Please help.. New geese.. and I am terrified

[plot630 mom]

Hi Guys,
I hope everyone is keeping well and safe.
I live on a small plot with my partner and his mother, she has her own house next to ours. She just got two male geese yesterday.Thunder and storm.
However, herein lies the problem.... I am terrified of geese. These two are tame and used to people according to the SPCA where they have come from. How do I even get the courage to go outside now? How do i interact with them if at all? Any help and tips would be much appreciated. We have tons of chickens, and I have no problem with them at all. Desperate.......

 

[TwistedTayy]

My advice would be to treat them like a dog you’re afraid of. Don’t bribe them with treats, then they’ll be all over you looking for treats every time you’re outside. Just go about your business and even if they are curious about you, once they figure out you’re just part of the landscape and not a threat, they’ll pay you no mind. I assume you don’t want to be friends with them lol so just aim for “co-existing near one another”. If you need to take someone with you then do for support, but they’re just like chickens… they just want to go about their business eating, sleeping, pooping, repeating. They won’t come to you unless they think you’re going to help them do that or maybe stop them from doing that. Once they learn that you aren’t, then they’ll look elsewhere for what will.

 

[shawluvsbirds]

Why did you adopt geese when you are terrified of them?
Animals feel if you are afraid of them and only a few will not take advantage of that.

Say Billy.. re-read the post.
The partners mother next door got the geese. Not them.

 

[shawluvsbirds]

Hi Guys,
I hope everyone is keeping well and safe.
I live on a small plot with my partner and his mother, she has her own house next to ours. She just got two male geese yesterday.Thunder and storm.
However, herein lies the problem.... I am terrified of geese. These two are tame and used to people according to the SPCA where they have come from. How do I even get the courage to go outside now? How do i interact with them if at all? Any help and tips would be much appreciated. We have tons of chickens, and I have no problem with them at all. Desperate.......

Can you ask her to fence them in? At least for a while until you can warm up to them.

 

[duluthralphie]

Geese are extremely susceptible to axes falling on their necks. And do extremely well in a 375 degree oven stuffed with sauerkraut.

 

[shawluvsbirds]

Geese are extremely susceptible to axes falling on their necks. And do extremely well in a 375 degree oven stuffed with sauerkraut.

That's not the kind of warming up I had in mind.

 

[duluthralphie]

Geese are extremely susceptible to axes falling on their necks. And do extremely well in a 375 degree oven stuffed with sauerkraut.

That's not the kind of warming up I had in mind.

Well you should have told me. I thought I was helping.

 

[shawluvsbirds]

Well you should have told me. I thought I was helping.

 

[Goosebaby]

Hi Guys,
I hope everyone is keeping well and safe.
I live on a small plot with my partner and his mother, she has her own house next to ours. She just got two male geese yesterday.Thunder and storm.
However, herein lies the problem.... I am terrified of geese. These two are tame and used to people according to the SPCA where they have come from. How do I even get the courage to go outside now? How do i interact with them if at all? Any help and tips would be much appreciated. We have tons of chickens, and I have no problem with them at all. Desperate.......

Geese are more vulnerable and fragile than they make themselves out to be, their first defense is bluff and their second is biting and wing flapping. I don’t say that to intimidate you further but to be honest, and from my own expierience with aggressive geese biting actually isn’t the worst thing in the world, phoebias are hard to get over but the first step is acknowledging that.

First you should know how to deal with aggression should it arise.
Geese get hormonal like any bird in breeding season, for geese it’s late winter through spring, even the most well behaved bird gets quicker to anger, they have no control of it or of their emotional responses during this time.

If a goose charges aggressively “head lowered, mouth open” the best thing you can do is stand your ground and don’t overly react. It immediately shows them that you are tougher than they are, but you aren’t necesarily a threat, it also confuses them because you aren’t reacting like they expect.
If they still come at you you have to grab them by the head, they can’t bite if you have their head, lift them up so they can’t wing flap you and carry them around. When you set them back down they’ll have learned that you are boss but that you didn’t hurt them.

Because you have a phobia I don’t expect you to be at that level of interaction which is okay, but you need to know how to do it if you have to, because running or turning away from any kind of aggresssive bird is the worst thing you can do.

Normally with geese the best thing to prevent aggression is developing a strong bond with them, spending as much time as possible and giving lots of treats, they will start rushing towards you in excitement and happiness when they see you which with your fear may not be ideal for you now, so like TwistedTay said maybe don’t offer treats, just go about your business and they will get used to you and go about their business.

In the long run it would be better to work on a friendly relationship with them, geese are naturally curious so they will come to you now and then regardless, and from what I’ve seen it’s better to be a stranger they’ve never once seen, or someone who interacts with them every day that they get treats from. People they’re familiar with but don’t have a bond with can sometimes be catagorized in their brains as potential rivals/threats in breeding season.

So my advice is first work on your fear, one way I got over my arachnophobia was through art, I drew spiders, I beaded them, I made little plushies. Doodling some geese everyday can subconsciously rewire your mind into viewing them in a less stressful and more positive way. You don’t have to be an expert artist, all that matters is if you’re even slightly enjoying yourself doodling.

Work on being around them in the yard, as you get more comfortable offer treats occasionally.


If it helps here’s some basic tips on interpreting their body language.
Geese bow and babble/honk when excited and greeting others.
Hissing is usually a response to fear, it’s one of those “don’t touch me I’m deadly I swear!” Reactions.
Lowering the head to the ground and pointing the bill at you is aggression, if they’re still making noises you’re good, if the one making those gestures goes quiet he’s going to bite.
Turning sideways/ arching the neck and bowing is an affectionate gesture.

 

[cinnamoncockatiel]

Geese are more vulnerable and fragile than they make themselves out to be, their first defense is bluff and their second is biting and wing flapping. I don’t say that to intimidate you further but to be honest, and from my own expierience with aggressive geese biting actually isn’t the worst thing in the world, phoebias are hard to get over but the first step is acknowledging that.

First you should know how to deal with aggression should it arise.
Geese get hormonal like any bird in breeding season, for geese it’s late winter through spring, even the most well behaved bird gets quicker to anger, they have no control of it or of their emotional responses during this time.

If a goose charges aggressively “head lowered, mouth open” the best thing you can do is stand your ground and don’t overly react. It immediately shows them that you are tougher than they are, but you aren’t necesarily a threat.
If they still come at you you have to grab them by the head, they can’t bite if you have their head, lift them up so they can’t wing flap you and carry them around. When you set them back down they’ll have learned that you are boss but that you didn’t hurt them.

Because you have a phobia I don’t expect you to be at that level of interaction which is okay, but you need to know how to do it if you have to, because running or turning away from any kind of aggresssive bird is the worst thing you can do.

Normally with geese the best thing to prevent aggression is developing a strong bond with them, spending as much time as possible and giving lots of treats, they will start rushing towards you in excitement and happiness when they see you which with your fear may not be ideal for you now, so like TwistedTay said maybe don’t offer treats, just go about your business and they will get used to you and go about their business.

In the long run it would be better to work on a friendly relationship with them, geese are naturally curious so they will come to you now and then regardless, and from what I’ve seen it’s better to be a stranger they’ve never once seen, or someone who interacts with them every day that they get treats from. People they’re familiar with but don’t have a bond with can sometimes be catagorized in their brains as potential rivals/threats in breeding season.

So my advice is first work on your fear, one way I got over my arachnophobia was through art, I drew spiders, I beaded them, I made little plushies. Doodling some geese everyday can subconsciously rewire your mind into viewing them in a less stressful and more positive way. You don’t have to be an expert artist, all that matters is if you’re even slightly enjoying yourself doodling.
View attachment 2679923
Work on being around them in the yard, as you get more comfortable offer treats occasionally.


If it helps here’s some basic tips on interpreting their body language.
Geese bow and babble/honk when excited and greeting others.
Hissing is usually a response to fear, it’s one of those “don’t touch me I’m deadly I swear!” Reactions.
Lowering the head to the ground and pointing the bill at you is aggression, if they’re still making noises you’re good, if the one making those gestures goes quiet he’s going to bite.
Turning sideways/ arching the neck and bowing is an affectionate gesture.

This post is excellent!