The geese I raised either hate me or love me?

[Lilypadstary]

Almost 3 years ago my neighbors ask my parents if they wanted 2 baby geese. They loved me to absolute death, they would follow me around everywhere, cuddle with me, eat from my hand, everything and I did a massive amount of research to make sure they had a good upbringing. They grew and it was a boy and a girl (yipe) and they began becoming hostile towards me, hissing and chasing me but I already knew not to run away so I would stand my ground and raise my hands.

Here’s the thing, at times the male (Aflac) lets me pet him and hug him and has no problem with it. At first I thought it was because he loved me and I was over the moon about this.

I thought I, a mere teenager had conquered the goose, an animal so feared that many dare not walk on thys grounds.
Then i found out he saw me as a mate(not joking) and my world was shattered.

Other times Aflac and Geico(the girl) absolutely hate my guts. They chase my car, me when I’m doing their pools and feed, and just me in general. Geico is more chill but will still bite while Aflac won’t hold back. I still stand my ground but it doesn’t work, he’ll immediately bite my thigh and not let go.

I love them to death and just want them to be happy by my legs can only take so much bruising

 

[sourland]

It is time to assure them that you are not part of their flock and are indeed a more dominant being.

 

[Goosebaby]

Almost 3 years ago my neighbors ask my parents if they wanted 2 baby geese. They loved me to absolute death, they would follow me around everywhere, cuddle with me, eat from my hand, everything and I did a massive amount of research to make sure they had a good upbringing. They grew and it was a boy and a girl (yipe) and they began becoming hostile towards me, hissing and chasing me but I already knew not to run away so I would stand my ground and raise my hands.

Here’s the thing, at times the male (Aflac) lets me pet him and hug him and has no problem with it. At first I thought it was because he loved me and I was over the moon about this.

I thought I, a mere teenager had conquered the goose, an animal so feared that many dare not walk on thys grounds.
Then i found out he saw me as a mate(not joking) and my world was shattered.

Other times Aflac and Geico(the girl) absolutely hate my guts. They chase my car, me when I’m doing their pools and feed, and just me in general. Geico is more chill but will still bite while Aflac won’t hold back. I still stand my ground but it doesn’t work, he’ll immediately bite my thigh and not let go.

I love them to death and just want them to be happy by my legs can only take so much bruising

One year olds are still babies
Two year olds are officially adults but know nothing
3 year olds are sorting out and settling into their social status in the flock, as well as everyone else’s.

My guess is that if you’re here in the northern hemisphere what you’re mostly dealing with is breeding hormones + them trying to push you out of their group for vaying reasons. Things will improve once breeding season hormones disipate but that doesn’t mean that you can’t still work on your relationship with them now, in some ways especially now.

Aflac viewing you as a mate isn’t a bad thing, geese do that to anyone they like during breeding season, including inanimate objects at times.
The also will exhibit misplaced aggression, attacking buckets, pools, boots, and whatever, sometimes you if you’re carrying them.

Geese are seasonal breeders and as a result their brains get pretty scrambled from the hormones. This is actually pretty common with most birds that are seasonal breeders, the nice thing about geese though compared to some other species is that it isn’t a permanent imprint that prevents them from bonding/breeding with their own kind. They can still crush on their human flock but still breed with their own species.

Aflac trying to proposition you was a good thing because it shows that he regards you as his friend. Now that he is attacking you it means that something has shifted, sometimes it’s hard to say what, it can be caused from not spending as much time with him as before, some sort of input from Geico’s behavior towards you, or sometimes for no known reason at all.

Pretty much the only advice I can give you is to remind Aflac AND Geico that you are part of their flock by spending more time with them if possible and offering lots of treats. If they get aggressive towards you remind them that you’re boss by picking them up.
Some people say that pinning them to the ground helps but in my opinion I’ve seen that it just reinforces their negative viewpoint of you as the aggressor that they have to defend their mate/ territoryfrom as well as making yourself appear smaller and more attackable by squatting down. Picking them up and carrying them for a few moments seems to rock their whole world but without reinforcing fear/ aggression towards you.

Mind you, you’ll always have to remind them more often that you’re their friend/ the boss In breeding season because of the seasonal insanity. They really can’t hel being little idiots this time of year.