Are adult geese to be trusted with goslings?

[sillysister74]

You are very lucky to have a goose still laying. Mine went on strike the middle of April.

 

[Kim65]

Quote:
Geese also "parent" and "discipline" their goslings. The nipping is telling little Johnny "Mind yourself, young man!"

or "Get over there with your mother" or "I thought I told you not to put that in your mouth!" My adult ganders did the nipping at their female goslings. They'd nip at the wing or rear feathers, and I don't remember them nipping their heads.

A gander "nipping" at something and full out biting is hugely different. You'll wonder how you ever mistook the nip for the bite.

The way your adults are behaving is how mine did with the babies. Interested, heads down low. The only tool they have is their bill to do all the work with. Sort of like a human hand can caress or smack

 

[Sunny Side Up]

The goslings are getting so big already! When I bring them in from the yard in the evening they seem bigger than they were when I put them out in the morning.

I let Elmer have more time with his kids today, we all were out in the grass together. He does seem to be only giving the little "pay attention" nips, and I am stepping back farther with each session.

The interesting thing is that Gertrude seems to be going broody. She has been laying in the same place under the boys' bedroom window all season, but always getting off the nest and leaving her egg there. I had left a few of her first eggs to mark her place and have been collecting each fresh one. She has been setting all day there, and for the past few days, though we pick her up to put her in her pen each night for safety. Tonight I made a nest of straw in her pen and we placed the eggs in her original nest in the new one. I hope she will decide to stay on the nest in her pen, it's safer there.

 

[Sasa]

My Embdens tried to kill a gosling when I brought her home. I have a 4 week old Toulouse now and the Embdens want to kill him too but the Toulouse hen likes him alot and wants to hang out with him.

 

[larkflying]

I had young goslings last year -- 7 of them -- and bought a pair of Toulouse 1 year old geese. The geese adopted them at first sight, and started to protect them from me right away . . . never had any problems . . . but I did introduce them slowly. If you haven't had problems by now, I'd think that both geese would do fine.

I have heard though, that if there are goslings suddenly introduced - and the female goose is sitting on eggs that she will either stop laying or stop being broody over the eggs and abandon her nest. It might not happen, but you might also want to wait until she's firmly settled into broody mode . . . they are so glazed when they are broody I think there could be an earthquake and they wouldn't notice.

Next week I'm going to bring my two mother geese, and their collective 12 goslings out into a small area inside the bigger coop . . . I imagine in only a couple days they will all be living happily together with the fathers of the goslings and the lone female that didn't hatch any eggs . . . which is good, because 12 goslings is a LOT of goslings especially as they get bigger. It is hard to wait though . . . they are one week old and I can't wait to have them outside so I can see them from the house . . .

Good luck on the eggs -- I agree - my geese have all stopped laying, even the two that lost their nests last month. Wondered if they would try again, but it looks like they are done -- which is okay, as 12 goslings satisfies my gosling need quite well! Hope you get some more babies!

 

[Sasa]

Someone gave me a Toulouse baby and the Embden hens want to kill him but my beautiful Toulouse has adopted him, I wonder if accepting strange babies all depends on the breed? If I was hatching goose eggs I would let the geese do it and raise the babies, the babies learn things about being a goose from their parents that no human can ever teach them. I am SO glad that Tamarind is raising baby Bamboo, he will be a MUCH better goose because of her.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Someone gave me a Toulouse baby and the Embden hens want to kill him but my beautiful Toulouse has adopted him, I wonder if accepting strange babies all depends on the breed? If I was hatching goose eggs I would let the geese do it and raise the babies, the babies learn things about being a goose from their parents that no human can ever teach them. I am SO glad that Tamarind is raising baby Bamboo, he will be a MUCH better goose because of her.

What a sweet pic.

 

[Trefoil]

I hatched 15 runner ducks from ebay eggs 2 years ago. When they were old enough to go without a light I put them outside in a pen for protection. My geese immediately took notice, it ended up with one of my geese and my tom turkey chasing each other around the pen trying to claim the babies. The goose finally convinced the turkey to go away and then she stayed by the pen. After 2 days of this I let the ducklings out and watched to see if the goose would hurt them. She adopted them, not even letting the other geese near them. She stayed with them until she started laying eggs the next year. I didn't lose any of them, she was a great momma.

 

[Sasa]

That's fantastic, how wonderful! What kind of goose is she? I have 2 young Embdens who want to kill any baby that's not theirs, I have to separate the babies from them, both duckling and gosling. They are snotbags, lol.

 

[Achumley]

I have two goslings that are quite a bit older, unsure of age as I got them at a feed store. I recently purchased 2 younger goslings..these are African. One of the older goslings is biting them, the other lays by them and has accepted them. My question is, since one older gosling is biting at them does that mean it’s a male and the younger ones are male as well?

Thanks in advance!