sebbie goslings 'depluming' others ....

[johnskoi]

i ordered goose eggs off ebay (3 different age groups) and had decent hatches .. the first 1 (out of 18) i timed with a few of my pea eggs so if only 1 did hatch, it would have companionship ... was going fine at first, but the peas started to take to much of a beating featherwise --- they didn't mind -- they sit there and almost enjoy it (i think they considered her mom as she grew in size so much quicker than they did)... i raise silkies also, so i moved her in with adult silkies at night and she's fine but once again those grooming practices are kicking in on the silkies...

second round of eggs 5 out 12 hatched --- a few weeks old and in with adolescent silkies -- same depluming going on....
--- i let the oldest one spend one night with the 5 younger ones and their backs were starting to look thin in fluff, so i had to separate for the time being..

third round, 3 out of 12 hatched -- a few days old and in with same age peas and silkies...in a few days, i expect the the behavior will kick in again....

the birds being groomed USUALLY don't seem to mind... if i don't separate them, i will end up with bald birds ... not a desired quality on silkies or peas....lol ..

as they grow i'll be gradually introducing them to my group of 5 sebbies (who occasionally find a silkie or two to deplume).... in the meantime, any suggestions on how i can minimize or stop this behavior?

they're on waterfowl starter and get fresh bread and romaine daily...(and clean water at least 3 times a days)

tia, john

 

[RURU]

Stop the bread it has no value in it at all for Sebastopol's!!! Your goslings are board and need to have grass or romaine lettuce almost all the time because they are growing in super mode. Also on the growth feed only give it for 3 weeks and then go to adult feed. Make sure it is gamebird or waterfowl feed. Then to cut even more protein you can start them on cleaned whole oats.

Picking on other birds is a sign of being board and needing greens to eat instead of other birds feather's!

 

[johnskoi]

Stop the bread it has no value in it at all for Sebastopol's!!! Your goslings are board and need to have grass or romaine lettuce almost all the time because they are growing in super mode. Also on the growth feed only give it for 3 weeks and then go to adult feed. Make sure it is gamebird or waterfowl feed. Then to cut even more protein you can start them on cleaned whole oats.

Picking on other birds is a sign of being board and needing greens to eat instead of other birds feather's!

oooooooohhhh..........but feathers are so much cheaper....

..just teasing...

......i REALLY appreciate the advice.... while the younger have been getting bread, they definitely prefer the lettuce, my older ones really don't seem to have much interest in bread (i've got one who dunks it, but the others don't bother with it)...i've got mazuri wf starter and maintenance on hand at all times and switching them all to maintenance earlier will be no problem....i've tried whole oats (not cleaned) and they had little to no interest it... occaisonally they get millet and scratch which they seem to enjoy...

as far as the boredom thing goes, i'd agree with the littler ones... but the only times the bigger ones seem to go after a silkie (always a roo) is when a roo is being TOO rough with the hens .... it's weird, but it's like they're saying 'enough already, leave her alone!" ..i've been reducing my silkie numbers to make room for the geese

...(going off on a tangent) ....

the yard that they have was once all grass, but it's been defoliated....i may have to break it up to grow again and let them forage in one area while another grows...

....also, i've got cats that comingle with the birds--- all the birds seem to eat the some of the dry cat food...problem??

thank you so much for the helpful reply!
-- john