Embden Geese won't bathe! Any advice?

[ImNotChicken]

My ganders are filthy and don't seem to want to bathe!

They have a pen they go in at night with a small pool in it and generally bathe in there. I replaced the pool yesterday from a pink one to a blue one which is slightly larger. (I needed the pink pool for my pot-belly pig).

This morning they were both filthy and had attempted to bather in their water dish.

I did note that one of them had gone near the pool but was spooked.

Can geese differentiate colors? Is it perhaps the odor of the new pool? I'm also checking the water lines to ensure they aren't getting softened water as the plumber was out yesterday too and had inadvertently directed softened water to my cattle waterer at one time

In the meantime, I've set up their old pink pool in a different location where they hang out but they have no interest in it.

Any ideas?

 

[Miss Lydia]

My ganders are filthy and don't seem to want to bathe!

They have a pen they go in at night with a small pool in it and generally bathe in there. I replaced the pool yesterday from a pink one to a blue one which is slightly larger. (I needed the pink pool for my pot-belly pig).

This morning they were both filthy and had attempted to bather in their water dish.

I did note that one of them had gone near the pool but was spooked.

Can geese differentiate colors? Is it perhaps the odor of the new pool? I'm also checking the water lines to ensure they aren't getting softened water as the plumber was out yesterday too and had inadvertently directed softened water to my cattle waterer at one time

In the meantime, I've set up their old pink pool in a different location where they hang out but they have no interest in it.

Any ideas?

Getting spooked may have done it, they remember so they might be afraid to try again. My gander bathes pretty regular, he isn't in the pool as often as the goose though . But even my drakes don't seem to just get in the pool for a bath. Not like the ducks do. I have a cement mixing tub set up for my ducklings and everyone thinks that's the best thing going even though they have a really big kiddy pool.