"Training" goslings - aggressiveness?

[GoodEgg]

Quote:
Hi Sparrow!

Thanks for saying this. This is actually a big area of interest for me too. I used to raise and train German Shepherd dogs, and I've always been interested in training animals. I've owned and trained parrots as well, and done some training with many sorts of animals (cats, gerbils, hamsters, guinea pigs, the ducks and chickens). My degrees are in biology and psychology ... I've always been interested in these kinds of things since I was a kid.

I was amazed the first time I saw that chickens could be trained not only to perform fairly complicated tasks, but also to discriminate between situations and do different tasks depending upon the cue they are given. I think geese are probably a lot more trainable than chickens, although it would depend on exactly what you were trying to train them to do, I think.

(Also the "reward" can be a problem in geese, since their favorite thing seems to be ripping up grass, and I can't limit their access to that in order to make it special, LOL.)

But at any rate, it may be possible to train them not to be aggressive. Or it may just be a part of their nature such that it would be more difficult to do. I just wondered if anyone had any experience in this.

They have such personality, each one is already so different. I think the ease of getting them to behave in certain ways will be very much affected by their natures.

I'm trying to figure out this "biting" they do. The dark ones have all but stopped biting me at all. They do chew my hair, or anything hanging on my clothes, but that is more of a grooming action I think. Atilla will bite me on purpose, but it's not hard. I know he can bite a lot harder than that. It's more a nibble, and I wonder if it has a social meaning. He does tend to do it when he's hungry, and it may be a sign that he is impatient. I don't feed them directly by hand anymore because I didn't want them to come to associate my hands specifically with food.

Still learning these goosey things ... hehe I think chickens were more straightforward, and ducks just become ducks so quickly. These baby gooses act more like I am mama, so I think it's going to be a different story with them.

Life is an adventure, and I'm enjoying this part of it.

trish

 

[Sparrow]

^^Animal intelligence and behavioral capabilities are so interesting! It's good to know someone else is really interested in these kinds of things. A lot of people think I'm nutty for training and working with my poultry.

My gosling DaPengyou("big friend"), obviously the BIG one of the pair, bites me for attention. He doesn't bite me hard at all, and if he pinches me a little too aggressively, I gently grab the tip of his bill and look him in the eye and tell him no. When I do this, he looks really serious for a moment, then he runs away and runs in a circle with his wings out, and then he pops up right in front of me looking bright and happy and ready for attention.

It's like a release of energy or tension after being scolded. He has been acting less aggressive about his attention-biting since I've been working with him, so perhaps it's making sense to him!

I'm sure that if geese are as intelligent as everyone says they are, they can be trainable. Especially if they seem to view their caretaker as their "parent figure", which they seem to do as well. I'd love to hear more opinions on this idea!

 

[GoodEgg]

Hi Sparrow,

LOL, mine do the same thing if I "fuss" at them ... run madly in a circle with the little wing stubs out; then they come walking slowly back to me with their necks out, whistling at me.

It does seem some release of energy. I've seen them do this since they were only a couple of days old. When I first took them outside, it was as if they HAD to let energy out. Not surprising, since I kept them in a box inside (the largest I had, but it's just not big enough for goslings).

Hehe, I love to hear their little feet all slapping the ground at the same time when they all run.

I think Greyfields is right, though, that in my case it may be more a matter of the other animals learning to respect the geese. I notice Momo (the drake Atilla latched onto and was being dragged by) doesn't come near them anymore. Kupo (other drake) still does, but Kupo is very stubborn to think he has to guard the entire yard and attack everyone. He bites my feet whenever I go to the back corner to collect eggs. I may have to protect him from the gooses before it's over with.

But they already know the difference when I am calling them. If I call "goose goose!" they know I am talking to them, and they answer. If they are not doing anything important, they come to me. But if they are busy eating grass, they don't want to come, so I say "Hey hey, c'mon c'mon, let's go-go-go!" and they will immediately drop whatever they are doing and run after me as if their little lives depended on it.

My ducks/drakes come if I say "duck-duck-duck" in a low voice, and the chickens come if I say "chick-chick-chick". I can separate out the chickens and ducks that way (unless the chickens think I have food, in which case they follow me anyway!).

The baby chicks haven't learned to come to any call yet, but they do pop over when they see me. It's visual for them right now though ... doesn't matter what I say or if I say anything.

Oh, and the baby gooses learned to use a step to get in and out of a baby wading pool after being shown only twice, and that at a month old. I didn't even put a pool up for the ducks until they were about 3-1/2 months old, and it took many tries of them accidentally getting in with the step before a couple of them figured it out. The drakes got it quicker than the ducks. Kuro still seems confused sometimes, poor girl. Then again, they were past wanting to be handled, and the baby gooses didn't mind being shown, so that can make a difference too.

Rambling now ...

trish