Pilgrim Geese thread

[GAMarans]

I think we have one bully gander and expect he is to blame. The victim is a younger gander. They all still get along very well when out. We only end up with issues if they are penned for too long.

 

[livininbrazil]

I think we have one bully gander and expect he is to blame. The victim is a younger gander. They all still get along very well when out. We only end up with issues if they are penned for too long.

Oh, well that makes sense. No-where to run. Do you have females with them? I can´t remember. I doubt he´s really a bully, he´s just the older one. It´s quite natural, but the younger one has no-where to run, which is what would happen normally.
For instance, at the moment I´ve separated two ganders with 4 females from the rest of their flock for breeding purposes, but they have an area about 10 yds by 30, so they can give each other space. I´d probably get away with a little smaller, but not much.

 

[GAMarans]

Oh, well that makes sense. No-where to run. Do you have females with them? I can´t remember. I doubt he´s really a bully, he´s just the older one. It´s quite natural, but the younger one has no-where to run, which is what would happen normally.
For instance, at the moment I´ve separated two ganders with 4 females from the rest of their flock for breeding purposes, but they have an area about 10 yds by 30, so they can give each other space. I´d probably get away with a little smaller, but not much.

The bully is older but he's been a stinker with others, too. We got all of these guys at once and have just recently decided which ones are staying and which ones are going. We have to females and when the flock is out loose on the farm (6 acres) they do fine. Since very early on, when they are penned up this one gander will randomly snatch feathers from the other birds. This one little guy I guess just ended up the focus of his attention during the time they were penned up for so long. (We have since decided that unsupervised time loose on the farm is better than extended time in the pen.)

 

[RoboDuck]

And the "picking" is not an aggression thing. They see stuff like new feathers coming in and nibble at them. But they just keep on til they cause sores and bleeding. We have managed to catch these events early so they are no worse for the wear. And their ages are very close. The 6 older ones, 2 females, 4 males are only 3 or 4 weeks older than the 2 younger males. And they are old enough now you can hardly tell them apart. The 2 younger ones are just a little fuzzy around their rumps. We have put bands on their legs so we will be able to identify them when they finish feathering out and look just like the other 4.

We had a cpg goose kill a smaller cpg gander because he got food all over him and she was picking at the food on his down. (we were not home and caught the behavior too late to save the little guy). She was not mean and did very well with him despite being a good bit older and bigger. She just picked at the food non stop until she did irreversable damage while we were at work.

 

[livininbrazil]

The bully is older but he's been a stinker with others, too. We got all of these guys at once and have just recently decided which ones are staying and which ones are going. We have to females and when the flock is out loose on the farm (6 acres) they do fine. Since very early on, when they are penned up this one gander will randomly snatch feathers from the other birds. This one little guy I guess just ended up the focus of his attention during the time they were penned up for so long. (We have since decided that unsupervised time loose on the farm is better than extended time in the pen.)

So will you keep two pairs? I imagine the stroppy is going?

 

[GAMarans]

I think some of his behavior is meanness. He was yanking butt fluff out of the others when they were younger. lol

 

[andreacroyle]

She´s a challenge! I find mine can´t resist poking at anything in the water...and you´´ve chucked lettuce in her pool, too? Usually their curiosity gets them to nibble.

Score! She like to chew up celery leaves!!

 

[livininbrazil]

And the "picking" is not an aggression thing. They see stuff like new feathers coming in and nibble at them. But they just keep on til they cause sores and bleeding. We have managed to catch these events early so they are no worse for the wear. And their ages are very close. The 6 older ones, 2 females, 4 males are only 3 or 4 weeks older than the 2 younger males. And they are old enough now you can hardly tell them apart. The 2 younger ones are just a little fuzzy around their rumps. We have put bands on their legs so we will be able to identify them when they finish feathering out and look just like the other 4.

We had a cpg goose kill a smaller cpg gander because he got food all over him and she was picking at the food on his down. (we were not home and caught the behavior too late to save the little guy). She was not mean and did very well with him despite being a good bit older and bigger. She just picked at the food non stop until she did irreversable damage while we were at work.

You say goose and gander, but you´re talking about goslings, aren´t you?

I think some of his behavior is meanness. He was yanking butt fluff out of the others when they were younger. lol

So are you talking about youngsters, or adults? If you´re talking about youngsters, then he does seem mean, yes.

 

[livininbrazil]

Score! She like to chew up celery leaves!!

Great, so you can move her onto other things too,, hold the celery and another more nutritious green (like Romaine) in your hand, and maybe she´ll have a nibble at that, too.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Score! She like to chew up celery leaves!!

Yay for Forrest. Andrea can you post some pics of your sling chair on here I have a friend who is a member and they are trying to rehab an adult goose with a lame leg I told her about this chair and would love to send her some pics. Thanks.