Reintroducing goslings??

[miniwrangler]

So, I have three, two week old Embdens that live in our kitchen, but for the past few days we have put them out for most of the day with a cat litter tray of water. They LOVE being outside and my word they have grown enormous!!!! We are thinking of the next stage... Can we reintroduce them to their parents?? The parents are on a lawn at the side and we take the gossies out the back. The hen can clearly hear them and goes crazy honking so I think she just knows they are hers.
We are planning on selling them anyway, but any advice on reintroducing them (or not!) is gratefully received x

 

[livininbrazil]

So, I have three, two week old Embdens that live in our kitchen, but for the past few days we have put them out for most of the day with a cat litter tray of water. They LOVE being outside and my word they have grown enormous!!!! We are thinking of the next stage... Can we reintroduce them to their parents?? The parents are on a lawn at the side and we take the gossies out the back. The hen can clearly hear them and goes crazy honking so I think she just knows they are hers.
We are planning on selling them anyway, but any advice on reintroducing them (or not!) is gratefully received x

The only difficulty with introducing goslings isn´t usually on the goose´part, but depends on the goslings...you have to make sure they go to the goose for protection, warmth, etc. they have to learn that she´ll look after them. There´s no reason in the world why you can´t put the babies in there with her while you´re around to keep an eye on the babies, so they don´t panic.

 

[Nyssa03]

So, I have three, two week old Embdens that live in our kitchen, but for the past few days we have put them out for most of the day with a cat litter tray of water. They LOVE being outside and my word they have grown enormous!!!! We are thinking of the next stage... Can we reintroduce them to their parents?? The parents are on a lawn at the side and we take the gossies out the back. The hen can clearly hear them and goes crazy honking so I think she just knows they are hers.
We are planning on selling them anyway, but any advice on reintroducing them (or not!) is gratefully received x

How soon do you plan to sell the goslings? We have introduced babies to their parents by putting the babies in a carrier -wire-crate that the goslings can't get out of and the parents can't get in. I have let them "talk" thru the bars for awhile and if everyone seems happy -- they always have -- then I put them in the yard together to see how they get on. -- Like Livin says -- stay close by in case you need to intervene.

 

[miniwrangler]

Thank you. We took them out this morning and the adults ran over, wings out and necks stretched. The goslings stayed close to us and the adults were very calm walking around us (they don't normally get that close). We have penned the goslings out on the same lawn as the adults, but they have wandered off and are not interested in them. We think they have decided they are not theirs and are leaving them to it! The goslings were not bothered by them either.
We have decided to get another, small house for them, probably an appropriate size dog kennel and put them out there instead of the kitchen. It is warm here now, so they should be fine. I am just not sure mum will take them under her wing so to speak. We will keep trying to get them together throughout the day x

 

[livininbrazil]

Thank you. We took them out this morning and the adults ran over, wings out and necks stretched. The goslings stayed close to us and the adults were very calm walking around us (they don't normally get that close). We have penned the goslings out on the same lawn as the adults, but they have wandered off and are not interested in them. We think they have decided they are not theirs and are leaving them to it! The goslings were not bothered by them either.
We have decided to get another, small house for them, probably an appropriate size dog kennel and put them out there instead of the kitchen. It is warm here now, so they should be fine. I am just not sure mum will take them under her wing so to speak. We will keep trying to get them together throughout the day x

Yes, it may be that won´t adopt them now, but just accept them into the flock. However, some will adopt after a number of days, just see how it goes. I´m sure they´ll be fine in their own run now, and they´ll love the grass too.

 

[miniwrangler]

**Update**
So, they have been outside for two days with their parents on a large lawn area. I have never seen both mum and dad eat so much grass together at the same time, but think they are the ting to teach the goslings. Not that they need teaching, they eat like crazy!
Mum and dad tried herding them to their shed earlier, and they are clearly keen on looking after them so we are really pleased.
We have bitten the bullet and decided to put the gossies in with the parents tonight. They have a large shed, so there is plenty of room for the gossies and the parents. The parents didn't make a sound when we herded them all in which has never happened. They usually creat a right racket!! It feels right too, so we are all happy.
I am tempted to keep them now too.... We only thought about moving them on as we don't want dad breeding with daughters, and we wondered if there would be enough space which I now think there is. The good thing for me is that the gossies are friendly. I feel VERY guilty in case they think I am abandoning them, but at least I don't have a kitchen covered in goose poo! )

 

[livininbrazil]

**Update**
So, they have been outside for two days with their parents on a large lawn area. I have never seen both mum and dad eat so much grass together at the same time, but think they are the ting to teach the goslings. Not that they need teaching, they eat like crazy!
Mum and dad tried herding them to their shed earlier, and they are clearly keen on looking after them so we are really pleased.
We have bitten the bullet and decided to put the gossies in with the parents tonight. They have a large shed, so there is plenty of room for the gossies and the parents. The parents didn't make a sound when we herded them all in which has never happened. They usually creat a right racket!! It feels right too, so we are all happy.
I am tempted to keep them now too.... We only thought about moving them on as we don't want dad breeding with daughters, and we wondered if there would be enough space which I now think there is. The good thing for me is that the gossies are friendly. I feel VERY guilty in case they think I am abandoning them, but at least I don't have a kitchen covered in goose poo! )

That´s great news. As long as they´re warm enough at night, they should be fine. Well done. What sex are your gozzies? Obviously you have at least one female. With waterbirds, the general opinion is that a little in-breeding doesn´t do any harm, so if dad did breed with a daughter, it wouldn´t be so bad.
Can you see if the goose has let them snuggle up into her feathers?

 

[miniwrangler]

I thought I should do a quick update... The gossies are absolutely fine! They are growing like crazy and clearly enjoying being outside. Mum and dad have taken them back really well, they have eaten LOADS of grass and they are feathering up nicely. They are four weeks old tomorrow and I am amazed how big they are.
We have no plans to keep them now as we have realised that we have enough grass for two, but not five AND they creat sooo much poo! My goodness I never knew it would be that much. I spent an entire hour and a half raking it two days ago and it's a mess again! I was shattered after it, but it did mean I could miss my run that night!
Anyway, our gossies are great and thriving so we are really pleased x

 

[livininbrazil]

I thought I should do a quick update... The gossies are absolutely fine! They are growing like crazy and clearly enjoying being outside. Mum and dad have taken them back really well, they have eaten LOADS of grass and they are feathering up nicely. They are four weeks old tomorrow and I am amazed how big they are.
We have no plans to keep them now as we have realised that we have enough grass for two, but not five AND they creat sooo much poo! My goodness I never knew it would be that much. I spent an entire hour and a half raking it two days ago and it's a mess again! I was shattered after it, but it did mean I could miss my run that night!
Anyway, our gossies are great and thriving so we are really pleased x

Thanks for the update, that´s great!