Anyone diapering their goose?…..Insights / advice welcome!

[LakeGooseBerry]

I decided to diaper-train my Toulouse Gosling who is about 8 weeks old. People said it could be done!
So far it has gone reasonably well, however I would love to hear from other people crazy enough to do this.

First of all …. Does the pooping ever slow down? I absolutely have to change his/her diaper ever hour or it erupts out the back (sometimes more often). I’m not so keen on having goose poo-poo everywhere. How often does the more mature goose’s diaper need to be changed?
I think the fit is pretty good. I have pinned the harness as I was instructed to do. In most ways the thing fits fine but I think the poop-pouch could be bigger.

Will the process become more reliable as time goes by?

As it is now I have to be very vigilant because I never know when there will be a sloppy stream of poo shooting right out and over the back of the diaper and onto whatever or whoever is unfortunate enough to be back there.
I’d like to make this work since this is a solitary goose and will be lonely outside by itself, and companionship will come with a successful diaper.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I decided to diaper-train my Toulouse Gosling who is about 8 weeks old. People said it could be done!
So far it has gone reasonably well, however I would love to hear from other people crazy enough to do this.

First of all …. Does the pooping ever slow down? I absolutely have to change his/her diaper ever hour or it erupts out the back (sometimes more often). I’m not so keen on having goose poo-poo everywhere. How often does the more mature goose’s diaper need to be changed?
I think the fit is pretty good. I have pinned the harness as I was instructed to do. In most ways the thing fits fine but I think the poop-pouch could be bigger.

Will the process become more reliable as time goes by?

As it is now I have to be very vigilant because I never know when there will be a sloppy stream of poo shooting right out and over the back of the diaper and onto whatever or whoever is unfortunate enough to be back there.
I’d like to make this work since this is a solitary goose and will be lonely outside by itself, and companionship will come with a successful diaper.

Might be easier to get it a friend for company outside. lol geese have no way in controlling their pooping so when they have to go they go. and the older the more it is. I diapered a duckling for a while because he lived inside with us since mama didn't want him, but it was a constant monitoring of the backside to make sure there weren't any leaks, finally I just started carrying around paper towels and disinfectant we have old wood floors so it was easy to clean up after him but at 3 months old he went out to live with the other ducks.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/778867/house-goose-thread/80

 

[LakeGooseBerry]

Oh dear, this is not sounding very hopeful : (
Thanks for giving it to me straight

 

[Miss Lydia]

Oh dear, this is not sounding very hopeful : (
Thanks for giving it to me straight

Others do it though so maybe if you talk to them you can work it out.

 

[featheredfashions]

Where did you get your diaper from? A goose is how our company started!!

we had a Sebastopol gosling and wanted him to stay inside. Then before we knew it.......Feathered Fashions was born. The diaper inside the harness needs to be changed every 2-3 hours. And if they have a constant food and water source that will make them go much more!! If you look on our website out goose is right on the front

www.fashionmyfeathers.com

 

[The goose girl]

Growing goslings poop a lot more than grown geese, because they eat a lot more to grow. Depending on the type of diaper/diaper insert it should be changed at least every hour during the day. A grown goose can go longer; the 2-3 hours featheredfashions mentions seem right. But it isn't an exact science. A distressed or nervous goose poops incessantly.

The type of diaper harness also matters. I tried the ones from The Goose's Mother first, but I found the pouch too small. I then tried Nettie's, and they were great. Especially when I found out I could fold and staple a half diaper into a pouch. I'm not sure Nettie sells those harnesses anymore, and I have no experience with the ones featheredfashions makes. I would not recommend an elaborate design. Geese love to gnaw and pull at stuff, and I'd be worried they could easily rip stuff off and eat it. Also, they should be able to preen as much as possible, and the more plumage you cover in fabric, the less they're able to preen. Let's just say I'm not into dressing up pets.

I diapered my pet goose when she was young. As I only have one goose, she needed the constant company, and sometimes the weather wasn't really for sitting outside watching her forage. Also, the diapering came in really handy at night, when she slept in my bed. She outgrew that habit when she started laying, and now she sleeps outside in her goose house.

As she grew more mature, she gradually preferred to stay outside more, even on her own, so the diapers weren't needed as much. My living room has tall windows facing the yard, so she's always able to check in on me and see if I'm still there. Now that she's fully grown, she rarely wears a diaper. She easily gets bored inside the the house, so she usually just comes in and honks at me to get me when she wants to go for a walk.

Now she only uses the diaper when she rides in the car, or when we go visit someone who doesn't want goose poop in their yard.

We're two people sharing her, and we're able to keep her company almost all day. None of us work, so we both have a lot of free time to spend with her, and we can do our chores when the other one is with her. She prefers it when we're outside with her, but she's also content in the yard on her own, as long as she knows we're close. On a few occasions she's been left alone in the yard for up to an hour and a half without any problems, but that happens only once or twice a month.

If I were her only caregiver, I would get her a mate. On my own I wouldn't be able to provide her with the company she needs. I'm sure she'd survive on her own, but she would be an insecure, bored, and way less happy goose.

 

[LakeGooseBerry]

Dear Goose Girl,
Thank you for your response. This forum community is a treasure. Since I am new to the forum I do not know how long is too long for a post full of questions. So I have decided to go ahead and send this to you as a reply despite its excessive length.
I have never had a goose before, know almost nothing and have more and more questions the more I read. I am hoping that you and the other ‘house goose’ people will be able to guide me through this. In fact I am going to repost these questions as a new thread in hopes that others will share their thoughts as well. Someday maybe, I will be able to contribute more than just questions.

The two main issues revolve around diapering and behavior.

The diapers we are using have all come from the Goose Mother. I like them OK, but more often than not the poop shoots out the back of the diaper. I would love to try other options and would welcome the names and contact info of other diaper makers. I did find Nettie at ETSY but have not contacted her yet.

You mentioned increased pooping with insecure geese and I don’t know if my goose is insecure because of something I’m doing or if the insecurity is just from being young. I am home with goose all day however when I need to leave the house (which is rarely) or do certain jobs around the place I put the goose in a little yard we built to keep him/her out of trouble. Solitude is about the worst thing for him/her but I’m not sure what else I can do (painting and paint remover is very bad for geese). It is a fenced yard with a kiddie pool and plenty of grass and plants. But he/she does not like to be alone and sometimes she is in there for several hours (though I am in and out several times to say “hi” and give her a slice of watermelon or apricot). Is this causing her insecurity?

At night Goosey comes inside and sleeps in its box which is beside my bed.

You also mentioned the fact that constant pooping follows constant access to food. At what point can I limit access to food? Since this goose is only 8 weeks old and still growing, is it necessary for food to be available all throughout the day when he/she is inside with me?

Behavior Questions:
What is the best way to correct / discipline a goose?
1. Biting:
Picking at clothing sometimes leads to painful skin pinching. My goose has a thing about my garden gloves. When we are weeding together he/she will not leave my gloved hands alone and bites at the glove which hurts. He/she also bites at shoes, flip-flops, socks, shirts, shirt collars, buttons etc.
..… Can a goose be taught the subtle distinction between clothes and skin or should it be corrected when it first begins picking at the clothes, before it ever gets to the skin?
Sometimes it will bite skin directly.
Since I have no experience I don’t know how to correct a goose or how much force to apply. I don’t want to create a mean goose with harshness but something has to be done. With my dogs, I reward them when they are good. But goose doesn’t seem to understand the whole reward thing.

2. Will my goose stop running away from me? I hatched this goose so it has been with me from minute one. Although I have never been unkind it is skittish and doesn’t like to be touched. Once it is being held it is fine but you would think I tortured it daily the way it runs away.
It wants to be around me; does not like to be alone but when I go toward it to pet it, or change its diaper it runs away.
For the first two and a half weeks it had 4 other hatchlings to hang with. Then for another week it had only one other gosling. Now it just has us. Will it adapt to being a solitary house goose even though it had early access to other geese?

 

[featheredfashions]

We are having an auction right now Come check our stuff out!! We have a lot of cool diapers and accessories for sale!!

Facebook Link
https://www.facebook.com/groups/318325768278758/

Website Link
www.fashionmyfeathers.com

Here is our flyer

 

[The goose girl]

You mentioned increased pooping with insecure geese and I don’t know if my goose is insecure because of something I’m doing or if the insecurity is just from being young. I am home with goose all day however when I need to leave the house (which is rarely) or do certain jobs around the place I put the goose in a little yard we built to keep him/her out of trouble. Solitude is about the worst thing for him/her but I’m not sure what else I can do (painting and paint remover is very bad for geese). It is a fenced yard with a kiddie pool and plenty of grass and plants. But he/she does not like to be alone and sometimes she is in there for several hours (though I am in and out several times to say “hi” and give her a slice of watermelon or apricot). Is this causing her insecurity?

Yes, your gosling is feeling unsafe whenever he/she is left alone. Even if it's only for a couple of minutes. Their instincts tell them almost everything they need to know, like how to preen/eat/drink/bathe, but for a gosling the primary instinct is to never be left behind.

In a few months, this instinct will not be as powerful as it is now, but all geese find comfort in numbers. Even my goose, who is imprinted on people, loves when I have people over. The more, the merrier. Geese are never fully comfortable if they're alone.

Quote: You should never limit your goose's access to food or water. Never. And especially not when he/she is still growing. Geese are weed eaters and are built to eat a lot all through the day, and they're also built to pass this food quickly through their digestive system. This means a lot of pooping, but it's essential for the goose to get the nourishment it needs.

Quote: In my experience the biting/chewing/pulling is part of a gosling's learning process. That's how they investigate the world. This behaviour will subside gradually as the goose matures, but it will always be how they investigate new stuff. Also, I've observed geese and gosling chewing way more when they're nervous or scared. Kind of like nail biting - just not their own nails!

I gave my goose some sturdy baby toys to chew when she was young. They were always her favorite things to play with, and I was usually able to divert her attention from other people's shoes etc. with those toys.

Geese have an instinct to pluck at whatever the others are plucking at. So when you weed, he/she thinks you're showing him/her something exquisite and exciting.

I don't believe you can or should discipline a goose. You can take away what it shouldn't chew, and/or give it something else to chew. And you can reinforce wanted behaviour with treats. Not biting is, in my opinion, not a behaviour - it is a lack of behaviour and very hard to reinforce.

Quote: Again, instincts. Geese don't like anything coming at them, especially from above. Most geese don't like being touched. It takes a lot of patience and training for them to feel safe around hands. I always lure my goose in with a treat. When I diaper her, I sit down on the floor and hold out a treat. She comes running and will practically sit in my lap. Then I diaper her, and she gets another treat when were done. If I don't have it handy, she'll start looking everywhere for that second treat.

If I have to pick her up, I hold out a treat for her. As she gets closer, I'll hold out both my hands, and when she's right next to me I'll give her the treat and scoop her up. The treat thing really works for me, but it takes only one premature grabbing attempt to scare her for days. If you want your goose to feel safe around you, you should never ever chase her.

Quote: Just out of curiosity: what happened to the other goslings?

I think you should get your goose a buddy. Not because it has had previous experience with other geese, but because you're not able to provide it with the company it needs. Geese should be able to forage outside most of the day, and getting your goose a buddy will mean no guilty conscience for you when you don't want to spend hours in the rain and cold. A solitary goose is an extremely demanding pet.

I know this may sound like double standards, coming from someone who has a solitary goose. But if I didn't have my goose partner, a retired man who loves her and has all the time in the world for her, I wouldn't consider keeping her on her own. Actually, as my goose partner isn't getting any younger, I'm planning for her to have goslings next year, and we'll keep at least one of them.

 

[livininbrazil]

I'm planning for her to have goslings next year, and we'll keep at least one of them.

Oh, yes!!! So looking forward to seeing that!