Update on Cas, the "was a duck but now a goose" LOL

[Carrosaur]

Well, I went to a poultry swap with a friend, and was told all the ducklings in the bin were Welsh Harlequins. He stood out, was more active and a tad bigger and I liked his dark markings so I picked him from the bunch. My friend picked two others who look exactly like Welsh babies (mostly yellow fluff, orange feet and bills, fluffy cheeks) and within a day or so ours started to look VERY different and mine (Cas) was posturing like a goose (head down, neck out stretched, even hissed at my kids cat lol). The only thing I can figure is that somehow Cas (either wondered over or was accidentally brooded by) the ducks he had, and was picked up as one of the 5 day old ducklings. I'm thinking he's only NOW about 5 days old (still has his egg tooth, etc) and from what I can find, a day old gosling and 5 day old ducklings are ABOUT the same size, so it's possible maybe this is what happened? The farmer DID have goslings in a separate brooder with him, as well as pheasants and quail. His goslings were quite big at the time (he said almost 2 weeks old) and I wanted something as young as possible for imprinting, so I hadn't even paid much attention to the goslings. I wish now that I had so I would have known much earlier with Cas. Now that I look back his goslings were rather pricey IMO at $35/ea where the "duckling" I picked was only $5! Lol So who knows, maybe I did get really really lucky lol

Yes you did. My poms were $40 each

 

[Skyfire]

Just wanted to update you all on Cas. I was so worried about him being a bit wobbly a couple days ago, but I followed the advice here and he's doing SOOOO much better! I couldn't find just plain Brewer's Yeast ANYWHERE but the local feed store had a vitamin supplement with both Lysine and Nyacin in it that dissolves in his water and he's doing so much better now that I've added that. He's also got chick grit mixed in his food and enjoys the new addition of yard greens, kale, and meal worms! OMG he LOVES his worms! (They're the dried kind made by Happy Hen so I have been putting a pinch of them in his food and he enjoys digging through to find them!)

He's walking much better now today. Standing taller and not falling down. His legs still don't seem perfectly strong so I'm going to keep him on the Nyacin water for awhile. He's probably about doubled in size since I first posted pictures, so here's some I took yesterday on his first trip outside...



And I had to make some adjustments to his house too, since he's standing so tall he'd already outgrown his little baby feeder and waterer! Lol



And just because I thought maybe just maybe he would get lonely at night in there all alone, I bought him a pair of stuffed ducks that he just adores!



(The vinyl on the cage door isn't really for him. It's to keep our curious kitty's paws out!)

Now I have questions for others with HOUSE geese...

Is it possible for him to become TOO attached? Or TOO spoiled? Or should I practice some "tough love" and not give in to his cries for Mama? Right now, he will peep and search for us for awhile, then settle down with his ducky pals until he sees us again. I just don't want him to develop something like a separation anxiety complex down the road or something! Lol

He's still young so we don't keep him out for long periods of time. But, we did let him have his first (very short and in warm water) sink swim last night and he LOVED it. He was splashing and diving! I dried him off completely afterwards and snuggled him under his light and he slept like a baby all night! He also went outside yesterday (also a short trip because it's still a tad chilly here in Illinois) and loved that too. He pulled at grass and scratched at the ground, and even tried to give himself a dust bath in the grass! He's currently eating his crumble, with chick grit and gets dried meal worms as a treat, and fresh yard clippings every day. I have the vitamins in his water too. Is there anything else I can, or SHOULD be doing to ensure that he grows up strong, healthy, and well adjusted?

He is VERY bonded with me, but also accepts my husband and two teenagers. He tries to snuggle with our dogs (which we don't allow just yet because they are so big compared to him) and he hisses at our cats (LOL). He's wary of other humans he doesn't recognize but will tolerate them as long as I'm there. He never runs away from us, actually just the opposite! I don't expose him to any other birds (farm or other, other than my cockatoo, who I let LOOK but not touch Lol) because I'm a paranoid Mama. I guess what I'm really asking is....

Am I doing this right?

Cas is such a little cutie. The more I read your posts, the more I find myself chuckling because we have similar personalities. There are so many schools of thought when it comes to letting a gosling cry it out. Some say you should because answering a gosling's cries will teach them to keep crying. Some say a mother goose would never let her gosling's cries go unanswered and that a gosling will assume you have died. I tried to take a middle ground path. Fortunately, I only have been in this position once, the first night we put Jupiter in her own bed. I decided to let her cry it out for a couple of minutes, but if she didn't settle then I would get her. I really lucked out as she fell asleep before confronted with that choice. One thing I think helps with her, is I go in her room once or twice before going to bed myself, when she is awake and calm. We set up a surveillance camera over her bed so I can see what she is doing. My hope is to teach her she doesn't need to scream for me, that I will always check on her no matter what. Jupiter may be unique in this way, but so far this technique has worked. She doesn't fuss when I put her to bed.

Cas has a great momma. He is a lucky little guy

 

[EvenLater]

Cas is such a little cutie. The more I read your posts, the more I find myself chuckling because we have similar personalities. There are so many schools of thought when it comes to letting a gosling cry it out. Some say you should because answering a gosling's cries will teach them to keep crying. Some say a mother goose would never let her gosling's cries go unanswered and that a gosling will assume you have died. I tried to take a middle ground path. Fortunately, I only have been in this position once, the first night we put Jupiter in her own bed. I decided to let her cry it out for a couple of minutes, but if she didn't settle then I would get her. I really lucked out as she fell asleep before confronted with that choice. One thing I think helps with her, is I go in her room once or twice before going to bed myself, when she is awake and calm. We set up a surveillance camera over her bed so I can see what she is doing. My hope is to teach her she doesn't need to scream for me, that I will always check on her no matter what. Jupiter may be unique in this way, but so far this technique has worked. She doesn't fuss when I put her to bed.

Cas has a great momma. He is a lucky little guy

Aww! Thank you Sky! I just love him to bits! He doesn't really yell anymore, I think he's learning our routine. I think the little booger can tell time lol My husband tells me (and took pictures because I doubted him lol) that about 10 minutes before I get home from work, he wakes up and begins this quiet pacing by his door, peeking over the ledges every so often. He hears me as soon as I walk in the door, and calls out to me. It literally melts my heart! I get home quite late, so we only visit for a short time, but he snuggles and "talks" to me and we play until he's worn out. Then when I put him back in he just looks at me and goes to snuggle with his two duckies and he'll sleep all night.

But, goodness he's growing fast! I have to make sure I take at least a few pictures every day because by the next day he's grown! He will literally follow my anywhere and will try anything I show him. I really do feel like a mama goose! Lol Not to mention, at this age, a gosling running full speed to catch up to you has got to be the silliest and most heart warming thing I've ever experienced.

 

[Skyfire]

There is something new on Jupiter every morning. Here is a video I did of her 3 days ago. For some reason it stopped recording without me noticing, hence the abrupt ending. I'm going to try to get her on video bathing tomorrow. She loves to dive bomb and swim under water. It's really neat to watch.

 

[EvenLater]

Oh my goodness she's so precious! So healthy and strong! And now I have a better idea where Cas will be soon, maybe I'll be able to tell his actual age a little better. You call her Baby Girl just like I call Cas Baby Boy! Lol Wouldn't it be something if Cas ended up a lady and Jupiter a gent! LOL! Thanks for sharing this video!