Why are my 2 week old goslings eating each other?

[Kaisahr]

I have 3 white chinese, 1 african. First issue that arose is the african biting at the white chinese's eyeballs, like grab it hard and try to take it. I separated him and put him with some black ducklings. Since the ducklings are black i guess he can't see their eye balls as he did the yellow goslings, didn't have an issue with the ducklings.

Fast forward another week and i put them outside in a coop, now they are biting their hair if it gets wet. One gosling i assume dipped his butt in the water container and now the goslings pecked at him for who knows how long last night and when i went into the coop this morning his bottom was red with no hair, not dripping blood but he definitely bled and the wound is quite visible.

This is my first time raising goslings, i have never seen this behavior with ducks, or chicks. They have plenty of space to roam in the coop, it's quite large. They've got water, food, heat.

I have taken the 3 goslings out of the coop and let them roam the fenced area until the gosling they bit heals up and it is no longer visible. I noticed they would keep biting at the wound if i put them back into the coop, they are relentless. They cannot see anything weird with a body or they will bite at it until they kill it i would imagine.

 

[Jenbirdee]

where did you get the goslings from? i wonder if they’ve been inbred.
@Goosebaby @Miss Lydia

 

[Kaisahr]

where did you get the goslings from? i wonder if they’ve been inbred.
@Goosebaby @Miss Lydia

Metzer Farms

 

[Miss Lydia]

Get some Blue Kote from TSC it is the best for hiding a wound and helps heal too. It stains so be careful using it.

I have no idea why this white gosling is being hurt like he is, I just received 4 Runner ducklings from Metzers they are doing great with each other, I believe I would text email, or call them you need to send that picture too.

You said they have food water and heat 24/7? What type of heat? if a heat lamp are you using a white light? or red? red doesn't disturb their nights for sleeping but a white one would and can stress them too if they aren't resting like they should. Just throwing some things out there to think about. So sorry this is happening to your babies.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

My ducklings would do the same thing when their siblings got water drops on their fluff. Never more than just nibbling the water off though. Seemed like they were just trying to keep eachother dry

 

[Kaisahr]

Get some Blue Kote from TSC it is the best for hiding a wound and helps heal too. It stains so be careful using it.

I have no idea why this white gosling is being hurt like he is, I just received 4 Runner ducklings from Metzers they are doing great with each other, I believe I would text email, or call them you need to send that picture too.

I also had 2 runner ducklings in my order from them, they are very relaxed and chill. No behavior issues. I don't even seen the point in contacting Metzer, doubtful they will do anything about it and i already had a bad experience with them.

One gosling died after receiving it like 8 hours later. I get things happen, not all make it. But what turned me off was after I called them and the woman who picked up with the spanish accent was just super rude about the whole situation, i was honestly surprised at her attitude. She raised her voice several times, seemed very angry at me for no reason. Just very nasty. I'm sure there are great people there, but this one woman who i dealt with was horrible.

They are shipping me a replacement for the one that passed away, and a random duckling as a bonus, but probably won't do business with them again, or even want to deal with that customer service. The only reason i ordered these goslings from them was because i had no choice, there is nobody here that i know of that raises them, it's mostly chickens and ducks.

I'm just hoping this will eventually wear off and they start behaving normally as they grow up, time will tell...

 

[Miss Lydia]

I am so sorry you had such an experience with Metzers I think John Metzer is on BYC maybe he'll see this so he can talk to his customer service. That is no way to talk to a paying customer especially when they lost one of their goslings.

I hope these goslings can get settled and behave themselves.

 

[Goosebaby]

Some goslings can be obsessive. I don’t think it’s intentional, they don’t realize they’re doing harm to each other. Goslings are mouthy little fuzz brains and chewing on things is the best game, sometimes they’re just too enthusiastic about it.
You could try giving them an alternative to chew on, like a stuffed animal or carpet, something stringy they can terrorize but not swallow, and definitely try the blue kote Miss Lydia mentioned.


Also I’m sorry about the way the Metzer employee treated you, that is horrible!

 

[Miss Lydia]

@Kaisahr maybe you should post here https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/metzer-farms-review-s.1515855/page-4
Hopefully John Metzer will see this.