Imprinting.....

[gocrow77]

We made a trip to Cackle a few days ago; We live less than 20 minutes away. I went with the intentions of getting a few geese and the frypan special. My son chose the free 3 ducklings that are an option with the frypan special. We put the chicks in the backseat and my son held the geese and ducklings in his lap for the ride home. One of the goslings kept sticking it's head and neck through the side so we just popped the top open and kept it that way for the ride home....no biggie; or so I thought! They imprinted on the short ride home. Just the goslings not the ducks. They panic when they can't see him, and we are keeping them in a tote-style brooder in the his bedroom for overnights. During the day we take them outside and put them in with the rest, checking on them periodically and taking them for walks in the sun and grass. I knew ducks imprinted on occasion - these did not; I think because they were not newly hatched. The goslings were not either, and that is why I am so surprised! All four imprinted on my kiddo on the drive home, lol. We are loving it, and may want more goslings in the future; we have a few acres with a creek nearby to the house. I got them specifically for weed control, but now I could care less, lol. They are awesome and sweet. I know they might not stay that way, and have been consuming all the reading material I can lay eyes on over the last few days. My question is this....do geese often imprint even if they are a few days old already?

 

[Miss Lydia]

We made a trip to Cackle a few days ago; We live less than 20 minutes away. I went with the intentions of getting a few geese and the frypan special. My son chose the free 3 ducklings that are an option with the frypan special. We put the chicks in the backseat and my son held the geese and ducklings in his lap for the ride home. One of the goslings kept sticking it's head and neck through the side so we just popped the top open and kept it that way for the ride home....no biggie; or so I thought! They imprinted on the short ride home. Just the goslings not the ducks. They panic when they can't see him, and we are keeping them in a tote-style brooder in the his bedroom for overnights. During the day we take them outside and put them in with the rest, checking on them periodically and taking them for walks in the sun and grass. I knew ducks imprinted on occasion - these did not; I think because they were not newly hatched. The goslings were not either, and that is why I am so surprised! All four imprinted on my kiddo on the drive home, lol. We are loving it, and may want more goslings in the future; we have a few acres with a creek nearby to the house. I got them specifically for weed control, but now I could care less, lol. They are awesome and sweet. I know they might not stay that way, and have been consuming all the reading material I can lay eyes on over the last few days. My question is this....do geese often imprint even if they are a few days old already?

They must because ours did they were 2 days old when we got them for our 2 adults who lost their own gosling in the shell before it hatched, but dh & I fell in love with them on the way home and kept them inside till they were 3 weeks old taking them out daily for the adults to see and be around, but oh my gosh those gosling were so special we sure did enjoy having them inside. Be careful with ducklings and gosling in with chicks chicks can injure them very easily once they begin to mature. That is such a sweet pic.

 

[Skyfire]

We got our pair at two days old last week. When we got them home and set them down in their space, I began singing, "You Are My Sunshine" to them. One ignored me, but the other was mesmerized. She locked her gaze with me, lowered her head and cautiously approached me while singing back. She walked half circles around me, slowly inching forward. Still singing back & delicately bobbing her head, she continued narowing the gap between us until she settled herself in the nook of my arm and promptly dozed off. In that instant, our roles were distinctly defined. While she still sings & trills, the song she sang back to me, has not been repeated. I wonder if that was a one time thing, the "I choose you and You choose me" song. It was a special moment indeed.

 

[Miss Lydia]

We got our pair at two days old last week. When we got them home and set them down in their space, I began singing, "You Are My Sunshine" to them. One ignored me, but the other was mesmerized. She locked her gaze with me, lowered her head and cautiously approached me while singing back. She walked half circles around me, slowly inching forward. Still singing back & delicately bobbing her head, she continued narowing the gap between us until she settled herself in the nook of my arm and promptly dozed off. In that instant, our roles were distinctly defined. While she still sings & trills, the song she sang back to me, has not been repeated. I wonder if that was a one time thing, the "I choose you and You choose me" song. It was a special moment indeed.

 

[gocrow77]

I bet it certainly was! Our 4 are growing like weeds. We take them out to forage on weeds around the yard and close to the coop a few times a day. They eat everything, lol! Which is why I initially wanted them. I figure this way they can learn the area around the coop, and will hopefully stay fairly close at first - as well as be able to find their way back. They follow us pretty closely, we try to go slowly so they don't panic, and we stop for a rest and nibble frequently. Trying to do it as close as how a momma and poppa goose would as we can. They seem to very much prefer their greens to their feed, so I also have stuck them some clumps of soil with grass etc growing in it when we put them back in the coop. They monopolize it and the chicks they are with seem to love digging through the soil for worms and bugs <3 I just love Spingtime!