The African and Chinese goose thread!!

[Miss Lydia]

My goose does not talk to me anymore. He used to speak when he saw me, but now he doesn't ever honk or say anything. I'm worried something's wrong with him. And he runs away from me. Did we imprint wrong? He doesn't seem to have a strong bond with me, even though I go see him almost every day.

How old is he? and do you mean he is literally running away or just moving away when come come and see him? My geese were very vocal during breeding season but now that it's over I hardly hear them unless something has upset them. Hopefully there is nothing wrong with your goose but good observation is very important, Does he eat good is he drinking lots of water, bathing, walking around foraging? does he have other geese to interact with? Try taking something yummy out and just sitting with him, mine love lettuce[romaine] I can carry the whole head out and they will pull pieces off from my hand and eat it also I hang some in a homemade feeder I rigged up to put lettuce and other greens in. Best why to know if your goose is acting normal or if something is wrong is by observing their behavior. Mine have been going through molt too and this seems to make them not as perky as normal too. And as they grow up if you got your as a gosling they tend to not need our company as much. Just part of becoming independent.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Well, here are the babies!
One is 4 weeks today(the one in the back that is more feathered out) which means this little fuzz butt shares my brand new granddaughter's B'day!, the other two will be 4 weeks on the 23rd or 25th.


Gobo-Middle facing away, smallest of the bunch, same age as Wembly... leader of the pack. Has the same white chest marking as the older one:Mokey Also more grey colored than Wembly.
Wembly- Front in pic. Bigger and browner of the two younger hatch mates, but definitely not the leader.
Mokey- Rear in pic. The oldest. White chest bib(no clue why, but its cute). Sweet and quiet, kind of off in space... does it's own thing, sometimes those things seem a bit weird. Like going back to the same tall tough stem (or even dead weed stump)over and over again just to nibble it into submission, but not eat it.

They were a bit stand offish at first this morning, so I made them a nice fresh little trough of water and bowl of food and sat down to baby sit for a while.
It may have been their first bath... they loved it.
They previously had to be kept segregated into a small space because the people who originally purchased them already had some teen/adult ducks that did not take kindly to their introduction and were beating them up. The previous owner bought them from an individual that owned the parents; both parents had names and were pets. So these aren't directly from a hatchery... not sure how that bodes for their chances of being more or less 'African'.
The littlest fuzzy, Gobo, led the others right into the bath. Then after much preening and some picking at the food and some tasty grass, and then another bath and some more preening, it was also the first one to come over to me. Including responding to my 'goose,goose,goose' calls while I ruffled the grass then picking grass where I was showing it. And then after a few trips to visit me an allowance of some pets. After a bit it brought it's hatch mate, Wembly, over... later Mokey strolled by on its own time and actually allow me to lift and cuddle it.

Yes. I'm in love.

I assume it will be a little while before I know the sexes of these little fluffs.
Not sure how it works having three. So, if there is an extra lady does the gander bond with both? But if there is an extra gander I'll need to get another goose?

They are just precious! They will all bond, regardless of gender. If there are 2 boys, one will become the boss, but its normally settled pretty fast. If thats the case you will need a second hen. 2 hens will work out fine, but you will probably have some infertile eggs. You will start to notice changes soon, bigger legs and longer necks for ganders.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

My goose does not talk to me anymore. He used to speak when he saw me, but now he doesn't ever honk or say anything. I'm worried something's wrong with him. And he runs away from me. Did we imprint wrong? He doesn't seem to have a strong bond with me, even though I go see him almost every day.

They go through phases like that, and other times will almost trip you getting underfoot. My white chinese gander & 2 goose are always social, but my embden are very aloof. Brown chinese trio are younger, and are still less social than my whites. Try a treat like a slice of bread once a day, that should turn things around.

 

[Goosegrrl]

I plan to even the numbers for mated pairs once I am sure of the sexes I have. I will likely do this by ordering a sexed Super African or three... because you can't ship just one gosling. Right.

I'd rather get more goslings than buy an unfriendly, non-hand raised, adult to pair one of them with.

They are certainly precious. I adore them, and fuss over them, and spend a good deal of time during the day sitting out in the sun with them while they mow the grass, make trips to the food bowl, and swim in their pool. I also refill their pool a couple of times a day so that the water will be cool for them. It's just so hot in FL, not much else I can do to help them cool off. When I refill they all jump in and play and groom.

They, especially the smallest one still, come right to me when I pat the grass next to me and call them. And let me pet them a bit, though they can still be a wary at times. I don't think they were played with much before they arrived here. They have stopped freaking out when I pick them up, and just seem to look up at me and wait for me to do it so that they can get out and play for the day, and when being put up for the night.
Today they had a treat of thawed green peas. It went over much better than the sliced grapes I tried, which they sort of tasted and flatly rejected. I also was playing with them by tossing peas into the pool with them. I think they liked having something to get their heads under water and retrieve. When I'm out sitting next to the pool I often pick grass tips and add those to the pool for them to dabble and eat while they are cooling off.

Man... they are serious little lawn mowers too. They LOVE to munch away on the grass for most of the day. My husband said "Gosh, they're like little goats... eat, eat, eat." I replied "Except that they didn't go for my ROSE BUSHES first!"

Admittedly I do love little goats, and would totally put some in my back pasture... BUT I live next to a 600 acre USDA citrus grove/development facility (Cuties tangerines, among others, were created here), and if even a little goat got on the other side of my fence and made lunch out of some of their young test trees. Ohhhwow... well, let's just say that it literally CANNOT happen. On the upside, I have access to the grove... and tons of freebies during citrus season. I'd like to keep that relationship with the feds on the friendly end of things.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

This weekend, my 4 week old little gosling will be going to live with my daughter. I am still not 100% sure I can let her go! She has really become quite a little charmer.
We tried going outdoors again today, and she liked it a lot better. First time she was terrified. Still very much a momma's girl!
Standing on momma.. is this stuff ok mom?

oooOOOooo It feels so good in the sun!


Checking in with me again..starting to get more curious!


Look I am a big girl now!


She stays very close, and gets right back on my lap if anything startles her. So far, the adult flock is not accepting her. She has a little pekin duck friend she is growing up with that will go with her. (if she does leave) My parents asked me to keep her here, just adore her. I am worried she will not be accepted into the adult flock, not safe for a young gosling at all.

 

[Miss Lydia]

This weekend, my 4 week old little gosling will be going to live with my daughter. I am still not 100% sure I can let her go! She has really become quite a little charmer.
We tried going outdoors again today, and she liked it a lot better. First time she was terrified. Still very much a momma's girl!
Standing on momma.. is this stuff ok mom?

oooOOOooo It feels so good in the sun!


Checking in with me again..starting to get more curious!


Look I am a big girl now!


She stays very close, and gets right back on my lap if anything startles her. So far, the adult flock is not accepting her. She has a little pekin duck friend she is growing up with that will go with her. (if she does leave) My parents asked me to keep her here, just adore her. I am worried she will not be accepted into the adult flock, not safe for a young gosling at all.

She is so adorable, I know that will be hard. You don't think in time they will accept her? but then she wouldn't have her pekin friend to go with her either. But oh my gosh I miss that time we had with our goslings last year.

 

[mothergoose08]

My gander is Chinese and I was wondering if that has anything to do with him running away or being quiet. Is his breed less social? He will not let me catch him, but he will not attack me or bite me. My female goose was killed, so he doesn't have her. He has been introduced to my chickens, and seems to guard them. They have been kept separated because they used to attack each other. I'm worried I didn't imprint on him properly. I spend a lot of time with him, and I adore him. He just doesn't seem so comfortable with me. I don't hurt him or yell at him ever. He's an outside goose because he is the house guard. We let all the birds out in the yard to have more space. They already have a run around their coop. Could joining their runs help my gander?

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

My gander is Chinese and I was wondering if that has anything to do with him running away or being quiet. Is his breed less social? He will not let me catch him, but he will not attack me or bite me. My female goose was killed, so he doesn't have her. He has been introduced to my chickens, and seems to guard them. They have been kept separated because they used to attack each other. I'm worried I didn't imprint on him properly. I spend a lot of time with him, and I adore him. He just doesn't seem so comfortable with me. I don't hurt him or yell at him ever. He's an outside goose because he is the house guard. We let all the birds out in the yard to have more space. They already have a run around their coop. Could joining their runs help my gander?

Geese are a flock bird. They need a flock for social interaction. If you aren't replacing his mate, I would definitely let him join the chicken flock. Ganders need to feel they have a flock to watch. He is probably very lonely and afraid since his goose is gone, and if he is fearful I would wonder why. Do you know what got his goose? Chinese are not the most aggressive goose breed, and no goose is a match for some predators... humans, dogs, coyote, bear, cougars, bobcat..an aggressive fox or raccoon. They need our help to stay safe.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote: If she goes, DD will take the pekin also. Its funny, DD isn't coming home to visit this weekend. Wondering if this lil girl is meant to stay LOL! I am going to try introducing again tomorrow. My mama goose with all the scovy ducklings rejected her last week, but am hoping she may take her in now. The ducklings are huge and leaving Mama alone most of the time now.
My parents have become so attached to her, I hate to let her go. And yeah.. me too. DH told me I am being silly, just keep her.

 

[Miss Lydia]

If she goes, DD will take the pekin also. Its funny, DD isn't coming home to visit this weekend. Wondering if this lil girl is meant to stay LOL! I am going to try introducing again tomorrow. My mama goose with all the scovy ducklings rejected her last week, but am hoping she may take her in now. The ducklings are huge and leaving Mama alone most of the time now.
My parents have become so attached to her, I hate to let her go. And yeah.. me too. DH told me I am being silly, just keep her.

I can understand how hard it would be to let her go, I hope mama goose will accept her now. [for your sake]