Questions - New to geese - and here's Charlie!

[servpolice]

 

[amsunshine]

Update - yesterday we bought 2 adult Toulouse geese - from a gaggle of 4 geese. The previous owner thinks these 2 were mated up. We put them in a large room in our barn last night, with a cattle panel + hog panel fence over the opening to outside. We put Charlie in his own pen in there with the new geese. They all started up quite a racket - what a conversation!

This morning, one of the new geese is GONE! Just GONE! No feathers, no blood. I didn't think they went over fences. How could they have gotten over the fence, whether they scrambled/flew over, or were grabbed by a predator?? This is the one that's left. Judging by how it acts, I think it's the female. I notice when they were together, the one who was the male was a little bigger, and held his head up more.

Does anyone have any ideas what could have happened to the other goose? We are puzzled because if it was the gander, why would he leave his mate?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Update - yesterday we bought 2 adult Toulouse geese - from a gaggle of 4 geese. The previous owner thinks these 2 were mated up. We put them in a large room in our barn last night, with a cattle panel + hog panel fence over the opening to outside. We put Charlie in his own pen in there with the new geese. They all started up quite a racket - what a conversation!

This morning, one of the new geese is GONE! Just GONE! No feathers, no blood. I didn't think they went over fences. How could they have gotten over the fence, whether they scrambled/flew over, or were grabbed by a predator?? This is the one that's left. Judging by how it acts, I think it's the female. I notice when they were together, the one who was the male was a little bigger, and held his head up more.

Does anyone have any ideas what could have happened to the other goose? We are puzzled because if it was the gander, why would he leave his mate?

An opening to the outside how tall was this panel? I'm thinking even if the goose went over the panel it wouldn't have gone far with it's mate there, does it look like something may have drug if off? please lock up your animals[especially at night] predators will do just about anything to get them.

 

[amsunshine]

The cattle panel is 4 feet high. The hog panel superimposed over the cattle panel is about 30 inches high. They are "inside" in that they are in the barn. They came from a mixed farmyard with goats, chickens, and pigs. Their owner said at his place, they never went inside at night. But our intention is to make them go in at night. There is no evidence of any digging. Agree that he should not have gone far with the mate inside...unless they weren't really bonded -is that possible since one was of one sex and the other was the opposite sex? When we went to chase them, they split into pairs so I assumed they were 2 mated pairs, and we took 1 of those pairs.

 

[Miss Lydia]

The cattle panel is 4 feet high. The hog panel superimposed over the cattle panel is about 30 inches high. They are "inside" in that they are in the barn. They came from a mixed farmyard with goats, chickens, and pigs. Their owner said at his place, they never went inside at night. But our intention is to make them go in at night. There is no evidence of any digging. Agree that he should not have gone far with the mate inside...unless they weren't really bonded -is that possible since one was of one sex and the other was the opposite sex? When we went to chase them, they split into pairs so I assumed they were 2 mated pairs, and we took 1 of those pairs.

I have 4' high wood fencing around some of my property and never have the geese gone over it . I just don't know what could have happened, they are too heavy to just take off and fly over something that high, and can't imagine one climbing it either. especially in the dark of night. How is the one that is left behaving? although seems to me even a large pred would have trouble getting a large goose up and over that 4'fence, I don't know maybe it did climb out, have you been all over the area looking for it? any body of water close by ? did you look there? I know you probably did and seems that would be where it would head when it got out for safety.

 

[amsunshine]

That's what we were thinking too, that it'd be almost impossible for a goose to get over that fence (my husband has had geese before so he knows more than I do). We've combed the farmyard and pastures and shelterbelts, and nothing. The closest water is 1 mile away. And we've notified our neighbors, who are part of our family and live by this water, so they can be on the lookout. The one who's left looks puzzled and lonely. Though she (?) has the other goose for company even though he is penned up in a gigantic wire-covered stock tank.

 

[Miss Lydia]

That's what we were thinking too, that it'd be almost impossible for a goose to get over that fence (my husband has had geese before so he knows more than I do). We've combed the farmyard and pastures and shelterbelts, and nothing. The closest water is 1 mile away. And we've notified our neighbors, who are part of our family and live by this water, so they can be on the lookout. The one who's left looks puzzled and lonely. Though she (?) has the other goose for company even though he is penned up in a gigantic wire-covered stock tank.

Another puzzle is if a pred had gotten in there seems the other 2 would have been injured and killed. when you brought them home were they acting really spooked like they may try to go over the fence? Either it got out somehow and being night maybe a pred dragged it off, but I doubt it could have gone far with it and you'd see some kind of struggle. blood or feathers. I just don't know. I hope it does find the water. But you barn doors do need to be closed tight. Do you have coyotes? And usually when there is a pred attack the ones left are very traumatized and you'd see it right off.

 

[amsunshine]

No that's the odd thing. She doesn't look traumatized or upset at all. Just milling about, the same as what she was when we saw her at her previous home. They weren't acting spooked at all when we brought them home, either. They walked calmly around their new digs and looked at Charlie. Charlie was yammering away, and they had comments back, but it didn't seem like anything hostile, just a friendly conversation.

We hear coyotes all around us, and have lots of other poultry including guinea and pea fowl, and chickens. The peafowl free range 24/7. We haven't lost any of them for years. Our farmyard is blessed that way.

 

[Miss Lydia]

No that's the odd thing. She doesn't look traumatized or upset at all. Just milling about, the same as what she was when we saw her at her previous home. They weren't acting spooked at all when we brought them home, either. They walked calmly around their new digs and looked at Charlie. Charlie was yammering away, and they had comments back, but it didn't seem like anything hostile, just a friendly conversation.

We hear coyotes all around us, and have lots of other poultry including guinea and pea fowl, and chickens. The peafowl free range 24/7. We haven't lost any of them for years. Our farmyard is blessed that way.

This truly a mystery, I hope you can solve it.

 

[RURU]

I have just caught up with this conversation. When you heard all that honking back and fourth you should have looked in on them... It sounds like the 2 new ones and Charlie maybe the ganders had a fight through the fence. Because this is breeding season and the two may have had a fight if close to each other. Maybe the one crawled up the fence and got out of the pen and fought with Charlie through the fence. But then the other gander started wondering around the barn and got out and went looking around like Miss Lydia said and he got taken by predator.
Ganders at this time as I said will fight for their mate.
Good Luck trying to find the new goose....