How and when will I know...

[JessHall]

How and when will I know if my Embden is a Male or a Female? It is my only goose so I don't have anything to compare it to.

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
If it lays eggs in the late fall - spring it is a goose. Since you have only one does it make a difference?

 

[JessHall]

Quote:
If it lays eggs in the late fall - spring it is a goose. Since you have only one does it make a difference?

No difference really... lately it has been acting like a little jerk though. We handle it ALL the time... I carry the little bugger everywhere with me and I found it tearing an almost full grown chicken across the yard yesterday!

I have no idea if it's an indication of it's sex but I put it in line and quickly, and I'm hoping it will know that I'm the boss... not he or she.

 

[rainplace]

My "not so little" ones are starting to get a bit more agressive with the ducks and I'm wondering if this is a taste of things to come and if there's something I can do now to halt it.

 

[JessHall]

I'd like to know the same... because these sweet little yellow guys are not so sweet anymore, I don't let it get away with stuff, but at the same time show it great kindness... I have no idea why it's acting so badly.

 

[ChaosTheory]

I think unless you raise them all together from the brooding stage, they will be aggressive towards things they are unsure of. My ducks and two geese grew up together, and they all love each other (the ducks think the geese are momma and poppa actually), but every now and then I will see a goose bite/nip at a duck (especially when food is involved... And God forbid a duck should be in the pool when the geese are around, they think it's ONLY their pool

). We keep the ducks, geese and chickens all in the same large run during the day when we're not around. At first the geese hissed their heads off at the chickens, but now after being together for 4 months, they've all calmed down into a pecking order. If the chickens are dumb enough to get to close to the geese, the geese snick their heads out as if to nip a chicken, and the chicken knows better and runs off. We have BO's and other heritage chickens, so they're quite small in relation to the geese, and they've gotten caught by them so many times (goose with a chicken wing in the mouth, the chickens sqwaking like mad) that they just keep a safe distance. I'll try and get a video for you =]

 

[rainplace]

All mine have been raised together since little. So you're saying not to be worried with the new nipping and little aggressives from the geese? It does usually involve food even though they have access to food all day... they always act like they are starving when they decide to head to the feed. And the other aggressive times I recall have to do with the pond and the new duck that wasn't raised with them.

 

[Chickies-duckies-etc]

"Pecking" order? I have noticed that within the total flock of geese there are sub flocks. Usually by breed and or who was raised with who. When a dominate flock starts toward the water pool, they start squacking as they walk. The flock that is at the pool take off quickly and the dominate flock have the pool to themselves. If any remain, they get picked on and yelled at until they leave. No harm is ever done in these encounters.

A bill thump on the back is a control thing for a goose. The ducks and chickens may not understand what it means.

When some of my goslings misbehave, I will give them a light thump on the back with the end of my fingers to mimic the geese doing so with their bills. Combined with the spoken "NO". It works about as well as telling a two year old human child no. LOL Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.