Getting geese in at night?

[froggyphore]

I’ve been having a lot of trouble with this. it was easy when they were younger but now that they’re about 20lbs it’s nearly impossible. They love me and follow me everywhere but when it comes to being corraled or picked up they just won’t have it. The last few nights they’ve just slept outside because I couldn’t get them in. I check on them a lot but I definitely want them in at night. I’ve tried their normal coop (elevated 1’) and a large dog crate on the ground but neither works, they freak out and hurt themselves as I catch them and by the time I’ve gotten the next one they’ve all gotten out again. Does anyone have advice for this? thanks

 

[Callender Girl]

Geese can be tricky critters. Mine seem to periodically change personalities -- both are going through a cranky, hissy phase right now -- and willingness to go where I want them. They are always the last of the poultry to go to bed. They do put themselves in their house. But, it usually requires a bribe.

Gussie and Golly are totally food motivated. When they were goslings, it sounded like they were always saying, "What, what." I would mimic that and give them treats. They came to believe that "what, what" means to follow me to their house where I will toss a small handful of feed at night.

Their house is a small wooden structure with hardware cloth on both ends, so they can still see and hear what's going on outside, with plenty of air flow. There's just enough structure to it to keep them safe but not feeling terribly confined, I think.

As far as picking them up, forget it! Gussie will grudgingly but not happily allow it; Golly will fight me every step of the way. I've had my eye blacked by a wing to the face.

So, my advice is to find a treat they really love, use it to lure them to their coop, then toss it in and step back. Since mine are inseparable, if one goes in, the other follows.

Good luck with your geese! Leaving them out at night would make me a nervous wreck.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Is their house inside fencing? that helps once you lure them inside the fenced area then you can herd them on inside their house. How many geese are you trying to put up? I only had 2 and started when they were young herding them inside of an evening to where after a while I just used my arms instead of a long pole to herd.

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

Whenever young geese are being integrated into our gaggle, it takes them a while to figure out that they need to go up the ramp into their coop. We have a couple of 30" high wire exercise pens (8 panel) that we set up on each side of the ramp to corral them in the right area, then we try to encourage them to go inside, making the pen smaller and smaller by folding the panels, which moves them closer to the door. They usually need to be put in the pop door for at least a few nights, then it seems to "click" and they go up the ramp by themselves - and we do this: .

Long PVC poles can help herd them into the enclosure, too. Keep at it - as you already know, geese need to be secured at night for their safety, whether they like it or not. Are you trying to do this by yourself? Having a helper can really make a difference.

Best of luck!

 

[Percheron chick]

Skip the coop. Geese don't sleep like chickens and want to wander around, eat, swim and make noise all night long. Give them a secure fenced in area. I house mine with 6' chain link panels. Cattle panels over the top will keep owls out. I use food to bait them into the pen at night.

 

[Goosebaby]

Sometimes it helps to teach them a word that means to go in, “like BED or IN” use it repetitively when you’re herding them in and after a few days they’ll know the drill.

 

[Goosebaby]

My geese usually don’t like being picked up when they become big adult mature birds that don’t like baby stuff anymore but I’ve had a few that do. My gander Roxby still likes snuggles when he thinks the girls aren’t watching.

 

[Miss Lydia]

It's so embarrassing to have that Humon snuggle if the girls are watching.

 

[JRies]

Mine from babies on dont want to be caught or picked up when there young or not feeling well they with let me pet them. I teach them to herd as babies with 2 long furring strips dosent take long before I can drop the sticks then move them on to putting my wings out (arms) and wiggling my fingers. By the time there feathered they mostly listen to "night night" and see my fingered wiggling to direct them. But there are those days I have to walk back to the barn and pick up one of the sticks.
My guess is they train easy because they want to do what the adults are doing. The first group took allot more time to train.
Dont get me wrong my geese are really friendly but only on there terms I think its just the goose way...
I wish you luck and feel for your frustration.

 

[telandra2]

Is there light in your sleeping area? My geese are very wary of a dark sleeping area they wander in and out of when it is sunlit. Even if there is food inside or the ducks lead the way the geese will not enter until the light is on.

I'm adding solar spotlights and nightlight to see if that helps without needing the overhead light.