Aggressive Goose

[jsullivan704]

Well, I didn’t want to have make this post one day but here we are. I raised my geese and ducks from babies, and jeffery my gander was my absolute best friend. We got along so well, I would spend all my time with him. He’s almost a year old now and suddenly he got aggressive. I know this happens with geese, but it’s to the point where he’s starting to try and fly at me and bite me. One of the first times he really went at me I pinned him to the ground and I feel like ever sense I did that he absolutely hates me. I hope I didn’t completely ruin any respect he had for me. What do I do? I raise my arms and he will start to back down a bit, but he won’t even let me near him anymore. He’s my baby and I don’t want to get rid of him.

* and no I didn’t hand feed him or anything like that. He would follow me everywhere around the yard during the day and just sit by me. about a month ago he got aggressive for no reason.

 

[MissChick@dee]

He’ll get over it. It was a test to see how you responded. You did the right thing by standing your ground. Sounds like his hormones are kicking in and just like a lot of teenagers he’s going to be a bit of a jerk until he figures out how to be a lady’s man to the girls. He needs to respect you. Don’t get your feelings hurt...he’s just doing what he’s supposed to do. Continue with what your doing. He’s needs to learn that coming after you is not okay. Best wishes

 

[SniperGoose]

I too have raised my geese from babies. My female is the sweetest thing, but the gander does have times where he will get aggressive. Mostly in spring, but at the start of winter he gets a bit aggressive sometimes. He's usually a timid, sweet gander otherwise. Now here's what I do to make him stop being aggressive.

First thing would be do not show fear. You want him to know that you are the boss, and that he shouldn't challenge you. The first time that my goose attacked me, honestly I was a bit shaken up because he was such a sweetie before. But their hormones get the better of them sometimes too, so that's also a thing to take into consideration. Stand your ground! And if he comes at you, you come at him.

When he does attack, I immediately grab his beak and hold it shut (be careful not to cover his nostrils though!) and I'll push down on him just enough that he has to lay down on the ground. I then let him up after he's given up. That or I'll pick him up while holding his beak shut and carry him around for a few minutes until he quits struggling. But do be careful of the wings! Getting hit with those hurts. Acting fast can really save you some pain!

Just the other day when I was putting food in their coop for the evening, my gander started attacking my hand. Luckily I had some thick gloves on, but regardless, he knows that isn't ok. He was testing me. I smacked him on the beak (not very hard, but hard enough to get the message across). He tried it a few more times, and I repeated. He got the message after a little bit, and he hasn't done it since. He doesn't hold a grudge against me, nor I against him.

It's just a matter of getting in his head that "Hey if I attack this person, they're gonna grab me, pin me to the ground, and carry me. Fighting them = I lose. They're the boss." It will happen plenty of other times. They're gonna test you, but in the end you just need to show them that you're the boss and that they need to respect you.

 

[jsullivan704]

I too have raised my geese from babies. My female is the sweetest thing, but the gander does have times where he will get aggressive. Mostly in spring, but at the start of winter he gets a bit aggressive sometimes. He's usually a timid, sweet gander otherwise. Now here's what I do to make him stop being aggressive.

First thing would be do not show fear. You want him to know that you are the boss, and that he shouldn't challenge you. The first time that my goose attacked me, honestly I was a bit shaken up because he was such a sweetie before. But their hormones get the better of them sometimes too, so that's also a thing to take into consideration. Stand your ground! And if he comes at you, you come at him.

When he does attack, I immediately grab his beak and hold it shut (be careful not to cover his nostrils though!) and I'll push down on him just enough that he has to lay down on the ground. I then let him up after he's given up. That or I'll pick him up while holding his beak shut and carry him around for a few minutes until he quits struggling. But do be careful of the wings! Getting hit with those hurts. Acting fast can really save you some pain!

Just the other day when I was putting food in their coop for the evening, my gander started attacking my hand. Luckily I had some thick gloves on, but regardless, he knows that isn't ok. He was testing me. I smacked him on the beak (not very hard, but hard enough to get the message across). He tried it a few more times, and I repeated. He got the message after a little bit, and he hasn't done it since. He doesn't hold a grudge against me, nor I against him.

It's just a matter of getting in his head that "Hey if I attack this person, they're gonna grab me, pin me to the ground, and carry me. Fighting them = I lose. They're the boss." It will happen plenty of other times. They're gonna test you, but in the end you just need to show them that you're the boss and that they need to respect you.

Thank you for telling me that, I was honestly considering getting rid of him but I know I would regret that so much. I’ll be honest it scared me, that my goose I talk so kindly about was going at me. I’ve been nervous to go near him again, but I need to show him I’m his boss and I always will be. He never attacks my boyfriend just me, but he hisses at both of us. I think he assumes because I’m female he is the boss of me. I’m going to stand my ground and show him i’m his boss.

 

[gimmie birdies]

I had a goose just one, with chickens, and she was fine for a while, then as she got older, she would rip the combs off my hens. Mostly the aggressive hens. And she would get jealous that the hens were allowed babies. Eventually I gave her to a lady that was going to get many geese. She used to lay so many eggs!

 

[SniperGoose]

Thank you for telling me that, I was honestly considering getting rid of him but I know I would regret that so much. I’ll be honest it scared me, that my goose I talk so kindly about was going at me. I’ve been nervous to go near him again, but I need to show him I’m his boss and I always will be. He never attacks my boyfriend just me, but he hisses at both of us. I think he assumes because I’m female he is the boss of me. I’m going to stand my ground and show him i’m his boss.

Yeah I wouldn't get rid of him. It will get better, even if it doesn't seem like it right now. I can understand being nervous to go near him, but you'll have to if you want this to get under control. Trust me, once you get the technique down, you'll feel less and less nervous when being around him. He knows you're nervous, and that's probably adding to his behavior. He won't hate you, and won't hold a grudge against you for doing this. He just needs to learn his place! Best of luck dealing with him!

 

[Miss Lydia]

 

[mosse71]

had many geese act this way. like was stated above , stand your ground and show them whose the boss. chinese geese i find the most aggressive of the breeds. a Chinese gander will fly across the yard to confront someone.bigger breeds are generally more mellow. i have a goose /gander africans and so far he's behaving. we'll see come spring.