Wild canadian goose in the chicken pen this morning!

[hopp2it]

We saw this lone Canadian goose in our yard yesterday but figured it would be gone eventually and paid it no mind. We have lots of geese in the area and flying past this time of year. My husband closed the coop up last night and didn't mention anything out of the ordinary. I went to open the coop this morning and there is that lone goose in the chicken pen! I went in and chased it but it wouldn't fly out. It kept just "jumping" into the mesh netting that makes the pen fence on one side. I eventually chased it out the area we use as a gate but it still didn't fly away. Somehow it flew into the chicken pen because there is no way it could have gotten in otherwise without us having the "gate" open. How concerned should I be about keeping it away from the hens?

 

[chfite]

In my experience, Canada Geese can be aggressive to humans. Being wild birds, they might carry some pestilence that your chickens could catch.

My inclination would be to discourage its presence.

Chris

 

[bubbastump22]

yes u are right they can be aggressive but at the same time..if there was no harm done to the chickens and the goose didn't seem mean or anything i would try to see bout keeping it as a pet..i knew in some states u can have them as pets and in most u cant...but at the same time if it dont fly then i would call animal control out cause there could b something wrong with the goose as well..it could be sick and u dont wont any issues with ur chickens if it is...

 

[drumstick diva]

The only time I've seen Canadian Geese not fly is when they go thru their molt - they they can't fly, it's not a matter of being ill. Read on the emu site that wild geese can carry a type of mite that is very disasterous to emus. Don't know about other species. They certainly can be very aggressive towards humans, etc. It will probably hog all the chicken feed besides leaving alot of messes around that would contaminate your birds.

 

[Next Level]

I would keep it away from my animals at all cost. I have had them spread diseases to my other birds just from flying over. If its not flying away its most likely sick or injured.

Research has shown that the excrement of geese contains a wide variety of pathogens capable of infecting humans.

They can pass the parasites Cryptosporidium and Giardia among others.
They can pass Campylobacter jejuni, E-coli, and salmonella.
They are known carriers of avian influenza and West Nile Virus.

 

[sourland]

Since this thread is 5 months old, I'm willing to bet that the problem has been resolved.