My adult geese met my 6.5 week old ducks today!! Update: geese met goslings!!

[Iain Utah]

As some of you know from other threads, I have been watching my geese try to figure out a way to get inside my house after I hatched my 1st set of ducks 6.5 weeks ago. Then 3.5 weeks ago, I hatched out 4 africans for the purpose of letting my adult pair adopt them. As the goslings get louder, the adult pair are more and more drawn to them.... and I do believe my pair would love to be foster parents to the babies.

Well, this afternoon it finally got warm enough to take our 6.5 week old ducks to their outside pen... and within minutes, the geese came running over! It was obvious they were hoping the ducks were the goslings, but they seemed very gentle with my ducks and cooed softly to them. They walked around the pen, then over to window where goslings are to coo at them... then over to the driveway, where they laid down and are now alerting the neighborhood they are on guard (as they are doing almost constantly now).

Here's a pic... I wish we had a similar outdoor pen for the goslings, but will definitely have one by tomorrow!

 

[galgo98]

Very cool!!

I love to watch how animals interact, especially when it's the big, bad geese acting like softies!!!

 

[Duckadia]

So cute!!! I love when geese meet someone new!

 

[littledear]

Very cool. I wish my adult geese would do that. My Brown Chinese just acted aggressive toward my lone gosling. They actually tried to peck him through the fence. They did act interested at first but then they just tried to get him. My geese are stioll breeding though so they may have thought he was a threat or something. Plus my adults are only a year old. Nice picture.

 

[Iain Utah]

Thanks!! I find it fascinating to observe the parental instinct in my geese. They have permanently parked themselves on my driveway, guarding the house. I hope to put the goslings into outdoor brooder today so they can finally meet.

 

[Iain Utah]

My geese met my 4 week old goslings today... and it was intense!! I was hanging out in pen with them when the geese came running over to meet the babies. They kept circling the pen over and over and over... when they would reach the point closest to me, the one I think is the female would stop and hiss at my back... before continuing circling. I decided to leave pen, and the darn goose bluff charged me!! Fortunately, since I have experience dealing with unhandled yearling colts, I bluffed back much bigger and called off the attack... but the goose kept approaching and being aggressive until I got away from the pen. It was shocking to see them behave that way with me!!

The goslings, on the other hand, were scared. And #1 (that's his name because he was my first hatchling) finally got curious to put nose to fence, and the darn goose nipped at it. Otherwise, she kept her head low while circling and talking softly. I could not keep the goslings outside for long as it is too cold where I live. I thought things were going to get ugly with the geese when we went to take them back inside. Fortunately, we got them in safely... and the goslings were THRILLED to be back in their indoor pen. The geese, on the other hand, are still pacing outside my front door, calling nonstop for the goslings.

Here they are: