Is it possible for a lone Emden goose to bond with another type of bird? (And some general help)

[LukeDB]

Hello all,
Please bear with me here as this is an extremely long story which accompanies the situation of which we are currently in (you can skip to the bold text to see my situation and question immediately) for both my own sanity and yours I will shorten this to the best of my ability though it does require some justification. For the last, I believe perhaps 3 years and a bit, in my (suitably sized) back garden I have owned an Emden goose. A lone and lonely goose at that, it seems at times. This situation arisen when she was hatched by a neighbour, and then immediately went to live with her brother and three other geese in an allotment. This lasted a year, until all the geese but her were killed by a fox in the early morning. I'm not aware of a geese's cognitive abilities but they are intelligent from what I can gather, and this alone must've been an extremely distressing experience for her. Since this situation, with no where else to live, she has lived in my back garden, with a green house converted into a place to sleep for both her and chicken. In an attempt to not make this any more upsetting than it is, she is put to bed every night and receives adequate human companionship from my wife, and especially kids who adore her, but obviously that isn't enough.

To add some justice to this, she is friends with a chicken whose partner also died (though naturally). The chicken is extremely content, with chickens in the garden directly next door she can mingle with, along with the goose & using the catflap to get in and out of the house at her will. The goose on the other hand, though well fed and in a completely adequate environment with a pool, often looks down and spends the day doing the same things repeatedly with only a chicken (a small breed at that) for companionship. This seems to satisfy the chicken, though not the goose.

I know geese are very social animals and for this reason alone it's extremely upsetting to myself and all involved to see this.

Now here is the relevant part if you care little about the back story which I doubt many do

For the last three years, since owning this goose, a week has not gone by where advertisements haven't been raided, I have 15 bookmarks of local sites and sites linked to my local area which would relate to geese, I have tried pet shops (bit stupid of me but it was worth a shot). I also live near a farm, no luck there either! And believe me, I've asked if they can acquire any.

So my question is - is there any other type of bird that a goose would see as a suitable companion? Ducks I've heard as a possible candidate, but is it fair to simply acquire 1 duck on its own, and then end up with the probability of the same problem occurring, but if more than one duck was acquired, it would likely lead to the goose being left out. Chickens are a second. The goose mixes extremely well with the chickens next door, and they are in constant site of each other which is one thing. And of course I've already mentioned her little chicken buddy who is in love with the world with no problems at all it seems.

Is there any companion I could possibly give her that isn't a goose?

Thank you a lot in advance for any answers what so ever.

 

[Iain Utah]

Sad story, but nice that you want to improve your goose's situation. While a goose can bond with muscovy or pekin ducks, it is much better to get a goose of any breed.

Have you checked feed stores? You may have some luck there. Are you in the U.S.? If so, it is possible to get a goose shipped from metzers or holderreads, or even find help from members on this forum.

 

[BandadaMama]

I have the same problem you have. I bought some ducks to keep my goose company. She doesn't really like them, but she tolerates them as long as they don't try to eat her lettuce. I bought a Sebastopol gander for her, but he died suddenly during the winter. I want to get rid of the ducks and get another goose to keep her company. Luckily there are some offered on Craigslist not too far from where I live.
Where do you live? You could post a request on craigslist or see if there is a facebook group for duck & goose keepers in your area.

 

[puppyducky]

We recently lost our beloved toulouse female to reproductive tumors, which left our other female missing her friend. We have an imprinted male, but he is kept separate because although he loves me, he's, well, a jerk to other birds haha! It happened that I was contacted by a rescue about two little white ducks that were "Easter" gifts and needed a home, so 3 days after our goose died, we adopted these two hilarious little white layer breed females. Our lonely goose was interested in them and tolerated them. A month later, she stays with them, follows them, and almost seems to be "mothering" them. They are extremely friendly ducks and the three of them even play together diving, flapping and swimming in their pond. It's very entertaining! At first I thought I would have to try to find another female goose, or raise a baby goose for our female, but the more I watch these three, I think they are a good match. My 14 yr old female seems to have even perked up and is acting like she is having fun. Additionally, my goose that died was very attached to an elderly female pekin I had raised from a duckling. The duck passed away of old age, and my goose was very depressed. So, with all that being said, I think geese will appreciate another duck/ducks as companions as well.