other, they still cry for us at times, and follow us. It's totally normal!

2) We bought our geese at the same time, they are White Chinese Geese, literally the loudest goose out there, and we live in a suburban environment, and the neighbors have never complained, but also they only talk when they see me or my sister, or anything that disturbs them or threatens them. I love my geese, they are so special, especially seeing how they will only follow me and my sister, and how they will let us cuddle them. They are amazing, and they make life so much more enjoyable!

3) Now the vet issue is a bit more complicated because she is a Canada Goose and with the Migratory Bird Act in place, it makes everything more complicated. The best thing I would say to do is really inform yourself on everything to make your goose healthy and happy, and prevent any problems for the future, but if your goose ever does get sick, look up those symptoms and really analyze it, and then you can take steps to help your goose if they ever do get sick. We sometimes were able to help our rabbits when they had problems without going to the vet, especially catching it early! I know those are rabbits and they are different from geese, but rabbits are a lot more fragile than geese, geese are very hardy, and I'm sure you could be able to help them yourself if they ever got sick. But if absolutey necessary, then take them to an avian vet, and see next steps.

4) https://www.mazuri.com/ this is where we get our food for our geese and they love it! It is a good quality food, and maybe a bit expensive but we get it because it really is a top quality waterfowl food that we have found.

5) I think that those ideas for things to keep her occupied are great! But maybe also have an area where it is kind of quieter, not so many objects around, an area she can rest and be comfortable.

6) I'm not sure on this. You could try it and see if it works when Winter hits. For our horses, we have a water tank de-icer. https://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail...9mMYAc1UCZGHF8oOTu5hgsE0zl598uIxoCZ7MQAvD_BwE

That was the first tank de-icer that came up, but you can look at other options.

7) I think it doesn't really matter, but I think the de-icer, if you do get one is mainly for aluminum, or metal troughs because of fire hazard or something, not totally sure on that. But I'm sure you can find something for a rubber de-icer.

I can see you love your goose very much! She is adorable! She is definitely spoiled, great you are training her, it's good for her to know who is in charge! Hope my suggestions help, and enjoy your goose! They are amazing!

 

[Sandfly45]

Hi im just wondering how things are going with your Canada goose? I live in New Zealand (they are not a protected species here) and have found myself the mother of an orphaned hatchling. How did you teach him to self soothe and stop screaming for you 24/7? I had to put him in my bed last night to get him to settle lol. He has 4 juvenile chickens in his brooder for company but he only has eyes for me, which is lovely but very time consuming!