Lost a Goose... :(

[acceabex]

Hello! Sorry for lurking and never posting. I've come to a point where I cannot find the answer in another thread -- so sorry if I overlooked it.

We lost a goose overnight. No trauma or any other indications, she literally just fell over. I purchased her and her sister at the beginning of December from not the greatest conditions. Of course, I'm worried for my other goose and my ducks, but I do feel like it was something specific to *her*. Any insight here is really appreciated, though (in case others have had a similar experience)... But, on to my question --

Her sister was her bestie since they were hatched and she's definitely grieving. This gives me many things to think about;

- I've read that it's best to get another goose as a friend. Would she not just bond to the ducks and all live a happy water-y life? That is, would another goose-y friend really be the best course of action?

- Do you get another goose as soon as you can or wait a few weeks? If asap, how do you prevent a goose war when introducing them? Introduce as with any other flock introduction? (For me, this means I put them in the same enclosure, but separated by an xpen wall for a few weeks, then remove the barrier and carefully watch their interaction until I know everyone is playing by the same set of rules). Would a slow introduction defeat the purpose of trying to find a new friend?

- In acquiring another goose, is it best to order goslings or get a juvenile around the same age?

- As luck would have it, someone is interested in selling Buff geese, around the same age. I can go look at these geese and purchase up to 5 (3 ganders, 1 goose, and 1 wild card). Is it best to get a male/female pair, a female, a male, or three (etc)? (Of course, if same age is the way to go) To muddy this water just a bit, I've referred to her as a "she", but that is really the best guess... She's never been sexed.

With all these "knowns" floating around, I'm not sure how to proceed. My knee jerk is to go purchase a pair of the buffs, but then I worry they will stay bonded to each other and exclude her. I have thought of purchasing just a gander, but then worry I may end up with two ganders. Of course, I could get goslings, but most hatcheries aren't shipping until April... So it would be a few months wait.

Thanks in advance for any advice. Sorry for the long post -- I took today off work, so I've had a lot of time to think about next steps.

 

[Fields Mountain Farm]

Lots of good questions. I only have 1 goose at the moment so I have no answers. However, @Pyxis may be able to offer advice.
Hope all goes well and good luck!

 

[Pyxis]

- Yes, you definitely should get another goose. She would follow around the ducks and hang out with them, but it's not the same. They really need to have a friend of their own species. I had a single goose for a little bit and she is much happier now that she has a mate of her own kind and goose friends to hang out with.

-Geese are actually really good about accepting new flock members. There may be a brief face off where they determine who is going to be dominant, but it is very brief and then it's done. Not like chickens or ducks at all. Lacie took to her new companions very easily when I introduced them, and she had never seen another goose in her adult life. No fighting.

-Depends on what you want. You could raise some goslings, which grow very quickly, and introduce them to her as they grow (I say 'they' deliberately because you don't really want to have a lone gosling, so going this route means you'll end up with more than two geese) - that is how I did it when I bought more tufted romans and the adults accepted them readily - most geese are very accepting of babies. Or, you could get one more young goose (probably two is better to avoid a repeat of this issue) and introduce them after quarantine.

-If you buy the buff geese, I'd get one gander and the known goose. Don't want to end up with more ganders than geese if possible, since that could cause issues. You might want to sex the one you have before buying more, just in case.

Don't worry too much about the geese from the other place excluding her. The geese I first bought for Lacie were two young sisters, and they all got along great. The sisters didn't leave her out - to the contrary, they followed her around everywhere until they all started acting like a cohesive flock.

 

[acceabex]

Thanks so much for the insights!

I don't think myself confident at sexing, maybe she'll lay an egg over night?

Really studying their traits and looking at the baby pictures, I think she's a she but the other was a he. Maybe for the best since I don't want a brother sister mating (trying to make meaning here!)

The buff are a different breed than Ella (Sebastopol). After reading and rereading the response, I am thinking on getting the goose and gander, then ordering a gander and two geese sexed Sebastopol goslings.

Of course, that would leave me with either

(A) two ganders and four geese, or
(B) three ganders and three geese.

This is like duck math... Things escalated quickly.

Alternatively, I could just get the gander, then order two females.

This may be a game time decision. At least space isn't an issue?

Yikes!!!!

 

[Pyxis]

Body language can help you sex her - does she walk around proudly with her nose up in the air, or does she walk around with her head more lowered? When you had two, was the other one always putting itself between her and anything that might be a threat, or was it the other way around, or did neither do that?

If you can post a full body recent picture of her, that might give us some clues to her gender too.

 

[acceabex]

Thanks for offering to take a look! Here's a picture of her today



and a picture with her friend...



If they don't come through, let me know. I'm not sure I've figured out how to embed media.

The other seemed to exhibit more "protection" instincts... This one will just run from me until I can corner her. Then she just wants to be held.

 

[Fields Mountain Farm]

Thanks for offering to take a look! Here's a picture of her today

View attachment 1252973

and a picture with her friend...

View attachment 1252978

If they don't come through, let me know. I'm not sure I've figured out how to embed media.

The other seemed to exhibit more "protection" instincts... This one will just run from me until I can corner her. Then she just wants to be held.

Very pretty!

 

[Pyxis]

They came through Does her undercarriage seem to hang pretty low to the ground? That is an indication of gender. Like the goose on the right in this picture:

On the left is a gander and on the right is a goose.

 

[acceabex]

Here's another picture I snapped this evening...



I will check in the morning for sure. I do see quite a bit of her backside as she runs

Looking here, I'd say yes it hangs down, but she doesn't look as mature. She's about 9 months old, for reference.

But... I frankly have zero clue and this probably isn't the best picture!

 

[acceabex]

Although the more I look, the more I think it may be a higher like the gander...