We created a gosling monster...

[gavada]

So about a month ago our white Chinese weeder goose hatched out about 8 goslings. 2 of the goslings took a long time hatching (as in half the shell was off and they just wouldn’t come out of the egg). I went back the next morning and the one was dead and the other was near death. As I was carrying them both over to the woods to dispose of them the one was still slightly moving around but I had to poke it near it’s eye to even get this movement. So I took it in to our back room and sat it under the heat lamp. After about an hour it started to lift its head and look strikingly not dead but wouldn’t stand up. It took nearly 3 days before it would get up and walk around poorly so we kept it in the back room.

Well as you can probably guess it’s now a very lively and seemingly healthy gosling. It is easily 2 times the size of the goslings living with the mother and easily 3 times heavier. It’s lovely and dear and not a jerk like the rest. It also won’t leave us alone. Clearly it imprinted on us but we really need to get it back outside and I have no clue how.

It screams bloody murder when we lock it in a safe section of the coop and walk away. It wants nothing to do with the other geese (though the mother was happy to take it back). If I let it down there it will call every predator in from a mile away with all of its squawking. It will probably hurt itself trying to squeeze through anything it thinks it should squeeze through.

How? How do I get my oversized anxiety laden mistaken identity gosling back outside?

 

[The goose girl]

Imprinting is not reversible. So your gosling has decided you're its parents, and it turns to only you for protection.

If you let it stay inside for another month, it'll be fully feathered and able to stay outside without protection. It'll be lonely and scared, but hopefully it'll gradually accept the other geese as company.

 

[gavada]

It’s by itself when it’s in the backroom and he’s calm and quiet. Is it possible we can get it to be just as calm and quiet somewhere else? We have a chicken tractor that is big enough for him and he could still stay. Y the house in the front yard if there is only some way I can get him comfortable when he’s locked up there. He really needs more space.

 

[Miss Lydia]

When my goose lost her only gosling that hatched, I went and got 2 day old goslings for her but because I was worried she wouldn't accept them right off she wouldn't get off the nest even though all eggs were gone. I brooded the 2 littles inside but on nice warm days I would take them outside and we would parade by her house so she could see them, they would follow me of course, After about 4-5 days she would come out of her house and stand and watch us the gander too. I would also sit outside with them so all the birds could get use to them. Well one day we went on parade and low and behold she came outside and started following us with papa gander behind her. By the time the goslings were 3 weeks old they were following the geese around and I finally felt confident to let them stay outside. It worked out great.

 

[gavada]

We keep thinking that will happen! But so far this gosling wants nothing to do with them. We’ll keep doing it. Maybe he just needs more time.

 

[Miss Lydia]

He does, just take is slow and steady. How old is the gosling now?

 

[gavada]

They hatched out around March 16 so he’s about 3 weeks old. He’s just HUGE.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Baby Huey lol
Give him time I think he'll come around to liking being a goose. The more time you spend outside around the others will help. I actually spent more time outside with the geese and gosling than I did inside for that 3 weeks, it was fun though to see how much they warmed up to each other.

 

[mew317]

We had a goose named Stumpy who we got from 4 or 3 days being left in the incubator. Stumpy was attached to me due to me playing with him, sitting with him at bathtime, even being there for him when he still had burn scars and crippled legs. He would cry and pace back and forth if I had left the play area or the big place he’s in now. It’s been a year now and Stumpy has nothing to do with me. Stumpy is a male white Chinese goose who rarely wants to see me now. If I say “STUMPY!” He will honk and go off. You got to leave the gossling outside for a while and it will detach itself from you and become a good lil goose. That’s all.

 

[Miss Lydia]

@gavada How's it going with your lil monster?