GOOSE BREEDING THREAD - for breeding, incubating, hatching and rearing.

[livininbrazil]

That is a good phrase!!!
They are out all day, he even does it out of the pen.

Difficult one. Sometimes they get a bit too keen on sibling grazing. Some breeds seem to be worse than others. It´d be a shame to separate him. It´s such a strong instinct in geese to graze. How big is the area they´re in? Did you try hanging hay, cabbage, grass, or something?

 

[KWSRetMSgt]

Morning everyone,

just wanted to give you all an update on Merc & his siblings. Merc is now almost 2 weeks old and his sibs are about 1 week old. Merc is still SUPER Spoiled but he's happy now that he has some playmates. All the goslings got to meet their Momma's and Daddy twice now. And the one momma wants to bite at Merc but seems ok with the others. Anyway we'll keep an eye on them over the next two weeks then hoping to just let them stay outside in the goose enclosure with their parents.

Notice Proud Daddy (Casey) in the back ground

 

[livininbrazil]

Morning everyone,

just wanted to give you all an update on Merc & his siblings. Merc is now almost 2 weeks old and his sibs are about 1 week old. Merc is still SUPER Spoiled but he's happy now that he has some playmates. All the goslings got to meet their Momma's and Daddy twice now. And the one momma wants to bite at Merc but seems ok with the others. Anyway we'll keep an eye on them over the next two weeks then hoping to just let them stay outside in the goose enclosure with their parents.

Notice Proud Daddy (Casey) in the back ground

Very nice

 

[seminolewind]

Brazil, they are on a 1/2 acre with lots of grass and weeds. There's lot's to nibble on. They also have access to hay.

 

[EeyoreD]

Morning everyone,

just wanted to give you all an update on Merc & his siblings. Merc is now almost 2 weeks old and his sibs are about 1 week old. Merc is still SUPER Spoiled but he's happy now that he has some playmates. All the goslings got to meet their Momma's and Daddy twice now. And the one momma wants to bite at Merc but seems ok with the others. Anyway we'll keep an eye on them over the next two weeks then hoping to just let them stay outside in the goose enclosure with their parents.

Notice Proud Daddy (Casey) in the back ground

Oh I love your pictures! Merc is enormous compared to his sibling lemons, it's so amazing how fast the grow. I love the clearly proud papa in the background in that last pic but for me it's the curious gosling in the foreground that rocks it.

sibling grazing

OK clearly I'm going to have to stop drinking tea (or anything) when reading this thread because you're obviously determined to make me snarfle with this concept

And I do every time.

 

[EeyoreD]

Brazil, they are on a 1/2 acre with lots of grass and weeds. There's lot's to nibble on. They also have access to hay.

I do not have even remotely close to the knowledge that others have on here, but I noticed something with my poor solitary gosling that might apply. I had three geese on nests, for the most part they don't hatch well. That one gosling hatched from the one nest, another looked pretty dire but one looks promising. That's sort of beside the point but I'm noticing that my non-hatched-yet ganders from the pairing are starting to get feisty with each other, and just about everything else. I think the non-fathers want babies.

EDIT: Oops early send

And since that gosling only has his generally angry parents to learn from, I actually caught that little lemon trying to snakeneck a full-sized scovy duck. More than once.

Maybe with yours, the adults are nippy and they're learning behaviour from that?

But again, so far from an expert...

 

[livininbrazil]

Brazil, they are on a 1/2 acre with lots of grass and weeds. There's lot's to nibble on. They also have access to hay.

Well, goodness knows, then. Usually they do this because they have the urge to graze, but can´t for whatever reason. Are you giving them extra greens too? Hanging a cabbage up? If so, then it must just be a particular thing with that gosling. Probably a male! He should be a good forager, though! Are they mostly in a fenced run, where you can separate them with wire netting, but so that he´s not feeling alone? Maybe try to break the habit a bit?

 

[livininbrazil]

I do not have even remotely close to the knowledge that others have on here, but I noticed something with my poor solitary gosling that might apply. I had three geese on nests, for the most part they don't hatch well. That one gosling hatched from the one nest, another looked pretty dire but one looks promising. That's sort of beside the point but I'm noticing that my non-hatched-yet ganders from the pairing are starting to get feisty with each other, and just about everything else. I think the non-fathers want babies.

EDIT: Oops early send

And since that gosling only has his generally angry parents to learn from, I actually caught that little lemon trying to snakeneck a full-sized scovy duck. More than once.

Maybe with yours, the adults are nippy and they're learning behaviour from that?

But again, so far from an expert...

Hi Eeyore. Yes, ganders just love baby fluffy things. As regards your little gozzie, he´s just doing what´s natural...copying his parents, so funny. Mine do the same, silly little things. As they get older, they go further away from the parents, yet try the same thing with the muscovies, and sometimes come unstuck!

 

[EeyoreD]

Hi Eeyore. Yes, ganders just love baby fluffy things.

This never ceases to amaze me. Even just now I went to check on everyone and toss some scratch grains out. One of the little poults somehow got separated from the hen and ended up right in the thick of the eating goose flock. It wanted to eat but also was scared so appeared to opt for both eating and running in random directions. Mostly between (very large) gander legs. The hen was smart enough to not wade in there herself, what with the little gozzer in there. But was calling to it.

For the most part the ganders just watched it. Occasionally tried to nose/beak it towards its mom. When it wasn't getting the hint a gander gently but firmly gave it a bit of a squeeze along with a push in the right direction. But, even though it could have easily seriously hurt or killed the little poult it just gave it a goose-spanking and sent it on its way.

They can be so harsh and yet so astonishingly gentle. I love to watch the one gander touch beaks and stroke the little gosling. Not just gentle, tender!

 

[subhanalah]

This never ceases to amaze me.  Even just now I went to check on everyone and toss some scratch grains out.  One of the little poults somehow got separated from the hen and ended up right in the thick of the eating goose flock.  It wanted to eat but also was scared so appeared to opt for both eating and running in random directions.  Mostly between (very large) gander legs.  The hen was smart enough to not wade in there herself, what with the little gozzer in there.  But was calling to it.

For the most part the ganders just watched it.  Occasionally tried to nose/beak it towards its mom.  When it wasn't getting the hint a gander gently but firmly gave it a bit of a squeeze along with a push in the right direction.  But, even though it could have easily seriously hurt or killed the little poult it just gave it a goose-spanking and sent it on its way.

They can be so harsh and yet so astonishingly gentle.  I love to watch the one gander touch beaks and stroke the little gosling.  Not just gentle, tender!

geese are the parents of the water fauna. Have you guys seen "my life as a Turkey?" I think animals have much more complex relationships with each other than we give them credit for.