Gaggle of Geese Lovers

[Amer]

My big gentle boy Helios’s hormonal aggression has escalated. He’s developed a twist on the usual “charge, bite, and beat down” approach of the other ganders however.
Instead Helios has developed hit and run tactics, twice now he’s ambushed me while cleaning out his pen.
I’ll just be in there doing whatever when I sense sudden movement behind me followed by a blur of grey and white coming through the door, before I realize what’s going on I’m assaulted with a flurry of soft “tap tap tap tap taps!” and then like lightning I see his fluffy butt tear back out and around the door.

I’m not sure what his goal is but if it’s to leave me dazed and confused I’d say he’s nailed it.
Also kinda alarmed because I had no idea any of my birds can move that fast!

guerilla

 

[Goosebaby]

guerilla

That’s perfect! The guerilla gander!

 

[Isadora]

 

[ColtHandorf]

View attachment 3388754

How long did that water stay clear? lol

 

[elenamia]

I have two 10 month old brown Chinese ganders. I spent a lot of time with them as goslings & until recently, they've been wonderful. As we know, it's nearing breeding season & I can barely stand still around them, let alone sit & enjoy their company, without unwelcome advances. I have always wanted to give my boys friends because I think it would benefit them &, of course, more goose-love for me. I'm not truly interested in breeding right now, I just don't have a good set-up for that kind of plan. I am torn & would appreciate advice about who, & how, to add the next geese. Young vs adult? Males vs females? There are benefits to each & I am so confused!

 

[telandra2]

Last year I got 2 girls right before breeding season and when I brought them home they heard my gander and just had to be with him Right Now. They became instant mistresses. He happily cheering after covering his 3 ladies. So 1 votes for adults.

Last fall my teenage gander kept trying to breed/dominate the goslings and managed to drown one in 3" of water by smothering it. Almost drown another in the time it took me to put on shoes and run to the rescue. And kept going after the swimmers trapping them at the edges of the pond. So, 1 vote against young.

 

[Goosebaby]

I have two 10 month old brown Chinese ganders. I spent a lot of time with them as goslings & until recently, they've been wonderful. As we know, it's nearing breeding season & I can barely stand still around them, let alone sit & enjoy their company, without unwelcome advances. I have always wanted to give my boys friends because I think it would benefit them &, of course, more goose-love for me. I'm not truly interested in breeding right now, I just don't have a good set-up for that kind of plan. I am torn & would appreciate advice about who, & how, to add the next geese. Young vs adult? Males vs females? There are benefits to each & I am so confused!

Ah yes, it’s breeding season and I’ve gotten some propositioning myself
Truthfully it’s a good thing though, ganders are going to get hormonal no matter what and they either get territorial and aggressive towards people they don’t like or they try to get romantic with those they do like, it can’t be avoided and it’s better to be the subject of amourous behavior than the alternative. Also adding girls won’t change their behavior towards you.

Ganders can get along well with other ganders but introducing a bonded pair of ganders to a new gander or a set of ganders is a bad idea. If you really tried you could get them to get along maybe, but it would take a long time and alot of effort so I would advice getting two girls.
You could get goslings but introduce them slowly and supervise them together until the girls are feathered and are big enough to get away if they need to.

Sometimes when introducing new geese to each other if one is shyer than the rest it can get bullied out of the group so that’s something to watch for and work through if it happens, sometimes it takes another year for everyone to settle in with each other and learn to get along.

 

[Amer]

My docile and timid gander, Charlie, has begun hissing at me. It’s very amusing, especially when combined with his flute noises.

 

[Amer]

He’s so shy, it’s funny to see this aggression. He’s not actually attacking or anything, though.

 

[elenamia]

Last year I got 2 girls right before breeding season and when I brought them home they heard my gander and just had to be with him Right Now. They became instant mistresses. He happily cheering after covering his 3 ladies. So 1 votes for adults.

Last fall my teenage gander kept trying to breed/dominate the goslings and managed to drown one in 3" of water by smothering it. Almost drown another in the time it took me to put on shoes and run to the rescue. And kept going after the swimmers trapping them at the edges of the pond. So, 1 vote against young.

I've tried to think about scenarios like the ones you've described, among many others. I would like, at this point, to add two adults.