New goose owner, have questions

[Goosebaby]

I have no expierience with diapers but I’ve seen a lot of people around here say that you often need to make adjustments with them and others say that they used the first one they got as a template to make better fitting ones.

A duck can make a great friend if they’re raised together. The only thing I worry about is that ducks depending on the breed live 5 to 9 years. I have a pekin that’s 12 now and supposedly they only live to be 5 so the rule doesn’t always apply, but geese can live 20+ years and if they lose their special friend they get very depressed and can develop health issues, that’s why generally I think the same species is best with geese, same longevity.

 

[Ephyra]

That is great that she is making some progress at least! I wish I had’ve done more things like that. In the beginning, if you don’t mind me asking, how did you get her to transition to being less needy without her getting overly distressed?

Was the one you ordered primarily a chicken diaper by chance? I found that even the chicken diapers do fit *on* them, they just don’t fit *right*. Because goslings grow so rapidly, it’s extra difficult to order diapers that fit. When you ordered it, it may be the right size, but by the time it gets there she may have already outgrown it! Several sizes are definitely necessary

The only one my girl would tolerate for any length of time was The Goose Mothers. They do have a set of 5 meant for a growing gosling but I've only tried the adult one. Seemed very comfy but my goose also could just pull the diaper to the side of her butt, rendering it useless... pretty sure she'd stick her tongue out at me after too! My gander liked that one and also liked the ones by Leighton's Landing on Etsy. She is really helpful and happy to help before and after you order.

Crazy K Farm says theirs works for geese but they just didn't fit right at all. They were too short to even reach their bottoms. I've heard people have great success with their shoes though.

While PartyFowl Pets diapers are well constructed, their customer service is pretty darn terrible. They lie, their size charts are all wrong, they regularly take 2 months to ship out ready made/"ready to ship now" items. If there's a problem with your order, you probably won't hear back for a month or two, if you hear back at all, and they'll just tell you that there's nothing they can do, no refunds of any kind, and to order a new one. I love supporting small businesses and they're mostly great but ever since that whole ordeal I am a bit more cautious.

We tried a couple others that I can't remember the names of right now, but they were made entirely of cotton which I don't think works well for geese. I feel like they need a bit of stretch to be comfortable. Over the tail works great for babies but as she gets older she will probably prefer the open tail ones which allows them to access their preen gland.

That is great that you have already made her some! This is the route that I ultimately went with. I had very little sewing experience prior but with my girl being so finicky I had to try, and I just make all of theirs now. Bonus is that you'll have access to many more prints and colours, you can tailor it to fit them just right, and they are so much cheaper.

That's probably way more info than you were looking for, sorry! I hope that helps a bit though!

 

[Kriskat77]

I have no expierience with diapers but I’ve seen a lot of people around here say that you often need to make adjustments with them and others say that they used the first one they got as a template to make better fitting ones.

A duck can make a great friend if they’re raised together. The only thing I worry about is that ducks depending on the breed live 5 to 9 years. I have a pekin that’s 12 now and supposedly they only live to be 5 so the rule doesn’t always apply, but geese can live 20+ years and if they lose their special friend they get very depressed and can develop health issues, that’s why generally I think the same species is best with geese, same longevity.

Good thinking and thanks for the diaper advice.

 

[Kriskat77]

That is great that she is making some progress at least! I wish I had’ve done more things like that. In the beginning, if you don’t mind me asking, how did you get her to transition to being less needy without her getting overly distressed?

Was the one you ordered primarily a chicken diaper by chance? I found that even the chicken diapers do fit *on* them, they just don’t fit *right*. Because goslings grow so rapidly, it’s extra difficult to order diapers that fit. When you ordered it, it may be the right size, but by the time it gets there she may have already outgrown it! Several sizes are definitely necessary

The only one my girl would tolerate for any length of time was The Goose Mothers. They do have a set of 5 meant for a growing gosling but I've only tried the adult one. Seemed very comfy but my goose also could just pull the diaper to the side of her butt, rendering it useless... pretty sure she'd stick her tongue out at me after too! My gander liked that one and also liked the ones by Leighton's Landing on Etsy. She is really helpful and happy to help before and after you order.

Crazy K Farm says theirs works for geese but they just didn't fit right at all. They were too short to even reach their bottoms. I've heard people have great success with their shoes though.

While PartyFowl Pets diapers are well constructed, their customer service is pretty darn terrible. They lie, their size charts are all wrong, they regularly take 2 months to ship out ready made/"ready to ship now" items. If there's a problem with your order, you probably won't hear back for a month or two, if you hear back at all, and they'll just tell you that there's nothing they can do, no refunds of any kind, and to order a new one. I love supporting small businesses and they're mostly great but ever since that whole ordeal I am a bit more cautious.

We tried a couple others that I can't remember the names of right now, but they were made entirely of cotton which I don't think works well for geese. I feel like they need a bit of stretch to be comfortable. Over the tail works great for babies but as she gets older she will probably prefer the open tail ones which allows them to access their preen gland.

That is great that you have already made her some! This is the route that I ultimately went with. I had very little sewing experience prior but with my girl being so finicky I had to try, and I just make all of theirs now. Bonus is that you'll have access to many more prints and colours, you can tailor it to fit them just right, and they are so much cheaper.

That's probably way more info than you were looking for, sorry! I hope that helps a bit though!

No, not too long! I love all the stories and advice I can get! I bought a pair from Etsy but you have to slip the elastic around her legs and between her wings. Most of the ones I’ve looked at are like that. It doesn’t work for me. I made some adjustments to it. I think it’s easier to slip the front over her head and bring the back end up and over and secure it with Velcro. I’m going to check out that Etsy site you recommended and Goose Mother’s. Thanks for that!
so, you asked how I transitioned her to be less needy? Are you referring to her sleeping at night? Or going into her pen? For her nighttime arrangements the first thing I did was to get rid of her heat lamp. Who likes to sleep with the lights on? A dark room at night seemed to instantly calm her. I just did the same thing every night at the same time. Around 9:30 she gets a warm bath then she preens and dries, then it’s kisses and lights out. She’s perfectly happy to hunker down for the night. I have a nanny cam to watch her so I know she’s ok. We can make all the noise we want and go in and out of rooms and she never makes a peep. However, when she’s out with me she freaks if I walk 5 ft away so we’re still working on issues. She’ll tolerate my husband only sometimes and the dog loves her and wants to be close and she could care less. We also have a cat that tries to rub her and she just doesn’t get it. I don’t think she’s a good candidate for a friend. It’s me or nothing. As for her pen. I just put her in there with familiar things and I sit about 10 feet away. Next I’m going to try putting her nighttime cage inside for a bit. I want to get a special house for the pen but with all the craziness going on right now I haven’t gotten around to it yet. I hope that answered your question. Let me know and maybe you could post a pic of the pants you’ve made. It will give me ideas. Thanks again! Talk soon I hope

 

[Kriskat77]

@Ephyra hello, happy Easter weekend. I just thought I’d update you on our pen issues. All is well. I can now go inside my house while she hangs out in her pen. It took awhile but I think we‘re past the hard part. I started by sitting right out side her pen and moving farther away until I was on the porch. When she would relax and lay down and start to feel comfortable I’d go and give her some favorite treats like watermelon and wheat grass. I’m not sure if positive reinforcement works with a goose but I felt it couldn’t hurt. Well, that’s it. I hope you’re well.

 

[Kriskat77]

So, I have another question!! My goose is pampered and loved and we think everything she does is adorable. It’s like those people with the horrible toddler that you can’t stand and their parents think everything they do is cute. So the question is, why does my goose run from me? She’s really hard to catch. Why?

 

[Goosebaby]

So, I have another question!! My goose is pampered and loved and we think everything she does is adorable. It’s like those people with the horrible toddler that you can’t stand and their parents think everything they do is cute. So the question is, why does my goose run from me? She’s really hard to catch. Why?

It may just be a quirk of hers, some are flightier than others.

 

[Kriskat77]

I have yet another question.... I never thought about it before but I realize now that geese molt. When does this happen? Will my goose be completely naked? I can’t find much information on this. Most info is on Canadian geese. I know my friend‘s chickens look pitiful during their molting. What should I expect? And when? i’m in Texas s my weather is much hotter than most places. Does this impact her time to molt?

 

[Goosebaby]

I have yet another question.... I never thought about it before but I realize now that geese molt. When does this happen? Will my goose be completely naked? I can’t find much information on this. Most info is on Canadian geese. I know my friend‘s chickens look pitiful during their molting. What should I expect? And when? i’m in Texas s my weather is much hotter than most places. Does this impact her time to molt?

She’ll shed her flight and tail feathers, she’ll keep her body feathers and her small feathers and down, her wings will be nubby that’s all. I’m not sure if heat plays a role in when they molt, Mine seem like they always shed around early to mid summer when they no longer have breeding horomones.

 

[Goosebaby]

I’ve always noticed that my ganders seem to lose a strip of their breast feathers down the center at the end of winter, I’ve always wondered if it has something to do with regulating their temperature as it warms up, but the girls never do that so I don’t really know why my boys get that.