So I should stop? I know that if you dont have a strong bond they will not see you as family. And that is also dangerous. @Goosebaby I would also like your option to!
My daily routine with them is I wake up, before I open there coop I say "Good morning baby birds!" My geese will then get super excited, honk and hit there shelter door. When I open the door they run over to me talking ,necks lowered, moveing there heads up an down a little. I kneel down to there leavel were we have a quick chat as I rub there chests. When I lead them out they stretch there legs. Then I get everyone water ready. (By this time the geese find me and follow me) after dropping off there water in there coop. I take care of the chickens. (Geese will wait out side the chicken coop door for me) after takeing care of the chickens I give my geese their feed. I will sit in there coop with them as they eat and talk to them. When I feel like they are ready I get my forging bucket out and we will look for there fav weeds an grass together. Feeding them some and the rest in the bucket. After 45min to a hour of this I lead them back to the coop and dump all of stuff we have gathered in the coop for them to eat. Before I leave them I fill there pool up. Depending on the weather my hang out with them changes. But I make sure they see me about 4 times a day of me doing something with them. excluding morning and night routine. At night they go to bed at 8. So I go to get them at 7 to walk around our property with them. (3 acers total) and some last snacks. They hate going to bed!! This is the harDest part. They will run around there coop like "we want a bed time story before we go to bed" "but we dont wanna!" When finally catch then I put them in there shealter for the night. (Forgot to add I clean the coop floor before I go) I know this is probably way to much info!! Sorry! Makeing sure they see me as family. Last thing I want is a goose that sees me as a intruder!Geese don’t exactly feed each other so there aren’t social issues with feeding geese by hand.
A dominant goose may chase off a submissive goose from food and a parent will let a gosling eat before they do, those are the only behaviors associated with food that I can think of right now.
Among the geese I’ve raised and spent the most time with they have no issues eating out of my hand. Leo is the only one that tries to bite me while I’m feeding him or the others because I wasn’t as hands on with raising him and sometimes he gets overexcited and it turns into frustration than aggression.
Hand feeding him though has gotten him to tolerate my existence more “sometimes” but with the others it seems to strengthen their appreciation of me.
I have one girl who will bite me if she feels like she isn’t getting as many treats as the rest, she feels under appreciated and lashes out I guess
Giving treats by hand is another way of interacting with them, and the more you interact with your geese in general the more they see you as family. If their only interaction with you has been when you feed them but then you leave they don’t really see you as a member of the flock, then they can get aloof and avoid you “more likely the girls will do this,” or they may even try to attack you for invading their territory “the boys are more likely to do this especially in breeding season.”
If they’re already like that hand feeding “if your brave enough” can help them associate you in a positive way, but not always. It’s really about how much time you spend or a previous owner spent with the geese that affects how friendly they are, giving treats doesn’t make much of a difference either way.
It sounds like they definitly adore you!
That's the time when its basically dark but still a little light. Since we live in a rual area and my geese live out side. I need to put them in there shealter becouse out here we have coyotes, foxes, ect. The enclosure/coop part is not a 100 percent secure, but good for the day time (best I can do night now) its mainly for there safety then bed time. Thre shelter is much more protective. So I can sleep easyer at night!
