HELP! BABY GOOSE GONE MEAN

[GooseGirl559]

Hello,
I got three baby white chinese geese about mid april, first time I have ever had geese. When I was a kid my parents had chickens so taking care of the geese hasn't been completely alien. Anyway, so I am pretty sure one of the geese is male, one is female, and I keep jumping back and forth between whether the third goose is male or female. The one I'm sure is male has always been my favorite. He seemed to prefer my company over the other geese, he let me pet him and he even let me kiss the top of his head. Sweetest goose ever, until about 5 days ago. Over night sweet goose transformed into monster goose. He doesn't chase me or anything but once he gets to me he will peck hard and fast at my legs. He gets really mean if he can get an arm, and he has quickly developed this nasty talent of catching a finger and not letting go. The index finger on my right hand has chunks of finger missing.

He doesnt quiver his neck like he is afraid or anything.  He seems to see me as a rival goose as apposed to a predator.  So, the way I have been dealing with it is trying to tell him in goose that this behavior is not cool. When he starts really pecking me, I make my hand into a beak and "peck" him back. If his attack gets more aggressive when I do this I will hiss (he is hissing a lot when he attacks) and chase him around until he is running away, as apposed to walking backward or kind of walking away. (I probably look completely insane, thank goodness my neighbors can't see into my back yard) His attacks have gotten the smallest bit tamer since I started doing this.

I want to know how I should be handling this, what is wrong with what I'm doing, and if anyone knows if this is a permanent attitude change. Any help is appreciated, I would love to get my "little buddy" back if possible.

 

[The goose girl]

Haha, your headline ought to read "Baby goose gone juvenile". I'm sorry, but you're probably not going to get your "little buddy" back - he's not a baby anymore, and he'll never act exactly like a baby anymore.

That said, teenage geese seem to go through a biting stage that will wear off more or less. I have no idea why, but I know all my geese have gone through a juvenile stage of biting really hard. I really don't think chasing him is a good idea, though. Chasing him will make him feel unsafe around you and may induce even more attacks.

Try grabbing his neck (firmly but not choking him) when he initiates an attack. Just hold him there, arm stretched (so you won't get hit by a flapping wing). When he stops attacking and tries to leave, keep holding him for 5-10 seconds more until you let go. Hopefully he'll learn that trying to bite you somehow gets him stuck - and he may not even grasp that your hand is what he gets stuck in.

 

[GooseGirl559]

Holy cow, Thank you! I have avoided doing anything with their necks, they look like they could break so easily. I had to do this to him 8 times this morning, but his "attacks" got more and more gentle. That completely took the wind out of his sails instead of aggravating the situation like I was doing before. You should write a book on how to deal with teenagers, because that was like pure magic. Thank you!

 

[servpolice]

Can you make a photo of your white Chinese i want to see this monster and the other two so we can see what sex your babies are.

 

[sandychi218]

Hope I am of some help. A little different circumstances as my boys( brothers... Rescued) were NEVER used to humans when I got them 2 years ago. ( I have been hunting gals for them ever since but live in Arizona and too hot to transport IMO during breeding season)Sorry off tract! Anyway I got bit on the face by one and started acting like a goose!!! Yes, I postured and flapped my 'wings' at them and hissed very loudly! Well I can round them up by hand even during breeding season and can carry them around and pet them and they are great pets!!! It took about 3 or 4 weeks to get them really settled but only a few days to start behaving well. I love my guys and think they are gorgeous! Best of luck! Hope this works for you! Also so NOT back down! Make yourself as big an loud as possible and I hope this works for you as well as it did for me. Hope geese do NOT get male beserk syndrome as peafowl and llamas do.

 

[The goose girl]

I have avoided doing anything with their necks, they look like they could break so easily.

I'm so glad the neck-holding seems to work. Their necks are fragile, but way less fragile than they look. Of course, if he starts yanking hard to free himself, you should let go so he doesn't get hurt.

I don't know if you ever hand feed them, but if you do, that might contribute to the problem. They can get almost vicious searching for treats! I always carry treats for my pet goose, and any time I put my hand in my pocket, she'll come running. When she was a teenager, she'd get very impatient and start ripping my pocket and/or bite my fingers, so I'd give her a treat, then make a "stop sign" with my hand (show her my empty palm) and say "No more!". After a few seconds, I'd walk away. She quickly learned what it meant, so I didn't have to walk away from her - she'd just stop searching.

Now I don't know if you can train your geese the same way. I've had mine since she hatched, I only have the one, and I spend 6-8 hours with her daily - as does her other caregiver.

 

[GooseGirl559]

I'm working on getting pictures up.

The only thing I have done with them that came close to hand feeding is occasionally picking grass and feeding it to them in my hand. But since I only do it sometimes, they never look for it. I had some improvement last night. My geese have two pens, their night time pen (which has a shelter and is more sturdy) and their night time pen (which is made so I can move it around the yard so they can get fresh grass.) Last night we went from the day time pen to the night time pen with no attacks. I was very impressed. However, this morning the little monster seems to have a whole new bee under his bonnet. I will see if I can't get pictures up of my new bite marks. I'm still holding him by the neck at arms length just below his head, but now he is struggling until he can grab a chunk of arm... (I think maybe my headline ought to have read "baby goose gone man eater) and then the second I let him go he just comes back for another attack. I think he figured out what's going on... I'm really hoping this teenage thing gets gone fast.

 

[GooseGirl559]

And now I'm sitting outside with them, and monster is occasionally nibbling on my cloths and hair but not really attacking. My goose is biploar...

 

[GooseGirl559]

First picture: left-I'm pretty sure that one is female, the one on the right is the one I'm not sure about. In this picture it looks female, but the nob on its head is a little bigger.
Second picture: monster loud and proud in the middle.

 

[Miss Lydia]

And now I'm sitting outside with them, and monster is occasionally nibbling on my cloths and hair but not really attacking. My goose is biploar...

My goslings 3month old love to nibble on my clothes,shoes etc. only thing I don't let them nibble on is my skin or my hair.