Lonely Toulouse Gander...can I get him a new girlfriend?

[DawnB]

Hi all. I'm EXTREMELY new to this whole chicken/duck/goose thing. We got our guys and ladies just a few days ago in a rescue. I have mostly chickens and a pair of muscovy ducks and one lonely Toulouse gander.

He seems to be very well tempered and I was told that his was originally purchased as a male/female pair. The female died a while ago. I thought I had read that they mate for life, so I'm not sure if I can introduce a new goose to him or not. With the crew we've got, one more wouldn't be a big deal. Probably wouldn't happen until at least spring though.

But just wanted to check with others more experienced. Do I get him a girlfriend or leave well enough alone? Any advice would be appreciated.


Thanks!
Dawn

 

[Miss Lydia]

Hi all. I'm EXTREMELY new to this whole chicken/duck/goose thing. We got our guys and ladies just a few days ago in a rescue. I have mostly chickens and a pair of muscovy ducks and one lonely Toulouse gander.

He seems to be very well tempered and I was told that his was originally purchased as a male/female pair. The female died a while ago. I thought I had read that they mate for life, so I'm not sure if I can introduce a new goose to him or not. With the crew we've got, one more wouldn't be a big deal. Probably wouldn't happen until at least spring though.

But just wanted to check with others more experienced. Do I get him a girlfriend or leave well enough alone? Any advice would be appreciated.


Thanks!
Dawn

and sounds wonderful that you have rescued these animals. I would vote for getting him a goose. They really need the companionship of their own kind and having a female would make his life happy again.

 

[Goose and Fig]

Agreed. Make sure its a girl though. Male-female and female-female pairs are great to have, but I have tried keeping 2 bonded males together and all they do is yell and scream about who gets to be the boy.

Congrats on your new additions! Rescues are a great way to go.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Agreed. Make sure its a girl though. Male-female and female-female pairs are great to have, but I have tried keeping 2 bonded males together and all they do is yell and scream about who gets to be the boy.

Congrats on your new additions! Rescues are a great way to go.

 

[aoxa]

Agreed. Make sure its a girl though. Male-female and female-female pairs are great to have, but I have tried keeping 2 bonded males together and all they do is yell and scream about who gets to be the boy.

Congrats on your new additions! Rescues are a great way to go.  

LOL



Can't they take turns?

 

[DawnB]

Thanks everyone...just wanted to make sure that he'd take interest in a new female.

 

[Iain Utah]

Interesting. My first geese were (are) a pair of bonded ganders. I thought they were a male/female pair until I gave them goslings this past spring. Only then I discovered they were both ganders. I also have a pair of bonded juvenile ganders. I brought home a few girls for them two months ago, but they have shown no interest in them yet. My hubby joked just this afternoon that he thinks they must be homosexual.

Congrats and X2 on getting him a companion!

 

[rabidgoose]

I started with 2 boys and a girl. They were always together. This year I found a good home for the extra gander. The remaining gander was upset, and to this day I still get the evil eye from him. I adopted 2 male ducks earlier this year who went everywhere together. When the ducklings grew up and went into the pen with them they still got along. Nowadays, they go together still, but there are a bunch of females trailing behind. I would get a companion for your guy. Even if they fight a bit at first, he will probably be happier. If it doesn't work out, I'll trade you one of mine!












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[DawnB]

Sorry to have been away so long...life (and cub scouts and football and soccer sort of got in the way!

I'm exhausted!)...but really, we are semi-actively looking for a new girl for our goose...

Can anyone tell me what the opportune time of year to introduce a new bird would be? We're gonna have a ton of snow around here in a very short amount of time...I don't want the hassle of having a separated (and probably peeved-off) goose to deal with. Would it be better to wait till spring? Or if I see a "for sure" female local on craig's list (or something comparable), should I go for it and get her now or be patient and wait?

Also, we think Frank (that's our gander) is around 2yrs old. What is a good age goose to get? I wouldn't want to dink around with a small gosling, but is there a good "age range" to look for? And what the heck do I look for in a "good" goose? Frank just sort of came along for the ride when we adopted the flock of chickens.

Here's a pic of Frank:




Oh, and thanks RabidGoose...where are you located?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Sorry to have been away so long...life (and cub scouts and football and soccer sort of got in the way!

I'm exhausted!)...but really, we are semi-actively looking for a new girl for our goose...

Can anyone tell me what the opportune time of year to introduce a new bird would be? We're gonna have a ton of snow around here in a very short amount of time...I don't want the hassle of having a separated (and probably peeved-off) goose to deal with. Would it be better to wait till spring? Or if I see a "for sure" female local on craig's list (or something comparable), should I go for it and get her now or be patient and wait?

Also, we think Frank (that's our gander) is around 2yrs old. What is a good age goose to get? I wouldn't want to dink around with a small gosling, but is there a good "age range" to look for? And what the heck do I look for in a "good" goose? Frank just sort of came along for the ride when we adopted the flock of chickens.

Here's a pic of Frank:




Oh, and thanks RabidGoose...where are you located?

In August I bought a Toulouse goose for my Embden gander, not to mate and have goslings but just for a mate. He was hatched and lived with Muscovy ducks all his 5 yrs. My goose is now going on 7 months old she was 4 month when we brought her home, They have been great together, I'd say go for it and get him a friend for those long cold days when there is nothing to do but lay around and keep each other company. I'm sure he is lonely. Looks like he has a Muscovy friend too.