Goslings - In At The Deep End

[thaiturkey]

We've been waiting to get some goslings for a little while. They seem to make good guard dogs and lawn mowers. I didn't do any preparatory research because I was told that they were easy to look after and thought that I would have some forewarning of their arrival.

It didn't turn out that way. This morning, my wife took off on her Honda Wave without a word and came back with two goslings. She says they are goslings but I don't know. They are yellow with duck beaks and webbed feet. The problem I'm left with now that Mrs. TT has gone off to the market to buy food for the restaurant is that these things look very young. Too young to be left to wander about on their own.

I'm told that they hatched two weeks ago and that the gander has been taking care of them. The owner allows his flock to free range and that is what we intend for these two. They are now in a big bird cage under the rear verandah roof with grass, water and bedding while I work out what to do.

I suppose that they need to be confined until they regard our place as home. Our land is walled and fenced and the bantams never wander. On the other hand, the goslings have no adult to protect and teach them now. We have water but I shall need to make a ladder for them. I hope that the catfish don't bite.

There's plenty of grazing for them once they can be let out.

Any advice on what to do and how to feed them in the cage would be very welcome, please.

 

[thaiturkey]

Some advice would be welcome, please.

 

[Renegade Rescue]

We have geese and yes they do kind of look like ducks we kept our babies in a medium dog crate until 5 weeks and then introduce them to our starter pen, we fed our 4 day old chicken starter for the first 4 weeks and then mix some chicken starter with some three grain scratch and ours love clover so they get lots of clover. We keep the water levels for swimming to just the top of the leg until they get at least 3 months old then ours swim in their own pools. Hope this helps

 

[thaiturkey]

That's great, Renegade Rescue, thanks very much.

Ours have been eating and drinking well. We haven't found grasses that they like yet but the bought feed (high protein chicken feed) is going down well.

If I understand you correctly, they already need water to wade in. At the moment, they have only a small drinking bowl. Perhaps I should move them to the old turkey coop and put a washing up bowl with a few inches of water in there. I had thought of supervising a session on the catfish pond this morning but perhaps that's not a good idea.

Any more tips would be welcome.

 

[Renegade Rescue]

We let the babies swim in an old bath tub while we clean their crate then back to a warm create and lots of food and fresh grass an clover our last little guy moves out to the youngster run with some 5 month old ducks Saturday coming it is good for him but sad for the special needs duck we have has this goose has been keeping him company. Our geese are funny and they will alert you to everything you will learn their noises I can tell when our geese sense a real danger and am out in a flash to see what is going on. I like you got the geese to protect our ducks was not a big fan of geese but now love going and cleaning their pools and seeing them interact with the ducks and me.

 

[thaiturkey]

Thanks again. That's very helpful.

 

[Renegade Rescue]

glad I could offer some help.

 

[thaiturkey]

The two goslings are growing as fast as we are learning!

They progressed very quickly from the bird cage to a bamboo dome with a small swimming pool. Their need for grass was clear so we started to supervise outings with them and put pulled grass into the dome. Yesterday, I sat with them for an hour or so as they gr4azed and the banties came over to investigate. It was a relief when they went back into the dome at dusk without too much persuasion.

This morning, I sat up in the gazebo and watched them graze again. They have been joined temporarily by two more goslings that we have bought for a friend. They get on so well that we might keep all four and buy two more for the friend. Their curiosity seems to extend no further than grass, feed and water so the escape bid that I feared didn't materialise.

A tropical rain storm appeared from nowhere. At first, they sat on the grass, apparently enjoying the shower. When it got heavier, they headed for cover and pooped liberally all over the back porch tiles. Since the rain stopped, they have stayed around the same area, grazing just off the tiles and taking the occasional dip in their pool. Now, exhausted, they are sitting on the tiles again and I can see another black cloud approaching.

This might seem obvious stuff to the old hands but we are enjoying seeing their antics and learning. Perhaps stories such as these will help other novices in the future.