Do Geese have to live in pairs?

[pineapple416]

Our two buff-tufted geese are about 8 months old, and the male is getting aggressive. He was been hissing at me, and hurting our turkeys and ducks that he lives with. We are thinking about butchering him if this behavior doesn't stop, but I was wondering if that would be okay for the female goose, since we only have 2 geese. Do you think she will be sad and lonely if he's gone? Also will he grow out of this behavior or will he stay aggressive? Thank you and happy new year!

 

[buff goose guy]

I would probably get another female goose for her or try another breed for her male wise. I raised American buffs for a long time and while they never grew aggressive towards me they became very aggressive towards others both males and females. They did tend to grow out of it -ish but when ever it was spring and summer or anytime during mating season they would be the most aggressive. Geese are not the primary bird for you if you dont spend ALOT! of time bonding with them. If you dont spend alot of your time with them as babies then they can grow to be very aggressive.

Geese are also kind of similar to parrots and/or cats in a way, They tend to bond with primarily one person and tend to not really like or care for anyone else.

I would just get her another companion or start with a new flock from scratch, not saying you should kill them( thats up to you) but if you want geese it's best if you can invest alot of time into them.

 

[pineapple416]

Thanks for the information, I. Think I will wait and see if he becomes less aggressive and calms down as he gets older.

 

[softmentor]

I am a total novice and don't even have my first geese yet (hopefully in the next month or so) but I found this thread to be interesting
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/561849/geese-training#post_7245388
Its a "sticky" on handling male geese (gander) Maybe there is some good info there?

 

[Miss Lydia]

I am a total novice and don't even have my first geese yet (hopefully in the next month or so) but I found this thread to be interesting
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/561849/geese-training#post_7245388
Its a "sticky" on handling male geese (gander) Maybe there is some good info there?

It's a very good info thread... and Welcome to BYC @softmentor

 

[Funkhaus Farm]

My experience with geese is limited to the two goslings I bought last summer. I got two "Toulouse" geese with the plan to butcher both for Christmas. One turned out to be a Chinese. It's awful. Loud, aggressive and filthy, but my wife is partial to it. The pair seemed to be bonded and we were concerned how the Chinese would react when it's friend disappeared. No worries. It's taken up with the chickens. Even goes in the coop with them every night, even though the geese had their own housing when there were two of them.