Gosling Infanticide

[Zia Thomas]

Hi all. We inherited geese and the goslings have just hatched. The previous owner said the male kills the goslings. We've put him as well as the other female away... Any information or suggestions will be welcome! Thanx in advance.

 

[sourland]

If he has a history of killing goslings, I would keep them separated. That being said, every gander that I have ever had, as a matter of fact the entire flock, has been as protective of the goslings as their mother.

 

[extrememainer]

Do the Goslings have any love with the mother and the father?

 

[Iain Utah]

In my experience, if gander is mated to goose that hatched babies, he is always an awesome father to those babies. If gander is not attached to the mother, then it depends on the gander. Some are not as nice to babies as others.

As for separating, I usually throw up a chicken wire wrapped portable puppy pen around nest when goose is hatching to make sure she is left alone. After a few days, once Dad zeroes in and starts guarding pen 24/7, then I remove fence.

 

[Zia Thomas]

Thank you everyone! Our goslings hatched on Saturday afternoon. I separated the the Gander and other female goose for the night. The next day I introduced them 1 by 1. That's when I realised he's not aggressive just very protective and a bit clumsy. Because the babies were still wobbly I separated them again for the 2nd night. Next day the babies were sure footed and now they all stay together.. No problems and the babies are growing from strength to strength! My herb garden is history at this stage! I'm feeding them some seed and maize as well as cabbage and kale...

 

[sourland]

How many goslings hatched ?