I found what I think is a geese...

[Goosebaby]

@Deafnick If you’re going to offer her peas and corn, fresh is preferable to canned, definitely don’t leave her alone outside, at this stage she can easily be carried off by any hawk, owl, or roaming housecat. She’ll be especially prone to anxiety and fear right now if she’s left alone anyway “hence the crying,” normally her parents would be constantly with her until she’s many months older.

 

[Deafnick]

Oh she is SO adorable! You are doing amazing caring for her.

She is definitely a goose! She looks a lot like my girl did at that age (an Embden mix), and we also only had her for the first 4 months of her life, no other geese. There are definitely people out there who make one goose work, but we found it pretty much impossible. I admit, I did dote on her, maybe a bit too much but it broke my heart to hear her cry when we tried to leave her by herself. Maybe if she got used to it younger, it would have been okay. I wish that we got her a friend when she was younger, because she truly has no interest in other geese... she tolerates him at best, though having him here does still make her feel more secure. I have also seen single geese who are happy because they have a kitty or dog friend (be extremely careful with intros - even the sweetest old dog may attack a tiny gosling), do you have any other pets?

In your pictures, she looks very young, maybe 2 weeks old. She doesn't look 3 weeks old yet, that's when they start looking a little awkward! I will attach a couple pictures of my girl at 2 weeks old, so you can compare. She may grow up thinking that she is a human, like ours did. There is a big difference between her and our second goose who spent the first couple weeks of his life with other geese.

Like others said, they unfortunately do not have the muscle control other animals do to control where they go. Diapers are not bad in and of themselves, and they are pretty important for a goose spending time indoors. I spoke to my vet about my initial concerns with diapers (who I trust completely as he is extremely knowledgeable about geese - a rarity) and he assured me they are perfectly ok to use - but to make sure that they fit well, that they are changed often, and that the poop isn't left stuck to her feathers. She will probably need her bottom rinsed a few times a day. It's best to get a diaper meant for a goose, not one meant for chickens. I make our diapers myself, because my girl is very finicky and we tried all the ones available online and she was never perfectly comfortable in them and I felt that they could be improved. (Though our other goose never had a problem with most of them.) If you have access to a sewing machine, I would be happy to walk you through making them, but it's probably best to try one made from a company like The Goose Mother first. Goslings go so often, and also have much wetter/runnier poops, so they need their diapers changed very often. When she is older, it should be a lot easier to deal with.

Another thing we used was PUL fabric, but you will still have to wipe the poop off that. It will save a lot of money vs. puppy pads, though. The fabric is meant for making (human) baby diapers, so it is waterproof. You can drape it over your lap or get big enough sheets to go on your bed, etc!

Okay, that was longer than intended - sorry! I hope this has helped a bit! Please feel free to message me if I can help in any way, I know just how tricky it can be raising a single gosling, indoors too, and there isn't always a lot of answers on to be found through googling. Thanks so much for adopting this sweet little creature. She is clearly in great hands!

I’m going to do my best to make sure she’s happy. I’ve only got two dogs, big German shepherds. My fears is her walking around them right now cause she can easily be stepped on, sometimes if you pick up a ball or a leash they get super excited. Yeah I’m learning the hard way with trying to teach her to go to a pad in each room sometimes lay there, if she’s tired. I know while we’re walking through the house there’s nothing I can do. I’ve read these birds are super smart and have good memories so I thought I’d be achievable. I’ll look into pul fabriC. Yours looks the exact same. It’s crazy how you can fall for these things.

 

[Deafnick]

@Deafnick If you’re going to offer her peas and corn, fresh is preferable to canned, definitely don’t leave her alone outside, at this stage she can easily be carried off by any hawk, owl, or roaming housecat. She’ll be especially prone to anxiety and fear right now if she’s left alone anyway “hence the crying,” normally her parents would be constantly with her until she’s many months older.

Okay i feed my dogs table scraps as didn’t want to feed her the wrong thing cause I’ve recently found out breads is bad for birds. And rice. I don’t leave her alone she wonders off sometimes if I’m cleaning or sitting too long then starts the cry then comes back to my voice, I’ve followed her A few times to see how my dogs are reacting when she pops out alone. I know to be very careful with my dogs and her, there’s a window you can see the whole porch where she picks grass out of the cracks and I can see them. I’m not worried about any cats just flying predators, which never come in my yard when my dogs are out. So when she gets older she’ll start to roam more and follow less? Or maybe attach to my female dog.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Dogs and geese /poultry can learn to get along but it’s a slow process. Large dogs or dogs with high prey drives react to peeping and bring on predator an prey scenario so never leave your gosling alone with your dogs until you teach them she is part of your flock along with them. I have mini dachshunds and they get along fine with my adults but when we have goslings or ducklings or chicks they cannot be around them the peeping set off their prey drive. Once peeping is over they are fine.

 

[Ephyra]

I’m going to do my best to make sure she’s happy. I’ve only got two dogs, big German shepherds. My fears is her walking around them right now cause she can easily be stepped on, sometimes if you pick up a ball or a leash they get super excited. Yeah I’m learning the hard way with trying to teach her to go to a pad in each room sometimes lay there, if she’s tired. I know while we’re walking through the house there’s nothing I can do. I’ve read these birds are super smart and have good memories so I thought I’d be achievable. I’ll look into pul fabriC. Yours looks the exact same. It’s crazy how you can fall for these things.

You’re right, they are extremely smart and have great memories! My geese even do tricks on command like a dog: “twirl” (spin in a circle), come, speak, and “crazy” (shake your head). They also understand “go to your room” (their pen), and to a degree I can get them to be quieter by saying “quiet” in a whisper voice - they actually whisper back at me! But you can’t prevent them from sounding the alarm if they think something is amiss, but we use “quiet” to tell them that it’s okay and they don’t have to KEEP honking.

A few things I figured I would mention just in case! Some of them were probably already mentioned.

Goslings will eat anything, including non-food items that could be dangerous so it’s really important to goose-proof. In particular, anything metal is really dangerous because they can get something called hardware disease which is often fatal. They can also get obstructions by eating things like carpet fibers or strings.

If your goslings feet are very hot, she may be overheating or have a fever. If they are cold to the touch, she’s probably too cold.

Like others have said, goslings are extreme risk for predation. Adult geese are as well, they are much more defenseless than people tend to think. The only way to ensure their safety is a predator proof pen and supervised free roaming time. If you google “predator proof pen” there is a lot of guidance on how to build them. For now you could probably use a dog crate (make sure fully enclosed) with poultry mesh around it (animals will reach their claws in and grab at her).

If your chick starter is meant for baby chickens, not a waterfowl or duck feed, she needs niacin supplemented. You can use niacin meant for people as long as it is not the “flush free” kind. 100mg per gallon of water. Symptoms of niacin deficiency are shaky legs and reluctance to walk, then it will quickly progress to not being able to stand up without falling over.

She can have baths in your tub but she must be fully supervised as without the oil from her mamas feathers, she can easily become waterlogged and drown. Make sure that she gets totally dry after. Ours loved the lowest setting of the hair dryer blown on them from a foot or two away, make sure it isn't too hot!

Ours love toys! Baby teething toys, balls with holes in them so they can pick them up with their bills, stuffed animals, small puppy toys, cat toys, puzzle feeding toys... They will chase a laser like a kitty.

I bought a backpack style pet carrier for when mine were little. It goes on your chest. That way I could bring them out to parks and whatnot safely.

She needs a good amount of padding under her feet. Too much hard and flat flooring will cause Bumblefoot. We have mostly hard floors so we put a lot of throw rugs around the house. They seem to prefer the chenille bath mat type ones.

I recommend calling around to see where you could take her in case of a medical emergency. The majority of vets, including many avian vets, will not see a goose... the last thing you want is to waste precious time trying to find a vet for her in an emergency!

They grow up SO fast, and they are just as lovely grown, but make sure to enjoy every moment of the tiny gosling stage! I also did not intend on getting a goose, but they are the light of my life now. Best of luck to you and your cutie!

 

[Deafnick]

You’re right, they are extremely smart and have great memories! My geese even do tricks on command like a dog: “twirl” (spin in a circle), come, speak, and “crazy” (shake your head). They also understand “go to your room” (their pen), and to a degree I can get them to be quieter by saying “quiet” in a whisper voice - they actually whisper back at me! But you can’t prevent them from sounding the alarm if they think something is amiss, but we use “quiet” to tell them that it’s okay and they don’t have to KEEP honking.

A few things I figured I would mention just in case! Some of them were probably already mentioned.

Goslings will eat anything, including non-food items that could be dangerous so it’s really important to goose-proof. In particular, anything metal is really dangerous because they can get something called hardware disease which is often fatal. They can also get obstructions by eating things like carpet fibers or strings.

If your goslings feet are very hot, she may be overheating or have a fever. If they are cold to the touch, she’s probably too cold.

Like others have said, goslings are extreme risk for predation. Adult geese are as well, they are much more defenseless than people tend to think. The only way to ensure their safety is a predator proof pen and supervised free roaming time. If you google “predator proof pen” there is a lot of guidance on how to build them. For now you could probably use a dog crate (make sure fully enclosed) with poultry mesh around it (animals will reach their claws in and grab at her).

If your chick starter is meant for baby chickens, not a waterfowl or duck feed, she needs niacin supplemented. You can use niacin meant for people as long as it is not the “flush free” kind. 100mg per gallon of water. Symptoms of niacin deficiency are shaky legs and reluctance to walk, then it will quickly progress to not being able to stand up without falling over.

She can have baths in your tub but she must be fully supervised as without the oil from her mamas feathers, she can easily become waterlogged and drown. Make sure that she gets totally dry after. Ours loved the lowest setting of the hair dryer blown on them from a foot or two away, make sure it isn't too hot!

Ours love toys! Baby teething toys, balls with holes in them so they can pick them up with their bills, stuffed animals, small puppy toys, cat toys, puzzle feeding toys... They will chase a laser like a kitty.

I bought a backpack style pet carrier for when mine were little. It goes on your chest. That way I could bring them out to parks and whatnot safely.

She needs a good amount of padding under her feet. Too much hard and flat flooring will cause Bumblefoot. We have mostly hard floors so we put a lot of throw rugs around the house. They seem to prefer the chenille bath mat type ones.

I recommend calling around to see where you could take her in case of a medical emergency. The majority of vets, including many avian vets, will not see a goose... the last thing you want is to waste precious time trying to find a vet for her in an emergency!

They grow up SO fast, and they are just as lovely grown, but make sure to enjoy every moment of the tiny gosling stage! I also did not intend on getting a goose, but they are the light of my life now. Best of luck to you and your cutie!

Thank you for all of that, she grows so fast, almost out grown the cage I have to keep her in. I’m not a fan of kennels don’t kennel my dogs. I’m trying to find diapers that will be comfortable for her if I have to learn to make some I will try. But when I’m gone she has to stay in there so she don’t poop everywhere. I want her to be able to roam in my room instead of cage so when she’s grown she can be with the dogs. I’m not usually gone for long times. And times I can I will take her and the dogs with me cause they go a lot of places. Do they like car rides, they stick there heads out too? What do I expect for a car ride?
I’ve been trying to teach her some things. When she lays down I tell her lay down. When she is in my lap I’ll petting her to sleep, saying go to sleep. She does talk back and learned what no biting is. First week she’d wake me up in a nap pecking at my face. She loves her baths. I think she already knows that word cause she’ll get up when someone says Want a bath teasing my dogs for one cause they hate them.

also where should her cage be. Does it matter that it’s inside,i have it in my room. It has the pine wood chips inside. Tractor supply said was good for padding but make a huge mess.

I am already starting cleaning the back yard after a few days of it raining. Picking up things I don’t want her to eat. thanks for all of that again.

 

[Goosebaby]

The cage is perfectly fine inside if you don’t mind cleaning up wood chips now and then, having a cage for her as her “safe space/goose cave” is a good idea anyway for when she starts laying as an adult or if you need to transport her anywhere. She’ll get used to it as her bed time/safe space. A dog travel crate can work well.
A lot of people have indoor pet geese, the only concern with keeping them indoors is that geese like to chew on any stringy type thing so wires should be kept out of reach.
Geese, goslings especially love to chew on their favorite people, they even nibble at their parents, it’s their way of showing affection, sometimes they can get overexcited and it can hurt so you’re smart teaching her the difference between nibbles and unacceptable biting.

My dogs get along perfectly fine with the geese once they all got used to each other, it just takes time and supervision. I did have one dog who never learned to treat the geese as family and was highly aggressive, so it depends on the individual dog, you’ll know your dogs best and be able to judge if it’s working out or not.
If the dog is staring intently, that’s not good, if the dog is just trying to ignore the goose, that’s generally a good sign.

 

[Ephyra]

My geese love car rides! It would probably be different if they hadn't been for so many since they were little though. Also some geese do get motion sickness, so if she seems uncomfortable it could be that. They do like sticking their heads out the window, but these days I only let them stick a little bit out while I am holding them making sure it is safe (as a passenger) because of terrible stories I've heard about animals sticking their heads out windows then another car getting too close

They are also more delicate than dogs or cats and high impact wouldn't be good, they can damage an air sac, etc. I only let mine travel in a carrier, unless I'm the passenger and we are driving on a slow road and and can put them on my lap.

Indoor life with a gosling becomes sooo much easier with a diaper, but only do what you're comfortable with Diapers for goslings can be tricky because they will outgrow them very fast, so you would need several sizes. My second goose liked the ones by The Goose Mother, but they can be pretty slow getting your order to you. He also liked Leighton's Landing diapers on Etsy, and she is very quick and also very helpful, responds to inquires fast. I do not recommend Party Fowl Pets, at all.

They aren't hard to make once you figure it out, very inexpensive per diaper, and it would allow you to custom fit it to her... but when I began making them I used the other diapers as a starting point for a pattern and made adjustments as I went. I think I would have found it a lot harder without having one, to visualize how it should be put together. I highly recommend a fabric with some stretch if you do try, a little more room for error and a lot more comfortable for them. Then just cut to fit a puppy pad to absorb wetness.

Do you plan on her being an indoor/outdoor goose forever, or will you eventually transition her to be outdoors only?

Nice work teaching her already! She sees you as her parent, so she definitely wants to learn from you. My geese can definitely be rascals, but I have always been surprised at how "obedient" they are... especially my first goose who we had since she hatched. I remember the first time she very distinctly did NOT listen, running away with a paper towel still attached to the roll and leaving a paper towel trail behind her. I don't know that they do laugh, but she sure seemed like she was giggling the whole time!

Her cage can totally be inside and I think that it should be. She would be pretty young to be outside all on her own right now, even in an enclosure, predators will stop at nothing if they're hungry and it's surprising how adept they are at breaking into things. As for the mess that the shavings make, I know how much of a pain that is! We lined ours with a material called Coroplast, you can get it at Home Depot. You can score it so that the sides will lift up, creating a mini wall all around her cage which should prevent the shavings from getting everywhere. You can make it short enough that she can still see out. It's non porous and super easy to clean. It's often used for guinea pig or bunny cages. If you type into youtube "coroplast guinea pig cages", you can see what I mean. I looked at all kinds of options and this one was definitely the best for us! Hope that helps!

 

[DiYMama540]

Oh my...goose proofing the house will have to be a lot like baby proofing!!
Brought my pair inside at Christmas to try to get a good pic of them at the tree, it was a disaster...
Chance found a shiny ornament to tug at and almost brought down the whole tree!!

 

[Deafnick]

Sorry I have been able to read yalls comments but been very busy this past week to reply. I wanted to Give y’all an update. I finally got a home made diaper for her because I had to be gone a lot this week. I called the places y’all mentioned if they had a number and they are closed because, well you know why. It took so many socks because of failed attempts I know she was more happy to wear that and go than stay in her cage until I do my check ups which can’t be too long. She doesn’t wear it all day just in the car rides and in offices. She also makes so many kids happy they can pet a “duck” without it biting them. When I went to buy her new bag of food all I could find was duck pellets that has niacin, is that enough. Because the first two we got was chick start and didn’t know they need that instead. I have been mixing it but I’m almost out of chick start do I just do pellets or keep mixing?