Behavioral changes in one of my female geese.

[God Gardening and Geese]

Not sure if an emergency or not, might be nothing but Haywire hormones. Apologies now in case this is the improper area to put this post.

So I have a female goose that is started to behave differently, she just started to make changes when she turned 6 months and she's 7 months today approximately. Out of my entire flock of six geese, (four gander's and two females), she is least sociable. She always would be the one that would want to run if you approached her in most cases.



So her behavior changed, now for about a month I've noticed she's starting to make actual nest inside the pen, she would lay in her nest and stay there when I would come out in the morning to let them free range and foliage. She would definitely join the flock it was just she wasn't coming over to the gate straight away like she would with the rest of the flock. This would increase overtime or she would want to lay in the nest she built longer. A little background of her this summer, she was the foxy goose, (oolala), 3 of the ganders were most attracted to her, maybe she wore her feathers different than my other one but they all took notable attention to her and they all practically ignored my other female. I know that three of the ganders I'll had at different times where they would get on her in the kiddie pool bought for them. All of the ganders are around the same age except for the fourth gander whom is about 18 months old. I had him paired with a female that got killed sadly killed by a raccoon. This particular Gander lost his mate and so there's no interest he shows, his main point of interest is showing dominance over the whole flock leading them as an alpha male of the group and it's rather protective over them which I like because he's good and mean and ornery to anything that doesn't belong around the gaggle. However the other three are quite young as so are the other two female geese so when I seen them trying to mate I wrote it off as my ganders shooting blanks as they were likely just a little too young, they probably needed a few more months of development before they would be able to fertilize. So when Autumn set in they started to come down and not tried to breed with her so much, it was less frequently. So it was kind of quiet but then she started to nest and I again figured maybe all that activity got her motherly instincts kicked in sooner then normal as I wasn't expecting them to kick in until around maybe February. I'm really not a hundred percent sure but if this Behavior is well known to anybody out there and can identify what is happening that would be most appreciated too share any knowledge you may have.



There is more however, today I let them out of there cage as I normally do and they all ran out and started to foliage around and then I decided hours later to pen them up because I had to get a few more things from the store before the holiday begins and she was laying down and away from the others not necessarily in a nest but laying down as if she was in a nest. I tried to see if she wanted to get up in go inside the cage and to my surprise and having the behavior to put distance between me and her she instead just continue to lay there as I approached her closer and eventually I picked her up and she didn't struggle are scratch or try to fight in any way, she just let me pick her up I sit her down in the cage it's after I examine her because this was unusual behavior for her and she appeared to be fine when I set her down she displayed vigor and liveliness. Everything seemed to be fine except for this new Behavior but she seems to be okay so I continued on to do shopping and got back and being still light out I aloud them more free-range time however she was nowhere to be found in the pen until I looked behind the tree in the corner and there she was laying down again like she was nesting. She was keeping herself away from the other geese and seemed to be okay, I started to wonder if maybe something else was at play here, I tried to examine her and any signs I could pick up on, it appeared that she was eating and getting enough water from examining the droppings that were behind her, the film of white over the top of the droppings indicates water intake since geese don't urinate they secrete this white film on top of their poop. She had no problem with me touching her which is unusual because she normally will avoid the contact and interaction so close like that. But she wasn't bothered by me touching her in fact I think she was enjoying me petting her on the back between her wings and I wanted to check her body heat so I put my hand gently under her wing and she was really good and warm, no body injuries I can find, she turned her head around and stuck it underneath her wing with the bill covered by her feathers, classic Goose resting position, and she seemed to be fine but she also seems to be a little off somehow. I went out to feed them and check on her a few hours later and she was up and moving around with the rest of the flock but when I put food in the bowls and gave them some fresh water she was going over getting drinks from their water supply but the others were more interested in food and she kind of just seemed like she was interested in a whole different preoccupied feeling of some sort I'm not sure what to pinpoint it, she showed interest in water but it was almost like maybe something was bothering her so I'm at a bit of a loss and maybe it's as simple as she's just acting strange because she's coming into her motherly instincts early and she just doesn't know what to do even herself because it's all brand new to her, all the gander getting on her this summer maybe stirred up something early, not sure. There has been no eggs or no failed attempt at eggs as early first time layers sometimes lay so I'm looking for someone that has more experience than myself and might be able to give me any advice on what it is or maybe even what to do and if there's any questions anyone may have please feel free to ask.



Thank you for your time to read this post and for the time you've took if you have done so to write any helpful responses. Maybe it's just me being concerned for my animals and there's nothing to worry about but that's why I'm posting it here because there are people that have more knowledge than me out there I believe and I'm sure a few of them can be found on here easy. Thanks, God bless, and a very happy Thanksgiving to you all.

 

[Isadora]

Boost

 

[Goosebaby]

Not sure if an emergency or not, might be nothing but Haywire hormones. Apologies now in case this is the improper area to put this post.

So I have a female goose that is started to behave differently, she just started to make changes when she turned 6 months and she's 7 months today approximately. Out of my entire flock of six geese, (four gander's and two females), she is least sociable. She always would be the one that would want to run if you approached her in most cases.



So her behavior changed, now for about a month I've noticed she's starting to make actual nest inside the pen, she would lay in her nest and stay there when I would come out in the morning to let them free range and foliage. She would definitely join the flock it was just she wasn't coming over to the gate straight away like she would with the rest of the flock. This would increase overtime or she would want to lay in the nest she built longer. A little background of her this summer, she was the foxy goose, (oolala), 3 of the ganders were most attracted to her, maybe she wore her feathers different than my other one but they all took notable attention to her and they all practically ignored my other female. I know that three of the ganders I'll had at different times where they would get on her in the kiddie pool bought for them. All of the ganders are around the same age except for the fourth gander whom is about 18 months old. I had him paired with a female that got killed sadly killed by a raccoon. This particular Gander lost his mate and so there's no interest he shows, his main point of interest is showing dominance over the whole flock leading them as an alpha male of the group and it's rather protective over them which I like because he's good and mean and ornery to anything that doesn't belong around the gaggle. However the other three are quite young as so are the other two female geese so when I seen them trying to mate I wrote it off as my ganders shooting blanks as they were likely just a little too young, they probably needed a few more months of development before they would be able to fertilize. So when Autumn set in they started to come down and not tried to breed with her so much, it was less frequently. So it was kind of quiet but then she started to nest and I again figured maybe all that activity got her motherly instincts kicked in sooner then normal as I wasn't expecting them to kick in until around maybe February. I'm really not a hundred percent sure but if this Behavior is well known to anybody out there and can identify what is happening that would be most appreciated too share any knowledge you may have.



There is more however, today I let them out of there cage as I normally do and they all ran out and started to foliage around and then I decided hours later to pen them up because I had to get a few more things from the store before the holiday begins and she was laying down and away from the others not necessarily in a nest but laying down as if she was in a nest. I tried to see if she wanted to get up in go inside the cage and to my surprise and having the behavior to put distance between me and her she instead just continue to lay there as I approached her closer and eventually I picked her up and she didn't struggle are scratch or try to fight in any way, she just let me pick her up I sit her down in the cage it's after I examine her because this was unusual behavior for her and she appeared to be fine when I set her down she displayed vigor and liveliness. Everything seemed to be fine except for this new Behavior but she seems to be okay so I continued on to do shopping and got back and being still light out I aloud them more free-range time however she was nowhere to be found in the pen until I looked behind the tree in the corner and there she was laying down again like she was nesting. She was keeping herself away from the other geese and seemed to be okay, I started to wonder if maybe something else was at play here, I tried to examine her and any signs I could pick up on, it appeared that she was eating and getting enough water from examining the droppings that were behind her, the film of white over the top of the droppings indicates water intake since geese don't urinate they secrete this white film on top of their poop. She had no problem with me touching her which is unusual because she normally will avoid the contact and interaction so close like that. But she wasn't bothered by me touching her in fact I think she was enjoying me petting her on the back between her wings and I wanted to check her body heat so I put my hand gently under her wing and she was really good and warm, no body injuries I can find, she turned her head around and stuck it underneath her wing with the bill covered by her feathers, classic Goose resting position, and she seemed to be fine but she also seems to be a little off somehow. I went out to feed them and check on her a few hours later and she was up and moving around with the rest of the flock but when I put food in the bowls and gave them some fresh water she was going over getting drinks from their water supply but the others were more interested in food and she kind of just seemed like she was interested in a whole different preoccupied feeling of some sort I'm not sure what to pinpoint it, she showed interest in water but it was almost like maybe something was bothering her so I'm at a bit of a loss and maybe it's as simple as she's just acting strange because she's coming into her motherly instincts early and she just doesn't know what to do even herself because it's all brand new to her, all the gander getting on her this summer maybe stirred up something early, not sure. There has been no eggs or no failed attempt at eggs as early first time layers sometimes lay so I'm looking for someone that has more experience than myself and might be able to give me any advice on what it is or maybe even what to do and if there's any questions anyone may have please feel free to ask.



Thank you for your time to read this post and for the time you've took if you have done so to write any helpful responses. Maybe it's just me being concerned for my animals and there's nothing to worry about but that's why I'm posting it here because there are people that have more knowledge than me out there I believe and I'm sure a few of them can be found on here easy. Thanks, God bless, and a very happy Thanksgiving to you all.

Could you answer some questions to clarify some things?

Have you seen her eating? Is she eating as much as the others?

What are you feeding them?

What breed is she?

Does her keel feel like it sticks out sharply from her breast or is it’s gentle slope towards it?

Have you seen actual nesting behavior? Have you seen her pull materials in around her with her beak as well as pushing and kicking with her feet to shape the nest around her?

When you examined her did her lower abdomen feel gooey or did you feel any hard lumps or masses in there? Not counting her pelvis.

What exactly do her droppings look like? Are they little logs? Are they loose and watery? Is there undigested feed in them? What color are they generally?

Could you post a picture of her?


If she’s not laying eggs and there are no eggs then she’s not nesting. Sitting in one spot for extended periods isn’t nesting behavior, it means she’s ill. The hard part is determining what has made her ill because depression “what this is” is pretty common with every sickness.

Is it possible to get her seen by a vet?

 

[Goosebaby]

@God Gardening and Geese Im sorry you haven’t gotten any replies until today, how is your goose doing? Is she still hanging in there?