Gosling troubles - advice needed!

[Laura Jensen]

I have a Pilgrim gosling that I brought home a couple weeks ago. He was two weeks old at the time. I put him into a large (4 foot by 5 foot) brooder with about 20 week-old chicken chicks and all seemed well and happy. Every day, I pick him a large mound of grass and weeds. They have a heat lamp, all purpose poultry crumbles, and water.

I found a dead chick the other morning when everyone had looked quite perky the night before, and was mystified. This morning my little gander was chasing and biting my littlest chick, so I took him out of that brooder. I have a pen where my ducks spend the night, and there’s a smaller pen inside that with three-week-old turkeys. I usually let the turkeys have the whole pen during the day when the ducks are roaming the yard, and this morning I put Albert in with them. He immediately started chasing and biting them, so I put them back into the small pen and let him have the larger pen for the day (complete with food, water, heat lamp, and greens). He could see the baby turkeys, but couldn't get at them. This evening, I let the babies out into the main pen again, thinking he’d had the day to get used to them, but he started in on them again.

I have no idea what’s gotten into him. Any ideas? Anything I should be doing differently? I'd really like to keep geese, but not if they're going to kill my baby poultry.

 

[Jipus5]

I have read that geese are territorial. We just got our first two, and luckily they have a 'pal' and aren't alone. Maybe that is the pickle....loneliness and feeling like the oddball. Get him a friend of his own kind. I have chickens of every age since I breed and hatch them along with my Roosters and layers. I have a pen for them during the day, supervise their swim time (since we have foxes here in the country) and place them in the chicken coop at night. All has been fine but I have no babies outside of a cage for them to get at, but the ones INSIDE their cages 4-6 wks old they have never bothered. I am still new to this, but when we went to buy our goose, she said she wouldn't sell it without knowing it had one of its own kind to befriend or we buy two. Apparently they can have mood swings, so I am figuring it may be like high school....clicks don't blend well..... Hope this helps....

 

[The goose girl]

At four weeks, your gosling doesn't need a heat lamp any more. What he needs is a gosling buddy and to be able to graze most of the day.

Goslings learn by picking, chewing and pulling. It's an instinct, not something you can train out of them. Your gosling is bored, that's why he's chasing and biting your chicks.

If he's never been with the turkeys before, he's scared of them and trying to chase them away.

How about setting him up with the ducks? Of course, you have to make sure the ducks don't chase him or hurt him.

 

[RugenerGooser]

At four weeks, your gosling doesn't need a heat lamp any more. What he needs is a gosling buddy and to be able to graze most of the day.

Goslings learn by picking, chewing and pulling. It's an instinct, not something you can train out of them. Your gosling is bored, that's why he's chasing and biting your chicks.

If he's never been with the turkeys before, he's scared of them and trying to chase them away.

How about setting him up with the ducks? Of course, you have to make sure the ducks don't chase him or hurt him.

I agree on putting him with the ducks or a duck, but keep an eye on them. I had some Pekin ducklings I had gotten a day before my Buff and Pomeranian goslings arrived. The ducklings wanted to be with the goslings so bad that I let the brood and grow up together. To this day, they all still live together. I don't know if the ducks think they are geese or the geese think they're ducks, but the geese taught the ducks confidence, so they are not flighty and nervous like some ducks I have seen. The flock leader is actually a duck.

 

[RugenerGooser]

Geese are absolutely territorial. Ducks are as well to a point. If you are going to put the gosling with a duck or two, since it is still their breeding season, put him with hens. The drakes will be too rough on him.

 

[Laura Jensen]

Thank you for all your advice!

I have another gosling coming, but it just hatched last week. Is their age discrepancy too great for them to be together right away? Thanks again!

 

[flockman]

I would think you should be fine putting them together. My gander adopted 2 goslings when they were a few weeks old. When they were 5 weeks old he adopted 3 goslings that were a few days old. They all get along great. My goslings are now 7 weeks and 2 weeks old. I would just supervise their introduction and watch for aggressive behavior.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Hopefully your new gosling and the one you have now will end up being best of friends like these 2.. read all the way through. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/767084/new-here

 

[flockman]

Let us know how it goes. Can't wait to see pictures of them together.