Friendliest Goose Breed??

[KikiDeAnime]

Apparently nobody saw that I replied to another response saying I was getting females only. Our feed store gets sexed goslings so I'm only getting 2 females. I also didn't mention that I wouldn't handle them all the time. I love holding our birds, even our drake and cockerel. I'm a huge cuddler so all our birds get handled every single day, even when they're sick.
The geese I get aren't going to be bred at all as I have no plans on breeding them so no males will be added.
I also said the geese will be locked in their secured yard no matter what. I don't have plans on letting them free range like I do the ducks and chickens.

 

[Leader Bee]

Even though females are probably less likely to be aggressive they're still geese so they'll be aggressive if they feel the need to be, especially if they don't have ganders to protect them.

I'd also say that the geese, being even larger than a duck or chicken would be the ones to benefit most from free ranging, given that they are also excellent foragers, very smart and will benefit from the stimulation of being outside and able to wander freely. I'd imagine a cooped up goose would become depressed from reduced interaction quite fast.

 

[Goosebaby]

Apparently nobody saw that I replied to another response saying I was getting females only. Our feed store gets sexed goslings so I'm only getting 2 females. I also didn't mention that I wouldn't handle them all the time. I love holding our birds, even our drake and cockerel. I'm a huge cuddler so all our birds get handled every single day, even when they're sick.
The geese I get aren't going to be bred at all as I have no plans on breeding them so no males will be added.
I also said the geese will be locked in their secured yard no matter what. I don't have plans on letting them free range like I do the ducks and chickens.

Leader Bee is right, the more time spent with them the friendlier they’ll be, but everyone has to participate, if your anyone including your mom isn’t around them a lot they won’t like them. If they don’t put in the effort to be part of the flock then they aren’t part of the flock and they’ll either run from her or charge her.

Also them being female doesn’t mean they won’t ever show aggression, one of my girls will bite the hell out of me if she thinks I gave one of the other’s a treat but not her, I have another that nearly killed my drake after she finally got sick of him bullying her, I also have a girl that occasionally fights with her brothers. Females tend to be less interested in aggression towards larger beings but that doesn’t mean they can’t be. They also aren’t any less capable of killing ducks or chickens if they view them as a threat or get hormonal and try to breed with them in a pool.

As a whole geese are wonderful though, they’re highly individual and a joy to be around and interact with, you won’t be disappointed in them. Horomonal geese can be more aggressive but no more so than a horomonal drake, the two drakes I’ve had are nightmares in breeding season, I’ve had 8 ganders over the years and only one has come close to being as intolerable as those drakes in breeding season but it’s because that one gander wasn’t socialized as well as the others. Geese do more damage, but they aren’t as obsessive.
Like I said female geese aren’t prone to being as aggressive but that doesn’t mean they won’t be, everyone who wants a relationship with them has to socialize with them as much as ganders. Treats also help a lot. Geese understand bribery.

 

[KikiDeAnime]

I'm not sure what the minimum space needed for 2 geese is but if we do end up getting my grandmother's(dad's side) farm after she passes, I think the smallest I can build a run for them is 50' x 50' plus whatever shelter we give them.

 

[Leader Bee]

Seconded for goosebabys advice, everyone needs to participate if you want your goslings to be friendly with everyone - You can pick them up and cuddle them as much as you like and they'll see you as momma Kiki, but geese have excellent memories and will recognise you but maybe not your own mum or anyonje else that doesn't socialise with them very often.

Norbert and Beep Beep come on walks with me and I try to introduce them to as many new people as I can when we go down the canal or to a park so that when they do see somone new they wont attack them and instead think "oh, that's just one of those big two legged things like daddy that we see all the time when we are out, they're not so scary after all" and hopefully that makes them feel much calmer being around strange new people - Interaction is key; I've had strangers hand feed them and after a few minutes they'll warm up to someone new, but, at the same time, it's important that you teach your humans how to act around yoru goose so as not to cause agression, crouch down near them at their eye level, talk loudly to them (predators are quiet and sneak up on things, talking lets them know you're not trying to sneak up and eat them) Geese deffinitely understand bribery lol.

 

[KikiDeAnime]

Seconded for goosebabys advice, everyone needs to participate if you want your goslings to be friendly with everyone - You can pick them up and cuddle them as much as you like and they'll see you as momma Kiki, but geese have excellent memories and will recognise you but maybe not your own mum or anyonje else that doesn't socialise with them very often.

Norbert and Beep Beep come on walks with me and I try to introduce them to as many new people as I can when we go down the canal or to a park so that when they do see somone new they wont attack them and instead think "oh, that's just one of those big two legged things like daddy that we see all the time when we are out, they're not so scary after all" and hopefully that makes them feel much calmer being around strange new people - Interaction is key; I've had strangers hand feed them and after a few minutes they'll warm up to someone new, but, at the same time, it's important that you teach your humans how to act around yoru goose so as not to cause agression, crouch down near them at their eye level, talk loudly to them (predators are quiet and sneak up on things, talking lets them know you're not trying to sneak up and eat them) Geese deffinitely understand bribery lol.

I can try to get my mom to handle them but it'll be hard considering she wants nothing to do with any of the birds. Everyone else will probably be okay with handling them.

Currently, I'm the only one our birds don't run away from. My older brother and his girlfriend handled the ducks as much as I did but they still only trust me.

When we do get the goslings in the future, I will have a set up in my bedroom for them as I don't mind the smell like everyone else does. Plus, that way I can be around them as much as I want.

 

[Leader Bee]

Your mum will fall in love with them as soon as she see's just how cute and fluffy they are

 

[Goosebaby]

@KikiDeAnime Some advice I can give for when they’re little in your room, keep them in a large plastic bin with wood shavings, it makes cleanup easier. For mine I used small containers like yogurt cups for their food and water bowls initially, I had to refill them constantly but it saved space and they didn’t waste or spill as much food.
The first few days they’ll probably only need some spot cleaning in their bin unless they spill their water bowl, after that you’ll need to clean it out once a day, then twice a day. Don’t use aerosol sprays around them, they can be dangerous.

They’ll need their heat lamp the first few weeks but after that as long as your room is warm they can sleep without their light, which will mean more sleep for you. You can give them a towel to cuddle with at night, it will help them sleep because goslings like to feel like they’re cuddled under a parent’s wing and they’ll cry until they’ve gotten that feeling, sometimes through the night.

 

[KikiDeAnime]

@KikiDeAnime Some advice I can give for when they’re little in your room, keep them in a large plastic bin with wood shavings, it makes cleanup easier. For mine I used small containers like yogurt cups for their food and water bowls initially, I had to refill them constantly but it saved space and they didn’t waste or spill as much food.
The first few days they’ll probably only need some spot cleaning in their bin unless they spill their water bowl, after that you’ll need to clean it out once a day, then twice a day. Don’t use aerosol sprays around them, they can be dangerous.

They’ll need their heat lamp the first few weeks but after that as long as your room is warm they can sleep without their light, which will mean more sleep for you. You can give them a towel to cuddle with at night, it will help them sleep because goslings like to feel like they’re cuddled under a parent’s wing and they’ll cry until they’ve gotten that feeling, sometimes through the night.

I don't use heat lamps for any of our baby birds. Right now, any baby birds I buy are given to our #1 mother hen who always goes broody every couple of months.

 

[ColtHandorf]

I'd recommend American Buff geese as well.