Extremely aggressive gosling... has anyone ever seen this before?

[CelticOaksFarm]

She needs another goose, but not just any goose as the more aggressive breeds will and can bully calmer breeds. Another Chinese or African would be best suited to live outside with the one you have now.

I am guessing you saw the ladies geese outside in a flock, in a pasture. How long did you spend with them? We're you in the pasture with them? What time of the year was it? Was there food being offered at the time?

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i'm new to geese, only having them for a year now. And perhaps there are some breeds or individual geese who can live in a house with people. But when i see my geese running across the yard together with their wings up or grazing in the grass, i just can't imagine them being happy stuck inside a house, no matter how nice that house is.

Your goose may be frustrated with her situation, or she may just be a cranky-pants and no amount of training will change that. It sounds like you have devoted so much time and love to her, but she may be happier living outside with other geese.

 

[sourland]

i'm new to geese, only having them for a year now. And perhaps there are some breeds or individual geese who can live in a house with people. But when i see my geese running across the yard together with their wings up or grazing in the grass, i just can't imagine them being happy stuck inside a house, no matter how nice that house is.

Your goose may be frustrated with her situation, or she may just be a cranky-pants and no amount of training will change that. It sounds like you have devoted so much time and love to her, but she may be happier living outside with other geese.

Sometimes it is just better to allow an animal to enjoy their normal environment.

 

[The goose girl]

When my house gosling was that age, she chewed everything. Her cute little baby nibbling became hard and relentless chewing. She seemed almost obsessed with biting everything within reach. And as you descibe, she seemed to narrow her eyes and target in on feet, fingers, cats or - for lack of live targets - inanimate objects.

However, I've never seen it as anything but normal gosling behaviour. She had just grown big enough for her bites to really hurt. And she had mastered the skill of focusing both her attention and motor skills on an object. Other than the biting, she didn't express any aggressive behaviour. She didn't hiss, ruffle her feathers, yell, or flap her wings (except once in a while for balance). I merely saw it as her widening her horizon and exploring live objects. I wore leather gloves when I cuddled her to spare the skin on my hands. But I remember that open bill being almost magnetically drawn to my hands when I changed her diaper - couldn't do that with the gloves on.

She gradually outgrew the biting - it was almost gone when she was 8-10 weeks old. Today she'll only chew my hand if she thinks I have a treat in it - and then just to search for the treat. If my palm is open and empty, she'll check it out from a distance (not bothering to walk all the way up to me if there's no reward).

 

[lovesgliders]

Thank you The Goose Girl, as usual you give me a ray of hope.

 

[lovesgliders]

She needs another goose, but not just any goose as the more aggressive breeds will and can bully calmer breeds. Another Chinese or African would be best suited to live outside with the one you have now.

I am guessing you saw the ladies geese outside in a flock, in a pasture. How long did you spend with them? We're you in the pasture with them? What time of the year was it? Was there food being offered at the time?

I visited for maybe half an hour, it was last summer (I would've gotten a gosling sooner but obviously you can only order them in the spring). They don't really have a pasture, they have her yard and she lives on a lake so they swim in that. I didn't feed them, just talked with her and we watched the geese, I was pretty close to them and they pretty much ignored us both.

 

[lovesgliders]

i'm new to geese, only having them for a year now. And perhaps there are some breeds or individual geese who can live in a house with people. But when i see my geese running across the yard together with their wings up or grazing in the grass, i just can't imagine them being happy stuck inside a house, no matter how nice that house is.

Your goose may be frustrated with her situation, or she may just be a cranky-pants and no amount of training will change that. It sounds like you have devoted so much time and love to her, but she may be happier living outside with other geese.

I understand what you are saying, but I have no human children and my pets are my life, so I devote lots of time to them. She is outside (with me) for hours every sunny day. I have lots of outdoor birds (ducks and chickens) and she "helps" me care for them (sadly she must stay outside the pens as she attacks everything, but she watches), and "helps" me landscape (LOL) plus I am a sun worshipper so we just sit and read sometimes for hours in the grass. I do think she's happy, if I didn't think she was I wouldn't keep her indoors. I mostly just want you to know that she does get out to play, lots.

 

[lovesgliders]

Well, as a bit of an update, I got a phone call from a wonderful home with a woman a few towns over with other geese and a big pond, but I chickened out when my husband got teary-eyed over the thought of parting with her.

We are just too attached to Sushi to not give her the best try possible. Only six weeks old and she has wormed her way right into our hearts.

The Goose Girl has me hoping that this is just a phase. If it's not, I'd rather build another pen and get Sushi a buddy or two (thanks for the tip on getting more Chinese or Africans, Shellie, I will for sure do that).

Through carefully analyzing her attacks, we've come to realize that when she does attack us, it is only when other people are present. It is almost always when we pry her off of someone else's pants or boots; she comes back around like an overstimulated dog and nails us on our hands and arms. For two days we've had no visitors, and for two days she's been an angel.

I can live with a goose that loves me (and hubby) but hates other people, I really can. It was what I thought was unpredictable, raging aggression that had me so upset.