My new geese hate me!

[MyTDogs]

I got a pair of embdenxtufted geese this week. They are 5 months old. The geese were part of a large group with a pond of their own. Now at my place I put them into an ISO pen. As far as I can tell they didn't eat anything the first 3 days. Any time I walked near them they'd his at me. They seemed so depressed. So yesterday I broke down & let them out. While clipping their wings the gander bit me-surprise. Then after an hour or so of cautiously walking around the yard it was a nightmare getting back in their pen.

Just wondering if there is anything I can do to settle them down...

 

[Kevin565]

Most of the time I can get older geese to tame down a bit. However, if they were basically living wild on a pond it's going to take awhile longer. Just keep trying and hopefully they will soon stop seeing you as enemy.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Yep they are terrified and biting is their only defense, like K said it will take time but if your willing to be patient and just spend quiet time with them I think you'll see a change 5 months is still young. I am working right now with a 4 month old that was with 4 other geese on pasture with not much social interaction from people, it's day 9 and I am seeing an improvement so it does take time and alot of patience. but the benefits of having such magnificent birds in our care is worth it. I go out and do stuff around them not even paying attention to them and just basically just making my presence known but being ready to act if one wants to bite, It's my gander that I have had for 5 yrs that would be more inclined to bite so I have had to work real hard with him to get that out of his system. But it can be done. So good luck and be patient.

 

[Iain Utah]

From my experience, it takes weeks if not months to develop a relationship with adult geese that were not hand raised. What I have found works is to establish a feed/water/treat routine. Keep your routine on a schedule, because your geese have an excellent internal clock and thrive on routine. When you can, sit a few feet away from them. Whatever you do, do not try to touch them. Eventually, if you are lucky, they may get curious enough to approach you. As a general rule, I wait for them to make physical contact with me before I touch them.

With my teenage ganders who were never socialized with humans, fresh water was my breakthrough. They cannot resist it. I still remember the first time my ganders ran towards me with wings flapping... startled the dickens out of me... but it was in excitement to reach the bowl of water I was setting down. I've had this pair for over a year now... and while I still have not ever had physical contact with them, they are comfortable hanging out with me now.

 

[BButterfly]

I just went threw this about 3mths ago. I wanted to have a pet goose that can be an indoor and outdoor pet. We admired these geese down the road since we moved out to our new home. Well we made a promise we were going to get their babies. In spring we saw gooslings with their parents. So we stopped in talked with the owner and she said if you can get them you can have them. She also went on to explain that they are VERY independent. She feeds them in the morning and then they are out in the property/pond all day. So, these were not very ppl friendly pets.
We sought, we found, and after much persuasion we were attempting to get these two babies. Mind you these were not small geese, they were embden geese parents... HUGE... hissing and doing everything in their power to scare us off! So I did what any reasonable wife would do...I grabbed two sticks off the ground and said, " here use these to seperate everyone and then when they are apart i'll go in and grab one"!!! LMAO
Ofc, the hubby didn't let me get near them.
Anyhow, we got the two babies....YAY Then as soon as we got home I was trying to tame them. Now these goslings were only 2-3wks old, but these guys were NOT having it! They were biting dog butts, cat tails, the one would freak out so bad when she was picked up she would barf everywhere, and we kept trying and trying. Then after calling the author of "Duck, there's a goose in the house". I was telling him my situation, and after a week or two more of trying to work on taming them. I decided you know what, let me just make life easier on ALL of us!
We took them back to their parents and I swear to GOD it was like watching a movie. The Mom and Dad we running toward the daughter open winged and they all started doing their greeting noise and bowing their heads, and the boy well that's the one I got SO attached to and if it wasn't for the amazing sight I had just saw I might not have been able to part with him. So there I am in tears watching and crying over this "Gone with a goosling(wind)" moment and crying like a baby.
Now i'm glad to say that no matter how hurt I felt it truly was the BEST decision.
We bought a day old African Gray goosling who has imprinted on us to the fullest!!! We take him to stores, he follows us when we are doing outside chores, he's SO affectionate, and he naps with us when in the living room. He's just awesome, never in our lives did we know having a goose would be such a loving experience. It's like having a dog but better!!!

There's a picture of Specials and his monkey and if you want to raise them as pets check out the book I mentioned above...it's SOOOO worth it!
Many blessings to you and your family,
BButterfly

 

[Miss Lydia]

I just went threw this about 3mths ago. I wanted to have a pet goose that can be an indoor and outdoor pet. We admired these geese down the road since we moved out to our new home. Well we made a promise we were going to get their babies. In spring we saw gooslings with their parents. So we stopped in talked with the owner and she said if you can get them you can have them. She also went on to explain that they are VERY independent. She feeds them in the morning and then they are out in the property/pond all day. So, these were not very ppl friendly pets.
We sought, we found, and after much persuasion we were attempting to get these two babies. Mind you these were not small geese, they were embden geese parents... HUGE... hissing and doing everything in their power to scare us off! So I did what any reasonable wife would do...I grabbed two sticks off the ground and said, " here use these to seperate everyone and then when they are apart i'll go in and grab one"!!! LMAO
Ofc, the hubby didn't let me get near them.
Anyhow, we got the two babies....YAY Then as soon as we got home I was trying to tame them. Now these goslings were only 2-3wks old, but these guys were NOT having it! They were biting dog butts, cat tails, the one would freak out so bad when she was picked up she would barf everywhere, and we kept trying and trying. Then after calling the author of "Duck, there's a goose in the house". I was telling him my situation, and after a week or two more of trying to work on taming them. I decided you know what, let me just make life easier on ALL of us!
We took them back to their parents and I swear to GOD it was like watching a movie. The Mom and Dad we running toward the daughter open winged and they all started doing their greeting noise and bowing their heads, and the boy well that's the one I got SO attached to and if it wasn't for the amazing sight I had just saw I might not have been able to part with him. So there I am in tears watching and crying over this "Gone with a goosling(wind)" moment and crying like a baby.
Now i'm glad to say that no matter how hurt I felt it truly was the BEST decision.
We bought a day old African Gray goosling who has imprinted on us to the fullest!!! We take him to stores, he follows us when we are doing outside chores, he's SO affectionate, and he naps with us when in the living room. He's just awesome, never in our lives did we know having a goose would be such a loving experience. It's like having a dog but better!!!

There's a picture of Specials and his monkey and if you want to raise them as pets check out the book I mentioned above...it's SOOOO worth it!
Many blessings to you and your family,
BButterfly

Thanks for sharing your experience. And

 

[The goose girl]

Chiming in on the food and fresh water.

As Miss Lydia says, your new geese are terrified. But you do have a very good chance of getting them to overcome their fear if you move calmly around them, spend time with them and talk to them. And if you find out what food they like most, you can offer it to them every time they see you. It does take a lot of patience and a lot of absolutely no sudden movements.

Geese are not great thinkers, and most of their behaviour is like conditioned reflexes. If they connect your presence and your voice with things they like, they'll accept you faster. However, every time they get scared by something you do, their perception of you as a threat is enforced. If you have to do stuff they dislike (like clipping their wings), it could be a good idea to don a disguise like a hood, a raincoat, or a big colorful hat and not talk to them. They'll hopefully connect your "heinous" act with the disguise and not with you.

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

lots and lots and lots of time. you are a stranger and geese are slow to trust and slow to accept new routines.

 

[MyTDogs]

Thanks everyone for the advice. Today I wittnessed them drinking . Poor guys keep trying to flock with my runners who act traumatized by them.

Any suggestions on goose treats? I tried fresh tomato, whole grain artisan bread, fresh spinach, & grapes.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Thanks everyone for the advice. Today I wittnessed them drinking

. Poor guys keep trying to flock with my runners who act traumatized by them.
Any suggestions on goose treats? I tried fresh tomato, whole grain artisan bread, fresh spinach, & grapes.

My geese love grapes but they have to be halved [spoiled rotten things] about the only other thing my geese will eat and it's more of a nibble is romaine lettuce. If they are out free ranging I can call them back into the fence with W/W bread all i have to do is wrinkle the bag.

And there's safety in numbers. hence trying to flock with your runners. How'd it go getting them inside tonight?