Gosling with Separation Anxiety to Humans

[The Dim Side]

Hello! So I actually have multiple questions about this gosling, but the foremost thing I'm looking for is information on what appears to be separation anxiety.

We (my boyfriend and I) got this 3-week-old Tufted Roman gosling two days ago to become a guard goose for our 12 chicks when they get older. The breeder said the gosling was bonded with another goose about 1.5 months old. I was worried about that, but they apparently weren't both for sale, and we also weren't sure if having two geese would get them to bond with the chickens either.

But she seems to already be really attached to humans, not any specific one. Anyone with her seems to be fine, but if we're not directly with her, then she freaks out and cries and runs around. She can go on for a really long time, and I'm worried she'll hurt herself with her flailing and trying to escape from the brooder and everything. I literally lulled her to sleep the first night, but if she hears me leave, she immediately jolts awake and freaks out. I've never had a human baby, but this seems similar to that, haha. She likes to follow us around when she can, too. She mainly likes to sleep at my feet or in my lap if she can.

She was a little bit better today than the last two days, where we pretty much needed to be touching her for her to be happy. Now we at least need to be close by and within eyesight, though sometimes that's still not enough either. She was also more distracted today with some grass and dirt we brought in though.

Is there anything we can do to get her more relaxed while alone? She's also not completely alone in the room, the chick brooder is nearby, and both have visibility into the other to at least see each other.

Also, we want her to bond with the chickens (nine are 3 weeks old, three are 2 weeks old), but she just keeps trying to bite them for some reason when we put them near each other. Since they're in separate brooders, we were trying to do some short spurts of play-time to get them used to one another. The chicks seem kind of interested in her in non-aggressive ways. And I can't tell if she's just biting to get to know them since she likes to chew on everything or if it's aggressive. It seems like the latter because I think she tries to clamp down more, which scares the chicks. Will they be able to bond eventually?

And the last thing, she seems to be really itchy a lot of the time. She has no feathers yet, but it looks like there's a bit of a bald patch on her mid-back, and she's always chewing on different parts of her body. Is this normal? I don't know if it could be a skin condition or if this is just what all geese go through. Searching online, I just keep finding things about humans with goosebumps, lol. There doesn't seem to be nearly as much info in raising geese as there is chickens!

We're completely new to chickens and geese and farm life, so any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks! =)

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

A lot of people on here will be upset about you having only one gosling. They will say it's not natural for a goose to bond with chickens, just prepare yourself.
My advice is if you are going to keep just one gosling to get a mirror. A mirror big enough it will think that there is another gosling and seeing chicks in the mirror too may trick the gosling into thinking the other gosling has accepted the chicks.

 

[The Dim Side]

A lot of people on here will be upset about you having only one gosling. They will say it's not natural for a goose to bond with chickens, just prepare yourself.
My advice is if you are going to keep just one gosling to get a mirror. A mirror big enough it will think that there is another gosling and seeing chicks in the mirror too may trick the gosling into thinking the other gosling has accepted the chicks.

I figured that might be the case, as far as needing to have more than one goose. This was a concern I initially had, but my boyfriend had apparently found multiple people online who have just one goose per chicken flock (such as Justin Rhodes), so he was pretty set on it, too. I personally am not opposed to getting a second one as long as they can still help alert the chickens/us to danger, even if they aren't bonded to them. Though finding available ones around the same age is challenging in my area.

Thank you for the mirror suggestion! The idea of it seeing another one accepting the chicks is a really great idea.

 

[RosemaryDuck]

The separation anxiety isn't so much being attached to humans, it's being terrified to be alone. Chicks, ducklings, goslings, any baby bird is used to hatching and being with a group of siblings and it's mother. When you take all of that away they feel unprotected and vulnerable. Whenever you get any flock animal it should always be in a pair or more. Especially babies. You really need another gosling or be prepared for the behavior to continue, (and likely escalate). I hope everything works out for you and the little one.

 

[LadyWolf44005]

Reamber one thing about justin rodes is that he has the chicks and the goslings grow up together so they can bond.

 

[Goosebaby]

A goose that’s alone in the wild is at its most vulnerable, geese flock together not just because of their bonds but for survival, the more eyes to spot danger, food, or water, the more likely everyone’s going to survive, even more so for a gosling who wouldn’t be more than a foot from a parent at all times for months. Keeping them alone goes against instincts hammered in through millions of years of evolution. Being alone = death.


If raised together goslings can bond with chicks or ducklings, the problem is that goslings grow much faster and can bully the chicks so it isn’t always a good fit.
Even if they do bond that doesn’t mean it will last, geese don’t always coexist peacefully with other birds as adults.

Yes people do keep a single goose with chickens or ducks but that doesn’t make it fair to the goose, the other birds just don’t get them and interact with them the way a goose would, humans are the best alternative because we’re intelligent enough to figure out what a goose wants and interact with it, but a goose friend is still needed because it’s just easier.
You can keep them together at all times, feed them the same things, they can interact and entertain each other.
Or you can have a bird that's in constant fear, anxiety, and stress, and is screaming every time you leave, to prevent that just carry them around wherever you go to keep them happy. Honestly life is easier with more than one.

 

[The Dim Side]

Reamber one thing about justin rodes is that he has the chicks and the goslings grow up together so they can bond.

Is three weeks old too late for them to bond? The chicks are 2-3 weeks, and the gosling is 3 weeks. We read that 7-8 weeks old for a gosling was a good time to put them together, so I thought younger might work? But if she's already too old, then maybe instead we'll just have a couple geese to help guard the land generally.

 

[The Dim Side]

The separation anxiety isn't so much being attached to humans, it's being terrified to be alone. Chicks, ducklings, goslings, any baby bird is used to hatching and being with a group of siblings and it's mother. When you take all of that away they feel unprotected and vulnerable. Whenever you get any flock animal it should always be in a pair or more. Especially babies. You really need another gosling or be prepared for the behavior to continue, (and likely escalate). I hope everything works out for you and the little one.

Does it need to be another of the same breed, another Tufted Roman? Or could it be another type of goose? Just wondering since Tufted Romans are difficult to come by. And thank you for the advice, much appreciated!

 

[RosemaryDuck]

Does it need to be another of the same breed, another Tufted Roman? Or could it be another type of goose? Just wondering since Tufted Romans are difficult to come by. And thank you for the advice, much appreciated!

Personally I would aim for the same breed, but that's just in case you ever want to breed them or hatch anything. I don't think it matters to much, though you most likely do want to stay in the same size range so they don't hurt each other.

 

[The Dim Side]

A goose that’s alone in the wild is at its most vulnerable, geese flock together not just because of their bonds but for survival, the more eyes to spot danger, food, or water, the more likely everyone’s going to survive, even more so for a gosling who wouldn’t be more than a foot from a parent at all times for months. Keeping them alone goes against instincts hammered in through millions of years of evolution. Being alone = death.


If raised together goslings can bond with chicks or ducklings, the problem is that goslings grow much faster and can bully the chicks so it isn’t always a good fit.
Even if they do bond that doesn’t mean it will last, geese don’t always coexist peacefully with other birds as adults.

Yes people do keep a single goose with chickens or ducks but that doesn’t make it fair to the goose, the other birds just don’t get them and interact with them the way a goose would, humans are the best alternative because we’re intelligent enough to figure out what a goose wants and interact with it, but a goose friend is still needed because it’s just easier.
You can keep them together at all times, feed them the same things, they can interact and entertain each other.
Or you can have a bird that's in constant fear, anxiety, and stress, and is screaming every time you leave, to prevent that just carry them around wherever you go to keep them happy. Honestly life is easier with more than one.

Yeah, she isn't doing well with the chicks at all so far, already trying to bully and bite them when nearby. Do you know if that's something that can change over time and age? Or is it a lost cause to try to get them to bond? All are around 3 weeks old. But I'm definitely leaning toward getting her a partner now, though it's convincing my boyfriend that might take some work, lol.