Gosling Eating Bedding

[The Dim Side]

Hi, again! Sorry that I have a million questions, but this is my first time raising geese and chickens, lol. My Roman Tufted gosling keeps eating her (or his?) bedding, having tried pine shavings and hay/straw. If it were more occasional, I might not be as concerned, but it seems pretty frequent.

She's about 5 weeks old and has been here about 2 weeks. She's currently the only goose we have, but we're working on getting at least one more now. She has the same duck food she had from the breeder, and she'll eat that. We've also been bringing in grass/dirt mounds for her or taking her outside when the weather is nice, and she loves foraging.

Is there another form of bedding anyone can recommend? Or is it okay that she's eating so much of the pine shavings or straw? (And is one better than another?) I've read people saying they've heard it could harm them if eaten, but most people say they haven't seen an eating issue like this.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Cassandra Lana]

How much does she eat...?

 

[The Dim Side]

How much does she eat...?

Of the bedding? I'm not sure, but it's pretty often and consistent. I don't know what a normal amount is of regular food she should be eating either. But she doesn't seem to eat a ton of it, though she will power through a lot of grass while outside. But she essentially acts like she's foraging while eating the bedding. I try to stop her, but she'll just go back to doing it if given the chance.

 

[Cassandra Lana]

I think she may be looking for grit or she is board . Geese like to eat grass so if you have a large dog cage I would take out the tray and put it on the ground outside. Then she has entertainment and you don’t need bedding. I would also provide grit in this situation.

 

[The Dim Side]

Thanks! I hang out with her outside during the day on nice days, but it's too cold for her to stay outside at night (and I'd be too nervous about predators). We have a big dirt/grass mound that we brought in for her, so she does like sleeping on that sometimes. She had a little grit in the brooder and on the grass mound, but I don't think she noticed it. I gave her some in my hand and in a bowl, so she munched a good deal of it! I think boredom could definitely be a big part of it though. We're looking to get another gosling sometime this week hopefully.

We have her in a dog pen over a tarp inside with the pine shavings and some hay. So could we just remove the pine shavings and hay and maybe bring in more grass mounds for her? So then it'd be mostly tarp that I could just clean up after plus the grass for bedding when she wants?

 

[Cassandra Lana]

Yes if you can’t take her outside I would do that. You can also fill a hole-E with leaves and hang it up or put it in a water bowl. That should help entertain

 

[The Dim Side]

Great! Thank you again for the advice!

 

[Cassandra Lana]

Great! Thank you again for the advice!

My pleasure