How Cold is too cold for adult African Gander - in florida

[amuck10]

Hello,

I live in Florida and a few months ago I came home to discover a goose in my fully fenced in yard (I live in a subdivision of about 50 homes in a very rural town) Anyway he didn't fly away. So i did some research and found he was an adult African Gander (which explains the not flying) He is the forth animal in two years to appear in my yard. Usually its people from the city who drive out to the country and just leave their dogs at what seems to be a nice safe place.

Anyway I already had numerous kiddie pools and a pond for my dogs and turtles so I kept the goose. It has never been this cold before (it is not only going to hit 32 but may actually drop into the 20s) All the research I have done says they are ok in the cold but not in the extreme cold. What is extreme cold? To me, anything below 40. I have added a small door to my garage so if he wants to go in it he can, but really he only goes in it to attack me.

Is a goose smart enough to go into shelter because he is cold, or do I have to force him and lock him in? I really dread doing that because to be honest he is very mean. He is a much better guard dog than my dog, but pretty much if he says any human, he charges and starts biting. Also any tips on getting him to be just a little bit nicer.

Thanks in advance for any advice

 

[imfowl]

It will never get cold enough in Florida to be any danger to your goose. Waterfowl are extremely cold tolerant. If he can find water, he will swim in 30 deg waether.

 

[jvls1942]

excuse me if I find this funny..
My geese just went through the past two weeks in tempratures of minus 1 to minus 22 degrees F...
they have a shelter, but prefer to stay outside.

Your goose is just fine..

It is pretty difficult to break a goose from being mean..

I would say to make sure he knows where his food is coming from ..

He probably has plenty of grass to eat.. but if you feed him anything else, try to make him take it out of your hand or at least make sure he knows it is you putting his food into his dish...

and do not show any fear when he tries to chase you .. If you can, grab him by he neck and take him down to his belly and hold him until he gives.. this takes a little strength..

good luck

...jiminwisc.......

 

[chickensducks&agoose]

geese are smart, but I'm pretty sure that they have limited control over their instincts. I've gotten pretty good at catching my goose the instant he gets too evil, and punish him by either yelling and swiping at him, or in rare instances when he has actually attached himself to another creature (hen, child, my leg....) i will grab him by the neck (carefully, cause I dont want to break him) and will squash him to the ground..... He behaves better mostly, but will still be evil on occasion. When that happens, and I am watching, he starts to look guilty, and makes good eye contact with me. then he pretends that he is looking at something on the ground, or pretends to eat something near the object of his aggression..... and then looks at me again, and then bites whatever it is. I think that geese are generally jack*sses, and you just sort of have to respect that they are just being 'good' geese... just doing their job... good luck! Oh, my goose is cold but okay at -25 here in VT, i give him warm water to drink and he loves it... so i wouldn't worry....

 

[jvls1942]

chickensducks&agoose :

geese are smart, but I'm pretty sure that they have limited control over their instincts. I've gotten pretty good at catching my goose the instant he gets too evil, and punish him by either yelling and swiping at him, or in rare instances when he has actually attached himself to another creature (hen, child, my leg....) i will grab him by the neck (carefully, cause I dont want to break him) and will squash him to the ground..... He behaves better mostly, but will still be evil on occasion. When that happens, and I am watching, he starts to look guilty, and makes good eye contact with me. then he pretends that he is looking at something on the ground, or pretends to eat something near the object of his aggression..... and then looks at me again, and then bites whatever it is. I think that geese are generally jack*sses, and you just sort of have to respect that they are just being 'good' geese... just doing their job... good luck! Oh, my goose is cold but okay at -25 here in VT, i give him warm water to drink and he loves it... so i wouldn't worry....

exactly ..

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

My geese never go into their shelter. They just stay outside, in the rain, snow, freezing rain, and when it was below zero.

 

[papagoose]

I had a total of 18 geese at the beginning of winter, 13 pure Africans, 2 mixed breed 1/2 Africans, 1 Chinese and 2 "White ones" I have not identified yet (I have been too busy with other things.) I live in Central Minnesota where the temps were -10 to -33 at night over the past week. We have had windchills down to -55 below here over the nights. My geese live outdoors in a 70 x 90 foot pen with only a old pop-up canvas fishhouse to go into for protection from the wind and cold. I have lost 2 African geese total so far. One I think was stepped on by a goat in their pen, the goats were moved into their own pen when the accident was discovered, and the other died from exposure to the elements (we think) a few days ago.

We are in the middle of another cold spell right now that should break in a couple of days and everyone is doing fine. They have heated water to drink and get pure cracked corn to eat every day. On occasion they will get a couple of loaves of bread as a special treat.

My geese are doing fine and yours will do fine too as long as you have water and food for them and a spot designated for their "shelter" from the elements although the temps you will encounter are not as cold as mine. They will go into their shelter when they need to. Everything will be fine for you!

 

[glenntwo]

They'll be fine. Mine go swimming in their pool when its in the 20's. Just have to break through the ice for them.