babies chewing EVERYTHING

[Shiloh Acres]

And I'm still shaking my head, thinking of yours SAWING at that tubing for 10 days. Sheesh!

 

[The Duck ABC's]

Some plastics just taste good. It's the same with dogs, they love some and hate others. Has anyone ever tried bitter apple? It works with dogs, and I wonder if it also works on geese.

 

[Silver Spring Waterfowl]

Quote:

Too true! I don't think mine ever stop chewing!
I do give my goslings a rabbit or parrot toy (can't remember now what it was actually for, but I bought it for the rabbits and they outgrew it). I took the clapper out of the shiny bell for the goslings. It seems to keep them entertained somewhat and gives them something safe to chew on besides their siblings. It's really good practice for grabbing onto things and really tearing them up! If you decide to try a similar diversion, make it a cheap one! And don't feel too bad if they prefer things that you would really prefer they'd not! They just know. I do think it's how they keep their bills sharp to cut grass, shrubs, rosebushes, and other things like styrofoam and tree roots with.

We had to spend $300 to have the A/C man come out and put a guarded cable on the air conditioner, too. They were chewing it, but we caught that in time. They had also chewed through my barn phone line, but I could fix that myself. They have a taste for coax, especially. Watching them discover something new to tear up is reminiscent of the old movie "The Gremlims"! And that's what we call them. They also ate approximately 60'x25' by about 8' deep amount of shoreline away from their pond. They no longer have a pond.
They also steal.

 

[HeatherLynn]

I have one that carries a pastic bucket around and its over a year now. He carries it with him and when he settles down in whatever spot in the sun he likes he chews on it. He will also steal shoes, blankets, sweaters, and plastic toys to play( chew) with. Just try to keep them away from stuff they can actually destroy and consume. So far they have only destroyed a door, a pool, and several feeding containers. Mine are small time criminals by comparison.

 

[bel]

Lol the geese we raised for the ranch loved plastic buckets too, I use the empty plastic cat litter buckets in the yard, the geese would entertain themselves biting the handle and dropping it over and over, they also loved chewing on a 2 gallon nursery pot. What really was surprizing was discovering they had chewed through half a prickly pear cactus pad, its "spineless" but still has some small spikes.
We are getting some cotton patch goslings for our place, going to be time to "goose proof" the yard soon.

 

[Cottage Rose]

Funny stories

I use 2 ft. high rabbit guard garden fencing to set boundries for my geese.
It use those short electic fence rods to hold it up.
Its easy to set up, move and step over.
Inside the "allowed area" is void of things I don't want shredded.
It also keeps the geese from coming up by my house.
I'm not fond of goose poo all over where I walk barefoot.
Despite having to do these things I LOVE my geese.
They are a never ended source of comic relief and pleasure.

 

[jack & mommy's duckies]

I'm glad to hear that i'm not the only one by far to have this problem. This is my second year with geese and my Africans from last year and this year are no where near a chewer. But I ordered 6 sebbie babys from Metzers and OMG they are crazy nuts... chewing on everything and each other. I don't care that they chew the toys or the blankets or stuff like that. But they have chewed a little male raw in the rear. I put bluecote on him....and they are still interested. If it would only warm up I'd ship the darn things outside. But I've got weeks to go before that...ughhh

I going to make them little collars like dogs so they can't eat each other...lol cone head geese lol

 

[birds4me]

Well, I finally got up the courage to put them in the barn and try and make "real birds" out of them. I thought that maybe that would change things with the chewing, but now they have even more to chew on. I have put bales of corn stalks and hay in the barn with all the birds and within just a few days the bales are no longer in bale form. They will chew on my hens, who think they are being bred and do "the pose" while they are chewing. When I go in the barn and pick them up they are all over me. My hair, nose, ears, clothes , everything is up for grabs.

No matter what I still love them dearly, but think they should come with a warning lable!!!!!! This was a new one for me too, my chinese geese NEVER did this at all. Glad we could all form a support group for this topic!!!! Also glad to know that I did not cause this by babying them or keeping them in the house in the beginning.

 

[The goose girl]

Quote:
I found this illustration of a goose brain:

Most of the brain is located above the eyes. Well, it seems to me that kinda severely limits the amount you can teach (or inadvertently cause) the goose to do.

I read that some people call them "feathered goats"... very appropriate!

 

[birds4me]

"feathered goats"

I have REAL goats and they are no where near as bad as the sebbie babies!!!!

Note to self: don't put geese and goats together. With my luck the goats would learn from the geese NOT the other way around!