Loving geese or not?

[BlueO]

So I would love to get geese next spring because I’ve heard wonderful things about them.but I would really like to know if I got two geese, would they like me? i’ve heard that most geese can be quite friendly, but I’ve also heard the opposite. I want geese because I’ve heard they they love you and stay with you if you’re hurt. I’ve seen a video of an injured woman and her geese followed her because they were worried. I have four ducks l raised all of them, and they all hate me. I was even able to train one to respond by name (it does not do this anymore). I raised plenty of ducklings just for them all to to want to get as far away from me as they can and I would really like to have one bird that likes me.

I would love to hear your stories of geese and what you think. thank you.

 

[Goosebaby]

Ducks are bi-polar. That’s fairly normal behavior lol. They might randomly go back to being friendly, always expect the unexpected with ducks.

Geese are much more consistent in their love or hate, they can change but it takes time.
If you raise the goslings they’ll adore you, but you have to maintain the relationship, if you start ignoring them after a few weeks to months they might decide that you’re not one of their flock anymore.

Ganders can get aggressive in breeding season but if you’ve bonded with them they’ll be more amorous rather than violent.

Some breeds can be spicier than others. It’s more common to get a few jalapeños from Chinese type geese, other than super and dewlap Africans which tend to be fairly docile. Buff geese and Romans tend to be fairly relaxed also.

 

[Evadig]

I have four Chinese, three males and a girl, and they are the spiciest ever! I like them but they don’t like me at all (neither do my ducks though). I would probably avoid Chinese geese…just saying!

 

[Amer]

I thought Chinese were supposed to be nice! Shows what I know!
My American Buff hens were sweet but the gander was horrible to everyone but my dad.
If you don’t want to breed, just getting hens can save you a headache, lol.

 

[Evadig]

I thought Chinese were supposed to be nice! Shows what I know!
My American Buff hens were sweet but the gander was horrible to everyone but my dad.
If you don’t want to breed, just getting hens can save you a headache, lol.

My female goose is the sneaky one. While my ganders flat out try to bite me she loves padding behind me when I’m not looking waiting for a bite. Thankfully I’ve always looked back in time! (Me to the goose: )

 

[Goosebaby]

I thought Chinese were supposed to be nice! Shows what I know!
My American Buff hens were sweet but the gander was horrible to everyone but my dad.
If you don’t want to breed, just getting hens can save you a headache, lol.

It does depend on individual personality, I know of a lot of people who have very sweet Chinese ganders and hens, but in general Chinese geese are often bolder than other breeds and this can make them bossy and feisty.
Even among the more docile breeds you can get a stinker, geese are such individuals!

 

[BlueO]

Thank you all! I plan on getting a gander and a goose. I didn’t know breeds mattered so much. Does anybody know what the best breed to get is?

 

[PhantomSlayer]

I didn't want geese because my mom only wanted them to be "guardians." I eventually gave up and just went along with it knowing I was in for the drama of being their caretaker along with our chickens. From a newbies experience heres what I've had to put up with.

First off. Brooding goslings. Their adorable. But they stink soooo badly and their soooo messy. Do not have them in a brooder with other birds. Their nibblers. Bedding, stuffed animals, bowls, other birds. Theyll nibble like their life depends on it.

Expect many AWWW moments as goslings. Especially once your able to get them in a kiddy pool. They'll have a blast.

They are noisy. No matter what breed they will be somewhat noisy. Some more so than others. We chose a Toulouse and received a Buff American both from Metzer and while their both the more quieter breeds. We still sometimes hear from our neighbor about some loud honking.

Geese are like toddlers of the bird world. If you interact with them from young more than likely they'll want to be close to you and follow you.

Can you pet them or pick them up is a different matter however lol. Our two Gus and Gizzy are good examples of that. Gus you can sometimes get him to come close to give a small pet but Gizzy acted like its the end of the world.

Mating season changes everything. I'm sure theres a few lucky owners who have a more stable young gander but as soon as mid fall hit our gander attacked my little sister. He started hissing at my parents. I was the only one able to interact with them. And now it's getting worse. I've been dogsitting for a week away from home but before I left he was constantly hissing at me. If I tried to touch him he would sometimes try to give a warning bite. He didn't want to be bossed around. I was told to pick him up and it would make him see hes not the boss. I can't say its really helped or not. Maybe for the earlier change in behavior that may be why it lasted so long with him not coming after me but I'm not sure what will change come the end of breeding season. Will he go back to normal or will he still hiss at me? I just have no clue.

While dog sitting my mother has been taking care of the birds but she mentioned he was biting at her legs with his head lowered and attacking the water bowl. So I'm sure theres a good change once I return he may try attacking me.



All in all I would say it can be tricky to navigate the goose relationships.

I love when they would follow me softly making weird noises as I walked out to feed them. They even started coming to the door during free range time when they knew it was dinner time and escorted me to the kennel where they would get fed.

I heard geese are smart enough to remember 100 faces. Not sure if thats actually true but I can tell you until the first mating season its hard not to adore them.


Our geese have a few times played a round of "Chicken" They go running toward each other from opposite areas of the yard and usually it was Gus who would turn and eat dirt to give us a laugh. And Gizzy shes a flighty girl. Shes nearly flew over our vehicles from a running start. As well as almost hit the house.


Gus is the back and Gizzy being a weirdo lol

Also with mating season I've noticed our female has chilled out a bit. She'll walk past and I can gently brush my hand against her and she wont act like the worlds ending. But again mating season is changes them. I'm hoping they chill out again. Hope this helped.

 

[PhantomSlayer]

Update: Got home late after dark and checked on them. Gus did stretch and lower his head out hissing but as soon as I started petting him he walked away. My mom said she couldn't even pet him so I guess even after a week he realizes its me lol. Even got to pet Gizzy to. Wonder if daylight will change that but who knows XD Gus just really hates my mother I guess.

 

[Goosebaby]

Thank you all! I plan on getting a gander and a goose. I didn’t know breeds mattered so much. Does anybody know what the best breed to get is?

It really depends on what it is you are looking for. Chinese breeds are usually prolific layers. American Buffs and Romans are usually very calm.