My 2 geese are too attached to their chickens!

[Leenalou]

Hi, I love your site & all the great info! I have an issue that I'd appreciate getting your input on, please! I have 10 chickens, all different breeds & 2 geese. I got them all at the same age so they grew up together. They're about 3 months old & get along pretty well & currently they all stay in the coop at night & have an outdoor pen for daytime. I've tried to free range them & for some reason the chickens seem to go all over the place, not staying close to the barn & the geese are so motherly that they freak out if they can't see them all. So we've backed off on the free range idea for now. But the pen they have does not have enough grass for the geese & eventually the coop won't be big enough either when the geese are full size. I planned to have them sleep in the stall next to the coop at night. However, I can't seem to get these geese to be ok with being separated from the chickens. My hope was that if I took them out without the chickens a little every day they'd eventually get used to it. But when I do they endlessly honk & cry, trying to get back in by their chickens. Has anyone experienced this? I'm kind of at the end of my rope! I absolutely love them all & I don't want to keep stressing the geese out if separating them a little every day is not going to solve the problem. Thank you in advance for any ideas or suggestions!

 

[Hidrainja4]

Do you have water for the geese to swim in? A swimming pool would not interest the chickens but would the geese. It is just an idea.

 

[JaeG]

I do know that geese stick tightly together in family groups. We have 4 wild geese around our place and they are always right beside each other. Your geese are imprinted on and view the chickens as family so can't understand why they won't stick together like geese should.

 

[Leenalou]

Do you have water for the geese to swim in? A swimming pool would not interest the chickens but would the geese. It is just an idea.

Yes, I have water for them in all areas that they can go. When they are separated from the chickens they aren't interested in anything, even their fav treats. They just stand by the door where they know they can access the chickens or pace back & forth, whining & honking. I thought if I just don't give in they would eventually forget the chickens & start grazing or something. But after awhile I'm the one who finally gives in because I can't stand how stressed they are. I guess I was hoping someone else may have experienced something similar.

 

[Leenalou]

I do know that geese stick tightly together in family groups. We have 4 wild geese around our place and they are always right beside each other. Your geese are imprinted on and view the chickens as family so can't understand why they won't stick together like geese should.

That's what I thought too. The geese start grazing fine until they look up & see that the chickens are gone. From there, it's chaos, them frantically trying to find them. They'll find a few in 1 place, then go running to find the others. Then the 1st ones they found are gone again! I was at the point where I just thought I have to let them out & whatever happens, happens. But then I saw the geese freaking out for too long & I gave in & got them all in the pen. Maybe I'm the one who is too attached & worried. I just don't know!

 

[Weeg]

Hmm, maybe you need to get the geese some more flock mates! Maybe some goslings that they can mother! you would hav not make a bigger pen, and hopefully the stall is big enough for 2 more geese, but maybe if they had some babies to keep an eye on, they would be less worried about the chickens! Its just a thought, I don't know for sure if they would excepted or not, but maybe?
-Avery

 

[Leenalou]

Hmm, maybe you need to get the geese some more flock mates! Maybe some goslings that they can mother! you would hav not make a bigger pen, and hopefully the stall is big enough for 2 more geese, but maybe if they had some babies to keep an eye on, they would be less worried about the chickens! Its just a thought, I don't know for sure if they would excepted or not, but maybe?
-Avery

Omg'sh! I would LOVE more babies & the thought of having the big ones acting as 'mama' is so tempting! How fun! But if it didn't work, within a few months, I'd then have more big geese to fit into the coop at night with the chickens. Thanks for the idea though ~all input from those more experienced is so appreciated!

 

[Kartoon]

Hi, I love your site & all the great info! I have an issue that I'd appreciate getting your input on, please! I have 10 chickens, all different breeds & 2 geese. I got them all at the same age so they grew up together. They're about 3 months old & get along pretty well & currently they all stay in the coop at night & have an outdoor pen for daytime. I've tried to free range them & for some reason the chickens seem to go all over the place, not staying close to the barn & the geese are so motherly that they freak out if they can't see them all. So we've backed off on the free range idea for now. But the pen they have does not have enough grass for the geese & eventually the coop won't be big enough either when the geese are full size. I planned to have them sleep in the stall next to the coop at night. However, I can't seem to get these geese to be ok with being separated from the chickens. My hope was that if I took them out without the chickens a little every day they'd eventually get used to it. But when I do they endlessly honk & cry, trying to get back in by their chickens. Has anyone experienced this? I'm kind of at the end of my rope! I absolutely love them all & I don't want to keep stressing the geese out if separating them a little every day is not going to solve the problem. Thank you in advance for any ideas or suggestions!

It may be good..they are guarding the chickens and they will protect them from predators. Some try to get geese to guard their chickens but they don't bother with them and stick to themselves...just let them hang out..
Not hurting anything is it?

 

[The goose girl]

3 month old geese are still big goslings. They've imprinted on the chickens and see them as their parents/family. That's why they're terrified when they get separated from them. Give them a couple of months to grow up - they'll behave more and more like adults.

 

[yesterDAYNE]

I bought a sebastapol goose who was bonded to a chicken hen about a year ago. I had to separate them (The geese live in the backyard currently with my turkeys, the chickens don't as the turkeys pick on them), and for awhile I thought they'd never stop yelling and pining over each other. I kept them apart by a fence, but they still were able to see and hang out each other through the fence. Eventually they just stopped visiting each other there less and less, and now when I let the geese out in the front to roam and eat grass the sebastapol and the hen completely ignore each other.

I am kind of iffy on the idea of "guard geese"- geese, while scary, are still herbivores and can't do much damage to a predator like a predator can to a goose. They are still extremely vulnerable to getting killed by anything they're protecting against, unless the animal happens to get intimidated by them, so to me it's kind of like using the goose as a disposable just to keep the chickens safer. You also run the risk of the geese treating the chickens rougher like they would another goose (Geese are VERY bitey affectionately, and bite quite a bit harder then a chicken.) If the roosts are too low, too, the geese might bite at the chickens at night. Geese also just aren't happy really alone, even with other species I feel like depriving them of other geese just to use them as a guard animal isn't super nice. They can't speak chicken or duck or etc etc. I think if you want an animal to protect your flock, you're best off with a well trained & trusted livestock guardian dog.

I would just recommend separating them when they're older, but keep them within viewing distance. Eventually geese will be geese, or the chicken will be a chicken and hang out with the chickens and ignore the geese, and everyone will just settle down normally. They will be stressed and cry, but if you want them separated you have to let them just, do it. Just keep an eye to make sure they don't hurt themselves. With multiple geese together already bonded anyway it should make it a lot easier then just one goose separating from a chicken.

I am not a goose expert by any means! Just sharing my experience with a chicken-bonded-goose and my personal opinions on guard geese. ^^ Good luck with your geese!