Gander Developing Aggression

[Goose_Willis]

My 5 month old African gander (Boris) is starting to develop some aggression and it's a little worrying.

He attacks all of my other animals except for his ladies which seems to be the norm for geese as far as I've read. I've had to completely seperate the geese from my ducks because they'll all gang up on whichever duck Boris can run down and catch and I thought 'no big deal' because I have 5 acres so I can give everyone plenty of room.

Recently, Boris has started charging me if he sees me crouch down in the yard, it doesn't matter where I am or what I'm doing, he'll start to come at me with the horizontal neck shake. He started doing it when I would be filling up their pools, checking their feed, laying shavings, etc and I thought it was a territory thing so I would stand up and face him when I would see him coming and he would stop and walk away.

Next he started coming after me for non territorial things like pulling weeds in my garden or petting the dog or cats but he would still stop when I would stand up and face him or tell him "no".

Today he did not stop when I stood up, he charged me full force while I was filling up their pool. I told him "no" and pushed him away with my foot and he tried to pull off my boot and came running back at me and leapt onto my leg. I backed up a few feet to try to give him some space and told him to cut it out but he kept following me and striking at my legs. All of his ladies showed up and none of them attacked me but they were all following him while he was attacking me, not sure if they were telling him to cut it out or cheering him on... I finally got him to stop his onslaught by circling back to the pool and spraying him with the hose.

He's a big boy, he comes up to my waist and he can fly 2-3 feet in the air so I'm not super into going toe to toe with him for dominant goose status or whatever. I thought maybe it's his hormones but we're right in the middle if autumn so it's not really time for them to be in a breeding frenzy.

I'm worried that he's going to get worse in the spring, I'm considering culling him before winter. My question is, what do I do with the girls? Will culling their gander make them more aggressive? There's 3 ladies so they'll have each other for company. The girls have bit me a few times and one of them does the neck shake at both my husband and I frequently but they usually stop if I say 'ow' or 'no'.

 

[Jenbirdee]

@Goosebaby taught me how to train my aggressive gander.
if standing & facing him and saying NO doesn’t work — just pick him up!! Pick him up and carry him around or sit down with him in a chair. Hold him for a while , at least a few minutes .( He will be so embarrassed , especially in front of his ladies.)
then, when he seems to have relaxed a little, you put him down and you flap your arms, and Hoot and holler a victory shout while walking towards him.

i’ve only had to do this a few times now all I do is stick my arms out as if I’m going to pick him up and he remembers and walks away quickly lol

 

[Goose_Willis]

@Goosebaby taught me how to train my aggressive gander.
if standing & facing him and saying NO doesn’t work — just pick him up!! Pick him up and carry him around or sit down with him in a chair. Hold him for a while , at least a few minutes .( He will be so embarrassed , especially in front of his ladies.)
then, when he seems to have relaxed a little, you put him down and you flap your arms, and Hoot and holler a victory shout while walking towards him.

i’ve only had to do this a few times now all I do is stick my arms out as if I’m going to pick him up and he remembers and walks away quickly lol

I was doing that with him and I thought it was working; I usually pick them up and carry them under my arm in a football hold after I break up their squabbles with the ducks or the other animals. I picked him up last week after he rushed me while I was petting the dog and he bit me in the face and when I pushed his head away and said no he went for round two and bit me on the nip so I put him on his belly on the ground and held him there with his head down for a minute like what I've been taught to do with roosters and I spread put my arms and puffed up my chest and told him to 'git' after I let him up but after today's display I'm not sure if the message hit home for him.

 

[Jenbirdee]

when i pick mine up i get one arm around his body and the other hand i hold his neck , so he can’t bite my face. that must have been painful

 

[Goose_Willis]

when i pick mine up i get one arm around his body and the other hand i hold his neck , so he can’t bite my face. that must have been painful

Before when I would scoop him up he would tuck his head down and grumble softly so I guess it didn't occur to me he might go for me in my arms even though that seems so silly now . Lesson learned on keeping the free hand ready, I'm glad he just got my cheek and not my eye.

 

[Evadig]

finally got him to stop his onslaught by circling back to the pool and spraying him with the hose.

Yes, the hose on jet works wonders and buys you a few minutes .

I am going through the same thing with my four geese. My gander George is always trying to take a bite out of me. Several things that have helped are to never turn your back on a goose (gander). This has helped tremendously (I can’t remember who gave this advice here on BYC). He won’t attack me if he sees I’m watching him. Also I will chase him into a corner and carry him around like @Jenbirdee says. Another helpful method is keep them in a pen so they’re contained and can’t make a surprise attack. Finally, if they really get aggressive, I call my dog down and she thrashes them for me - but that only works because she knows to stop as soon as I tell her.

 

[Goose_Willis]

Yes, the hose on jet works wonders and buys you a few minutes .

I am going through the same thing with my four geese. My gander George is always trying to take a bite out of me. Several things that have helped are to never turn your back on a goose (gander). This has helped tremendously (I can’t remember who gave this advice here on BYC). He won’t attack me if he sees I’m watching him. Also I will chase him into a corner and carry him around like @Jenbirdee says. Another helpful method is keep them in a pen so they’re contained and can’t make a surprise attack. Finally, if they really get aggressive, I call my dog down and she thrashes them for me - but that only works because she knows to stop as soon as I tell her.

I don't knowingly turn my back on him but since he's free ranging in my yard he can sneak up, little bugger.

I have a large walking stick that I use to herd them around with and if I have the stick out he respects my personal space because he knows the stick won't let him get too close. It definitely kept him honest while I was feeding them dinner and putting them to bed tonight.

Your dog sounds brave. I've got a Great Pyrenees×Antolian cross to guard the birds and he is absolutely terrified of the geese. He'll check on them when they alert to make sure they're safe but once their safety has been confirmed he gets away from them as fast as he can.

Poor baby hid and watched me get my butt whooped by the gander today.

 

[Evadig]

Your dog sounds brave.

She’s the cocker spaniel in my avatar.
She loves it and the geese hate her! (Just bragging a bit )

 

[Jenbirdee]

Yes, the hose on jet works wonders and buys you a few minutes .

I am going through the same thing with my four geese. My gander George is always trying to take a bite out of me. Several things that have helped are to never turn your back on a goose (gander). This has helped tremendously (I can’t remember who gave this advice here on BYC). He won’t attack me if he sees I’m watching him. Also I will chase him into a corner and carry him around like @Jenbirdee says. Another helpful method is keep them in a pen so they’re contained and can’t make a surprise attack. Finally, if they really get aggressive, I call my dog down and she thrashes them for me - but that only works because she knows to stop as soon as I tell her.

i agree to never turn your back. You can walk slowly sideways, but keep eye contact.

i also use a pool noodle to herd them when i need to.
geese do not forget anything ever. If you kick them, “thrash” them (whatever that means i’m not exactly sure) they will remember, & they won’t trust you. without trust it’s hard to have a peaceful relationship.
@Miss Lydia

 

[Evadig]

. If you kick them, “thrash” them (whatever that means i’m not exactly sure)

She jumps on them and pins them down for a minute