Young Toulouse gander getting snappy

[Gyburc]

Hello everyone! I have a couple of questions about goose behaviour...

I have four young utility Toulouse geese (not the dewlap variety) that hatched in mid-June last year. I bought them at one week old, and they imprinted on me and have been friendly and chatty from the start onwards. Recently, the largest discovered that he was A Gander and has started mating with one of the others. He has also started getting quite hissy with me and my husband, which we have been deliberately ignoring.

Last weekend, I was shovelling out the goose-hut, and the gander started off by hissing at me, then went on to bite my foot (fortunately I was wearing wellies). About ten minutes later I came back out into the garden to do another job, and he came right for me and latched onto my foot again. I detached him about four or five times, only to have him come straight back at me, before he gave up and slunk away. I stood my ground for a few moments, to make sure he didn't think he had seen me off.

Since then, he has been pretty much as usual - less hissy, in fact.

Does this sound usual to you? Also, do you think this is the kind of behaviour that is likely to escalate? And is there any significance to him picking my foot to chew on, rather than any other bit of me??

Thanks!

Gyburc

 

[Cottage Rose]

This is typical behavior for ganders after 6 months old.
During the breeding season formerly friendly youngsters can go anywhere from benign hissing to out right attacking you.
In the case of overly aggressive ganders I grab them by the neck, pin them down on the ground and hold them down for
a few minutes in a display of dominance over them, which they hate.
This will usually curb their aggression toward you, if not repeat as needed.
There's no way to outright stop breeding season aggression.
It's natural for ganders to be protective of their females and offspring.
As I like to say...they're just being geese and thats OK.

 

[Gyburc]

Thanks for the reassurance!

Any ideas on the foot-biting? He really did go for my welly, rather than any other part of me...

 

[Cottage Rose]

I would do the same treatment regardless of the area he's attacking.
Try it and see if he backs off.
If he's biting at your boots at least you won't get hurt.

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
Had he seen the wellys before? Geese are more likely to attack something new than something that they are used to. I remember my girl when she first went out in sandals with her nails painted pink; she said my pervert geese had a foot fetish. She went back out in her usual shoes and no extra attention was paid. They are most likely to pay attention to things on their level, though mine would object if I wore a hat.

 

[Gyburc]

Hi all,

I've been wearing these wellies for quite some time, and haven't had any trouble before. He's been hissing at me when I shovel straw for a couple of weeks - maybe it's the shovel he dislikes??

Interestingly, since the biting incident he has been much more friendly - no hissing at all and yesterday he even came to take food from me, which he hasn't done for a while. I'll just have to wait and see how he copes the next time I clean out the shed...

Thanks!

G