Lucy is a jerk!

[drtnsnw]

our imprinted 3 month old Chinese has kinda gone crazy on us. She was very sweet, layed on your feet snuggled when you held her and would come to you and then follow. In the last few days she has turned into a real bratt!! Won't come to you or follow, and runs away when you try and catch her. She freaks out now too when you try and diaper her. When you take her out in the morning she kicks and screams till you let her down.

I am very sure nothing has happened to her, she spends time in the back yard alone but is never mishandled. I am just not sure what to do right now.

Has anyone ever seen this and do you know what to do?

Chris

 

[Denninmi]

It's called being a teenager. Species is irrelevant, it happens to all of them.

Patience and firm kindness are going to get both of you through this phase. This too shall pass. A good stiff drink may help now and again (for you, not the goose).

 

[drtnsnw]

=Denninmi A good stiff drink may help now and again (for you, not the goose).

She did stick her bill in my tequilla and tonic once, shook her head and sneezed, pretty funny!!

Chris​

 

[The goose girl]

It seems their behaviour changes drastically when they turn into adults.

My imprinted goose, Keld, also used to follow my every footstep - when he was a baby. Now, he follows treats.

Luckily, he'll do almost anything for treats, so I've used them to kind of train him all over again. When I want him to follow me, I (very patiently) hold out treats. When he's diapered, I lure him close with treats - and he seems to have learned to expect another treat right after the diaper is on. Which sometimetimes makes him search for that treat during diapering...

He too doesn't enjoy being carried anymore, but he mostly accepts it on short-term basis - and he always gets a treat right after I've put him down. Then I'm usually able to pick him up again and start over.

He hates it if I try to catch him - he seems to be frightened of my flailing arms, especially if they're above him - but if I sit down close to him and lure him in with a treat, he accepts being held.

I often give him a treat and just let him go immediately, so he won't connect the treats with me trying to get him to do something he doesn't want to do.

The treats he likes are puppy kibble. Or really anything crunchy: cat food, breakfast cereal, pills(!), chips, crackers, but the vet says that puppy kibble is better for him.

I always have treats in my pocket now, which makes emptying pockets before doing laundry essential!

The only disadvantage is that he has made the connection between pockets and treats. So even if a complete stranger puts his hands in his pockets, Keld will go up to him and start yanking at his pockets. I tell people to just hold out their empty hand to show Keld that they don't have anything - and it works - but most people don't really want to hold out their hand to what they perceive as an aggressive goose.

 

[erinszoo]

Our female Embden is like that and she is three months old as well. She will still lay in my lap but if anyone else tries to even go near her she runs and screams at us and every night, when she used to just follow the other birds into the house pretty as you please, she now jumps into the pond and refuses to get out.

It's very aggravating.

She seems to do best when we ignore her. Then when we're hand feeding the other geese and duck and turkey, she'll come to us and see what's going on. Ice is about the only thing she wants to take from us though.

Hang in there. I'm told she'll calm down. We'll see.

 

[drtnsnw]

tonight I laye on the ground ans she came over with a bribe of lettuce. I kinda scooped her up and held her and she didn't struggle but she will not let my wife go near her. We ate on the deck and she came up and layed with us so that was better. Guess we just need to keep working with her

Chris

 

[Speceider]

"imprinted 3 month old Chinese"

That identifies a large part of the problem. Do not expect imprinted birds to behave the same near fledging. Imprinted goslings while friendly, will have social problems later, because they don't know "what species they are". You want to believe they will continue as "human babies", but they have a very different developmental scale.

Clint