Hi. I am the new owner of a goose. It came up to a friend of mine at a local restaurant. I thought it had a broken wing so I decided to take it to the wildlife rehab. I have experience with large pscittacines but knew a wild goose could be problematic. I carefully circled its neck in a loose hold and then scooped it up.
The bird struggled maybe 5 seconds and then just relaxed. Color me surprised. I had a friend drive us home. The goose sat on the floor board with its head under my skirt. Yikes! Goose nibbles are quite startling when you aren't expecting them.
Once I arrived in my apartment, I ensconced said goose in the bathtub with water. It did not seem that pleased. It did drink a bit of water. Then I hit the internet. I looked up photos until I was fairly sure I had two prime candidates--African goose and China Swan Goose. One site mentioned the difference in sounds and the knobs. My best guess is that she is a female China Swan Goose of the brown variety. All I really know is that she is one incredibly sweet bird.
I also learned from a duck-owned friend that leaving her in a tub all night was not good if there was water in it so I drained the tub. She chatted with me while I did that. I examined the wing a bit because I'd also run into something called "angel wing" on the internet.
Because she stretches and flaps and seems to be in no pain, I am fairly sure she has angel wing rather than a broken wing. But, I'm no expert so I am taking her to an avian vet on Monday. We were going this Wednesday but I had to work an early shift so had to reschedule.
Josephine, or that's what I'm calling her, has to have been a pet at some point. She even had an item tied to one ankle. It was not twisted or tangled. It was tied in two neat knots.
When I think about someone doing this to her, my blood boils.
I called the Wildlife Rehab people Monday morning. The young lady who answered told me they would take her but since she was a domestic breed, I could keep her or rehome her myself. I opted to pay for a vet to look at her myself so that I could make sure she got a good home.
However, having spent nearly a week with a goose in my bathroom (including the heavy-duty non-stop clean up), I am not sure I want to rehome her. I met the lady from the Goose's Mother many years ago at a Ren Faire. Her Maggie charmed me totally. I have her site on "speed-click" so that I can order Josephine a harness.
Right now I'm so torn. She seems perfectly content to gobble up bowls of veggies and alfalfa pellets (I'm going to the feed store tomorrow to get poultry non-medicated 18% protein, right?). I am happy to work with her to get her used to a harness/diaper to be an indoor pet.
She tries to follow me if I leave the bathroom but right now can't because I have carpet in my apartment. Once I have that harness I plan to give her free rein (once I'm sure I've goose-proofed) and take her for walks.
Am I bonkers? Should I let her go to a place where she can be outside? I worry that she is so imprinted on humans that she doesn't know how to be a goose. Crazy?
Oh, I'm in Central Texas.
The bird struggled maybe 5 seconds and then just relaxed. Color me surprised. I had a friend drive us home. The goose sat on the floor board with its head under my skirt. Yikes! Goose nibbles are quite startling when you aren't expecting them.
Once I arrived in my apartment, I ensconced said goose in the bathtub with water. It did not seem that pleased. It did drink a bit of water. Then I hit the internet. I looked up photos until I was fairly sure I had two prime candidates--African goose and China Swan Goose. One site mentioned the difference in sounds and the knobs. My best guess is that she is a female China Swan Goose of the brown variety. All I really know is that she is one incredibly sweet bird.
I also learned from a duck-owned friend that leaving her in a tub all night was not good if there was water in it so I drained the tub. She chatted with me while I did that. I examined the wing a bit because I'd also run into something called "angel wing" on the internet.
Because she stretches and flaps and seems to be in no pain, I am fairly sure she has angel wing rather than a broken wing. But, I'm no expert so I am taking her to an avian vet on Monday. We were going this Wednesday but I had to work an early shift so had to reschedule.
Josephine, or that's what I'm calling her, has to have been a pet at some point. She even had an item tied to one ankle. It was not twisted or tangled. It was tied in two neat knots.
I called the Wildlife Rehab people Monday morning. The young lady who answered told me they would take her but since she was a domestic breed, I could keep her or rehome her myself. I opted to pay for a vet to look at her myself so that I could make sure she got a good home.
However, having spent nearly a week with a goose in my bathroom (including the heavy-duty non-stop clean up), I am not sure I want to rehome her. I met the lady from the Goose's Mother many years ago at a Ren Faire. Her Maggie charmed me totally. I have her site on "speed-click" so that I can order Josephine a harness.
Right now I'm so torn. She seems perfectly content to gobble up bowls of veggies and alfalfa pellets (I'm going to the feed store tomorrow to get poultry non-medicated 18% protein, right?). I am happy to work with her to get her used to a harness/diaper to be an indoor pet.
She tries to follow me if I leave the bathroom but right now can't because I have carpet in my apartment. Once I have that harness I plan to give her free rein (once I'm sure I've goose-proofed) and take her for walks.
Am I bonkers? Should I let her go to a place where she can be outside? I worry that she is so imprinted on humans that she doesn't know how to be a goose. Crazy?
Oh, I'm in Central Texas.
