Geese and Chicldren...Help????

[LaDuBird]

Just ordered a pair of Amer. Buff goslings and after reading some posts about geese in BYC I'm now super worried it was a mistake. I have a 3 and a 5 year old. They are use to animals....we have chickens, dogs, cats, etccc but ow I'm worried. Is it just a BAD idea to have geese and children????

Please advise...should I proceed or cancel my order?

Thanks!!!! The Worried Mother Goose:/

 

[shelleyd2008]

It's not a totally bad idea but you will want to make sure the children know not to tease or scare the geese. My son (6 years old) always takes off running off the porch like a wild-man and the geese don't like it one bit. My parent-raised geese usually avoid him but the hand-raised ones I had last year started to fight back. You might have to pen up the geese during breeding season but generally there shouldn't be a problem as long as the kids learn how to act around them.

 

[Balbinka]

You kidding me? Hehe...

Buffs are one of the sweetest breeds out there! They were a breed I had in mind when shopping around for hatching eggs.
If they are raised with chickens and handled with humans constantly, they should be OK.

If you have a gander, buyer beware. During breeding season, ganders are well known for drowning prized chickens in an attempt to breed.
If you have ganders in with geese, they will probably be hissy and defensive over their girlfriends... but Buffs aren't really known to bite or attack humans once they learn to trust them.

 

[shelleyd2008]

Any goose that loses its fear of humans can attack. During the breeding season is worse but I wouldn't say they would NEVER try it with small children.

 

[Balbinka]

Quote:
Absolutely...

I'm talking if the children are educated and respectful of "back away" goosey warnings (that they clearly express)

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
Absolutely...

I'm talking if the children are educated and respectful of "back away" goosey warnings (that they clearly express)

The hand-raised youngsters I had last year didn't give any warnings...usually they'd sneak up on him while he was playing and bite his butt

 

[Balbinka]

Quote:
Ooh! Sneaky little buggers hehe!

 

[tstilwell]

Geese all have individual personalities, so you just have to watch & see how the goose temperment is. I have one gander that has not made any aggressive gestures to me ever, & he's over ten years old. Then I have had others that has beat me, bit me, and even tried to mate on my foot. The "passive aggressive" ganders never hissed or chased me away they would sneak up on me and bite me, etc (someone else mentioned that earlier). That gander also stalked me around the entire yard all day, just following me. My point is introduce your children to it, so the geese will consider them part of the flock. Once your children are part of flock, you don't have to worry too much about geese chasing & attacking. Just teach them to be watchful of him sneaking up on them, if he turns out to be passive-aggressive.

 

[scratch'n'peck]

Two things you may want to consider: your kids will be a year older by the time the is any chance of passive aggressive goose behavior due to breeding instincts; If you have room for a pen or even temporary fencing during breeding season you can keep them separated and give the geese a safe place to nest.

 

[LaDuBird]

Thank you all so much for your thoughts....I'm very conflicted.

I called Metzer today and they have a very flexible and understanding cancellation policy, so I haven't made any changes yet. I guess I'll think about it and do a little more research. I just don't want it to be bad experience. We only have 10 chickens now, so this would be a big deal for us and the kids love them.....they would be devastated if a goose killed or hurt one of their cochins.

Thanks for your insight

))))))))))