Hey everyone! I was hoping I wouldn't have to post this, but I'm getting kind of worried about our newest goose being depressed and lonely, so I figured I should see if there's anything else I could do.
A couple of months ago we found a Sebastapol goose at a poultry swap. We NEVER see them around here, and we were so excited- so we wanted to add him to our flock! The man told us he was a gander, but we honestly can't tell and I believe unless you had them as a chick or vent sex them, it's not easy to tell with them? (let me know if I'm wrong) There was a catch, though. He came with a chicken. The previous owners raised him with a chicken and they were bonded. I normally wouldn't mind too much, but our chickens free roam in the front yard, and our geese are in the back yard (which is a very big fenced in area, about the same size as the chickens free range anyway). The geese are housed with the turkeys (they all get along pretty decent, or if they don't they generally just avoid each other and don't squabble). For awhile, we brought them home and quarantined them for a couple of weeks in an old trampoline pen we used for our bantams.
We let them stay together for awhile in the front with the chickens. It was okay, but I really wanted him to be with the other geese and safer in the backyard. Him and the chicken could both see the geese on the other side of the fence, and sometimes he seemed really interested in joining them. The turkeys haven't been able to be around the chickens in a long time, so I knew they would bully one lone chicken if I moved her in with him. So, one day, I finally bit the bullet and I put him in the goose yard. It sucked for a day or two. He just stayed on the side of the fence and him and his chicken would just stay there with each other all day, and he would cry all day if she left to hang out with the other chickens. Eventually he got over it, and honestly, it seemed... okay? The other geese (As far as I'm aware, 3 girls, but one of them I'm not sure about) would drive him off from them, but never full out just go after him. I thought they would just sort out their flock order and eventually accept him.
But.... they.... didn't, fully anyway. Every night they all sleep in the same pen. The turkeys have the roosts, and the geese have a big area on the ground with chopped straw to sleep in. The issue is, they don't really stay next to each other from what I've seen. The Sebastapol (named Cherub) stays by himself in a corner, while the other 3 geese sleep together. In the day, they all come out, and he just... splits from them. I've seen him trying his best to hang out with them. He follows around our African goose (who is very quiet and reserved) and tries to get closer to her, but she always pushes him away. My Chinese goose, Paisley (who is very loud), does not like him really and will chase him off too. The worst one is the one we don't know the gender of, a 6 month old Saddleback Pomeranian x Embden goose named Sega. She is kind of a spoiled brat, and while she gets along well with the other two, she DOES NOT like Cherub AT ALL. She charges at him and will grab him if he gets too close to her. She tries to grab, anyway, but she's kind of fat and instead just like rams into him. Cherub is very timid and doesn't try to resist or anything, so usually he just ends up on his own. The 3 geese were raised together (The African and Chinese were bought similar to each other, with the chinese being the oldest and african being maybe a couple weeks younger), and then when they were a month or two old I hatched out the mixed breed, and supervised them hanging out together until she was old enough to join them. They bullied her a little bit when she was starting to feather out, but she has a very bold and kind of air-headed personality and just didn't care, which I think really helped with her being accepted.
They've been together for about a month now, and I'm just scared they're not ever going to fully accept him. Is there a way I can help them learn to let him into the flock? Or is he doomed to always just stay kind of near them, but never be fully accepted? Is it possibly that maybe the guy I got him from who raised him was wrong, and he's not a gander but a goose, and maybe that's why it's harder for them to accept? Or maybe my baby goose Sega might be a gander? I'd love to see him playing in the pools with the other geese or nibbling friendly on each other like the others do. It hurts me to see him alone, because he's so sweet. Thanks for any help! I'll attach pictures of him and Sega just in case anyone might be able to tell sex from the pictures.
This is the biggest problem goose, Sega, the Embden x Grey Saddleback Pomeranian. I can't tell with her voice because she doesn't really honk yet. She still makes the baby noises mostly. I think I've heard her honk once or twice but it sounds similar to her mother from what I remember.
This is Cherub. Image on the left is the newest one of him. Excuse the mess, he's going through a molt so his feathers don't look the best. Also, does he have angel wing? I had assumed it was just from the way his feather genes curled, but it does look an awful lot like angel wing.
Thank you again for any help!
A couple of months ago we found a Sebastapol goose at a poultry swap. We NEVER see them around here, and we were so excited- so we wanted to add him to our flock! The man told us he was a gander, but we honestly can't tell and I believe unless you had them as a chick or vent sex them, it's not easy to tell with them? (let me know if I'm wrong) There was a catch, though. He came with a chicken. The previous owners raised him with a chicken and they were bonded. I normally wouldn't mind too much, but our chickens free roam in the front yard, and our geese are in the back yard (which is a very big fenced in area, about the same size as the chickens free range anyway). The geese are housed with the turkeys (they all get along pretty decent, or if they don't they generally just avoid each other and don't squabble). For awhile, we brought them home and quarantined them for a couple of weeks in an old trampoline pen we used for our bantams.
We let them stay together for awhile in the front with the chickens. It was okay, but I really wanted him to be with the other geese and safer in the backyard. Him and the chicken could both see the geese on the other side of the fence, and sometimes he seemed really interested in joining them. The turkeys haven't been able to be around the chickens in a long time, so I knew they would bully one lone chicken if I moved her in with him. So, one day, I finally bit the bullet and I put him in the goose yard. It sucked for a day or two. He just stayed on the side of the fence and him and his chicken would just stay there with each other all day, and he would cry all day if she left to hang out with the other chickens. Eventually he got over it, and honestly, it seemed... okay? The other geese (As far as I'm aware, 3 girls, but one of them I'm not sure about) would drive him off from them, but never full out just go after him. I thought they would just sort out their flock order and eventually accept him.
But.... they.... didn't, fully anyway. Every night they all sleep in the same pen. The turkeys have the roosts, and the geese have a big area on the ground with chopped straw to sleep in. The issue is, they don't really stay next to each other from what I've seen. The Sebastapol (named Cherub) stays by himself in a corner, while the other 3 geese sleep together. In the day, they all come out, and he just... splits from them. I've seen him trying his best to hang out with them. He follows around our African goose (who is very quiet and reserved) and tries to get closer to her, but she always pushes him away. My Chinese goose, Paisley (who is very loud), does not like him really and will chase him off too. The worst one is the one we don't know the gender of, a 6 month old Saddleback Pomeranian x Embden goose named Sega. She is kind of a spoiled brat, and while she gets along well with the other two, she DOES NOT like Cherub AT ALL. She charges at him and will grab him if he gets too close to her. She tries to grab, anyway, but she's kind of fat and instead just like rams into him. Cherub is very timid and doesn't try to resist or anything, so usually he just ends up on his own. The 3 geese were raised together (The African and Chinese were bought similar to each other, with the chinese being the oldest and african being maybe a couple weeks younger), and then when they were a month or two old I hatched out the mixed breed, and supervised them hanging out together until she was old enough to join them. They bullied her a little bit when she was starting to feather out, but she has a very bold and kind of air-headed personality and just didn't care, which I think really helped with her being accepted.
They've been together for about a month now, and I'm just scared they're not ever going to fully accept him. Is there a way I can help them learn to let him into the flock? Or is he doomed to always just stay kind of near them, but never be fully accepted? Is it possibly that maybe the guy I got him from who raised him was wrong, and he's not a gander but a goose, and maybe that's why it's harder for them to accept? Or maybe my baby goose Sega might be a gander? I'd love to see him playing in the pools with the other geese or nibbling friendly on each other like the others do. It hurts me to see him alone, because he's so sweet. Thanks for any help! I'll attach pictures of him and Sega just in case anyone might be able to tell sex from the pictures.
This is the biggest problem goose, Sega, the Embden x Grey Saddleback Pomeranian. I can't tell with her voice because she doesn't really honk yet. She still makes the baby noises mostly. I think I've heard her honk once or twice but it sounds similar to her mother from what I remember.
This is Cherub. Image on the left is the newest one of him. Excuse the mess, he's going through a molt so his feathers don't look the best. Also, does he have angel wing? I had assumed it was just from the way his feather genes curled, but it does look an awful lot like angel wing.
Thank you again for any help!
