Introducing babies to goose

[cknlove]

Hi there! I have three month old goose- who I raised as a solo
goose with a flock of chickens (various ages) bc that was what was recommended if you are trying to have a 'guard goose'. My issue is that a i have two polish hens and two silkies and they are only a few weeks behind the rest of the flock BUT they are tiny and the goose goes after them! She has already hurt one badly a month ago and so so nursed that one back to life and kept them separate. The little's have grown BUT so has Lucy goosie and she's just huge- and when I hold the little's she still try to get them! Any help as to how to have them acclimate the best they can without one getting seriously injured please ? Keeping them separate is too much work right now! I have been doing it for a few weeks but outside- before that inside- and I have had baby chicks since 4/8 this year ...now 17 of them...these were the last four and i'm running out of steam! Help pls

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Geese can kill chickens. I would not keep the goose with your chickens. Geese need other geese, and do not guard other birds. Here an article that may be helpful,

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...d-goose-and-why-you-should-not-get-one.77508/

 

[cknlove]

Geese can kill chickens. I would not keep the goose with your chickens. Geese need other geese, and do not guard other birds. Here an article that may be helpful,

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...d-goose-and-why-you-should-not-get-one.77508/

Hmmm...I'm going to read this article but this is NOT the research I did before I obtained a goose I know plenty of people who have mixed flocks.

 

[cknlove]

Geese can kill chickens. I would not keep the goose with your chickens. Geese need other geese, and do not guard other birds. Here an article that may be helpful,

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...d-goose-and-why-you-should-not-get-one.77508/

Ok I read it and agree...but i'm not sure what the solution is...I need to have the warning you spoke about- cannot get a dog...and need to fix this issue now. So should I get another female for company a comparable age? Will this goose be aggressive to my chickens bc this goose I have was raised as a baby with them so she's not aggressive to them- it's just the little's right now. It do I just have to get rid of the goose bc the behavior won't end with another one...?

 

[cknlove]

Also...should they sleep
separate ? My goose should be in the coop with them or outside in run alone? So
far I have been putting her in with chickens if she doesn't go in on her own...TIA for any info

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I can only share my experiences. I had my geese kill a few chickens. They would corner them, and that was it. I finally put the one gander in the freezer and haven't seen troubles since. My geese now run in some of the same areas. They mostly leave my chickens alone. There are places for the chickens to go where the geese cannot follow. I added polish this year and so far everything is okay.

Silkies in general can be odd birds like polish. They are also prone to being bullied. If your goose is going after them than I would expect the behaviors to escalate. Finding another goose or two may or may not help. Without other geese it will solely focus on the chickens.

Are you sure it's a female? Things can work in the right situations with the right birds. Sometimes nothing works. You just never know.

 

[Goosebaby]

Your goose will probably never like the new birds. They’re new and not the ones she knows so they’ll likely always be at the low end of the pecking order.
You should get another companion goose for her, it doesn’t have to be the same age necessarily, they’ll bond regardless, and keep them in their own pen at night. During the day the flock can be out with each other so long as they aren’t in a confined space where smaller and weaker birds can’t escape if they need to.