Is there a way I can get my gander interested in the goose, and not the duck!?

[Kimmyh51]

I have a gander who I rescued about a year and a half ago, from the side of the road mourning his dead mate.

He spent the first year with my ducks before i got him a goose.

The problem is meanwhile, he got himself a duck and he doesn’t want to give her up.

Now the goose has laid her first egg, started making nests (and hissing at me if I approach them) and her call has changed (I am assuming the new call is a goose version of ‘Hi big boy, wanna come over for a nightcap...?’)

I would like some goslings, however I don’t know of Goosey (The gander) will do the job or not....

When I first got the girl and brought her home about 4 months back the goose was afraid of her and ran away. He eventually let her approach and they would normally be found together after that but more because she would follow him everywhere and get upset if he ventured too far away. He will sometimes appear to answer her ‘goose goose goose’ calls but for the most part seems completely focused on his lady duck and basically he goes where she goes.

Since she got all nests a couple of times I saw the goose seeming to notice her changed call and I thought yay maybe they are doing it, or will do soon. But then today I noticed him peck her and chase her off when she approached. So I don’t know if he will mate her or not.

Can anyone tell me given the goose considers the duck his mate, will a gander with a mate, get a leg over an unmarked goose (like how 99% of drakes will willingly oblige... or are ganders sexually monogamous as well as emotionally?

I am planning to put the two in a run together. I was initially going to put the duck in there to mostly so that the gander didn’t do everything he could to escape the run, however just today I caught a Goosey! packing one of my female ducks, and given the gander packed and chased away the goose I am concerned if I put the duck in there with the three of them that some sort of a goose/duck brawl will break out (and obviously the duck would be at a size disadvantage) .

I only have one goose and one gander...
What are my chances of getting them to mate? Would I be better off trying to buy some fertile goose eggs?

 

[sourland]

It may be necessary to separate him from the duck. In my experience many ganders are monogamous and form strong pair bonds - others will breed anything available.

 

[Percheron chick]

How old is the goose? Breed? I don't tend to have good luck with yearnings. At this time of year, I would put it off until next year. Put the 2 together around the holidays. The duck should be out of sight. I've never had a gander not take a goose with a little time.

 

[Bo Garrett]

Move the ducks and allow him to bond with the goose, most breeds of geese are monogamous but I have had Toulouse that would breed up to three geese, it generally depends on the breed and the individual gander.

Blessings,

Bo

 

[Kimmyh51]

Well... the gander is still very much married to the duck

But despite that,, we have lift off!

As I was departing the duck area last night I heard a lot of water moving around in their paddling pool and turned to see Goosey well astride Penny, doing what Ganders to to father goslings!

I don’t know why, but it was so quick and practised I feel like it wasn’t the first time. Afterward Goosey went straight back to cooing and following his duck. But he seemed pretty happy with his effort and Penny the goose was clearly satisfied with how things had gone!

Penny has set up her own little nest in the duck paddock under some long reedy sort of grass (like a wetland looking grass) so I am thinking I will just leave her eggs there and hopefully she will lay the rest of them there and once she starts to sit I will put some fencing and shelter around her and the nest.

Will be interesting to see how Goosey reacts when she hatches goslings, as he ‘fell in love’ with his duck wife after she hatched the first lot of early spring ducklings last year (the first ducklings that were hatched by any of my ducks since Goosey had joined them.

I also have two goose eggs under a broody duck along with a couple of duck eggs. Ideally the duck will hatch at least one gosling and one duckling as I’d like to have some goslings that are raised by and with ducks to bond them with ducks. The second goose egg I put under her two days after the first, so if she doesn’t stay that long on the nest I will put it in the incubator and either put it back with her after hatch (she’s a broody sweetheart who will mother anything, or maybe raise it myself...alongside any rescue ducklings I have at the time if possible.

Kind of interested in what it is like to rear a human imprinted gosling, and how it compares to human imprinted ducklings. Can anyone comment on that?

Are goslings more loyal or for longer than ducklings (who in my experience will follow me about until they are about 4 weeks. Butcrom 4 weeks on they will follow me but are less and less keen to let me pick them up so that by the time they are juveniles, unless I make a real concerted effort to spend a LOT of time handling them, they will basically treat me the same as the rest of the flock (I’m Father Christmas/a rock star/god at dinner time or if I have or am doing something interesting and Freddy Krueger the rest of the time).

I read geese raise their young for up to two years, and wondering if then loyalty geese show their mates and offspring translates to a hand raised gosling staying a “mummy’s girl (or boy) a little longer than ducklings? Lol

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

I'd say "yes", in my experience. I've raised human-imprinted goslings as well as ducklings and, IMO, goslings have a more lasting bond than ducklings. My last gosling hatch of the season resulted in (sadly) a single gosling (unfortunate timing, the girls molted and were done laying)...after a month of being my little sidekick and fast friend, she was integrated into the adult gaggle and is doing great, but now behaves like a goose - while still friendly, she's more aloof. Ducklings seem to become more "duck-like" (wary of people) sooner and don't tolerate occasional pets the way my little goose still will.

Best of luck with your geese!

 

[Kimmyh51]

I'd say "yes", in my experience. I've raised human-imprinted goslings as well as ducklings and, IMO, goslings have a more lasting bond than ducklings. My last gosling hatch of the season resulted in (sadly) a single gosling (unfortunate timing, the girls molted and were done laying)...after a month of being my little sidekick and fast friend, she was integrated into the adult gaggle and is doing great, but now behaves like a goose - while still friendly, she's more aloof. Ducklings seem to become more "duck-like" (wary of people) sooner and don't tolerate occasional pets the way my little goose still will.

Best of luck with your geese!

So in your opinion a human imprinted gosling raised the same as human imprinted ducklings will be a little more loyal to ‘mummy’ as an adult? (As opposed to a heartless little feathered clique, who will upon adulthood, will measure mummy’s value only by whether she has green garden peas in her hand at the time? )

 

[Kimmyh51]

Also has anyone raised goslings in a clutch with ducklings? And if so how bonded were the goslings to the duck flock in general when they grew up?

And are there any logistical reasons my duck shouldn’t be sitting on goose eggs? She has 3 duck eggs and two goose eggs. I checked one of the goose eggs last night, only 2.5-3 days under the duck but the yolk was making the early changes I’ve seen in duck eggs that were fertile and grew into ducklings....

Is there anything else I need to know about goose egg incubation that differs from duck eggs? Apart from the time (30 days I read).

For example are they more or less likely to need assistance, and are any of the things that I would use to decide if a duck egg needed an assisted hatch different, or any of the ways you would assist?

Also the second goose egg was put under the duck 2 days after the first.
There is a good chance this duck will stay for the extra two days anyway she’s a real broody motherly type (all year round), but if she doesn’t I will put the egg in my incubator.... Anything different I need to be aware of (compared to hatching a duck egg in the incubator when mum duck leaves a viable egg in the nest)?

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

[

So in your opinion a human imprinted gosling raised the same as human imprinted ducklings will be a little more loyal to ‘mummy’ as an adult? (As opposed to a heartless little feathered clique, who will upon adulthood, will measure mummy’s value only by whether she has green garden peas in her hand at the time? )

Yes, I can say I think they may be more interested in hanging around people (even without bribes, lol) than ducks, in general...with the caveat that there are always exceptions.