So about 2 weeks ago a friend of ours gave us one of their adult Brown Chinese Ganders. This morning the 2 baby girls I ordered for him as his companions (once they are grown) arrived. When I got them home from the post office the male goose was acting strange when I got out of the car. My door was open and he could hear the baby geese from inside the car. I took the babies inside to get them some water and food because I needed to do something before I could put them in their new cage outside in the barn. SO when I took them out the gander went into the barn with us, which he NEVER has done in the 2 week we have had him. It's a pretty high step and he's never seemed interested in trying it until I took the babies in there. So I put them in the cage with food and water and he was acting really interested in the babies. I was worried that he would hurt them. So I hung around awhile to observe. When our Lab came into the barn, who the goose never has issues with, the goose went crazy hissing at the dog, spread out his wings and lowered his head over the cage where the babies were. He would not leave the cage, but just defended from where he was standing. I found this very interesting and wondered if he in fact was being protective or just weirded out from the babies. I came inside to look on line for some info on this. I did find that both parents are extremely protective, but these were not his babies and I wondered if their instinct would still be protective even if they werent his. I went back outside and sat on the floor of the barn with the babies runing around me to see how he would behave and I'm pretty convinced that he thinks I'm the mom and he's the dad and they are our babies. As I sat there he stood very close to me and would play with my hair ..... LOL!!!! I was afraid he was going to bite me in the face. But the babies he would lower his head to and follow around. If they started to wonder off he went after them. When the babies had climbed into my lap and were saftely "tucked under me" he wondered off and got some water etc. While he was gone I put the babies back in their cage and headed inside. Usually when he sees me he comes to me, but this time when he saw me going inside he went back into the barn. I guess he figured it was his turn to baby sit .... LOL !!!
I am amazed at this behavior and am looking at our male goose in a whole new light now. It's very sweet really. I am wondering once I let the babies out all the time when they are bigger, if he will continue to protect them? I sure hope so because that will make me feel a whole lot better about them being out. How old do they need to be to be outside. Won't hawks get them if they arent big enough or will the daddy goose protect them?
Roberta in Florida
I am amazed at this behavior and am looking at our male goose in a whole new light now. It's very sweet really. I am wondering once I let the babies out all the time when they are bigger, if he will continue to protect them? I sure hope so because that will make me feel a whole lot better about them being out. How old do they need to be to be outside. Won't hawks get them if they arent big enough or will the daddy goose protect them?
Roberta in Florida
