Posted: Thu Aug 14, 14 8:32 am Post subject: vicious goose
Hi everyone, I've got 2 x 14 week old goslings, incubated and hand reared and now feathered up. Just introduced 7 hens and a shy cockrel to the same bit of garden and one of the goslings ( possibly both ganders ) has suddenly become very vicious and is biting badly - not all the time and not yet established a pattern, but I now have to carry a stick with me to keep it at bay . Any suggestions ? He seems healthy. If this continues he may end up in the pot !! Think he's a chinese cross, not sure as I was given the eggs .
Hi
I have had geese and they were all affectionate at first and then became aggressive, males and females, worse in the mating season. As I had reared them myself from an incubator, they remained affectionate to me for the longest time, attacking all the other members of the family. but once they were adults and it was mating season all ties were forgotten.
They would also attack my chickens ferociously as a gang. Deliberately waiting until they had cornered one before attacking en mass. It was only a matter of time before a chicken died, and mine were free range so it wasn't as though they couldn't get away.
Thanks for that. I have the 2 geese and the other one is a real pet, loves to sit on my lap and have his tummy rubbed ! They both chase the chickens away but I haven't seen any nasty behaviour towards them - the goose in question has just ' turned' on me, think the other one ( who is a different breed and much bigger ) is probably the dominant one . It's not breeding season, wondered if he begrudged me bring the chickens into 'their' space ( I have no choice, nowhere else to put them - and I wanted chickens before I was given the goose eggs ) .
chez
Joined: 13 Aug 2006 Posts: 35935 Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset
Posted: Thu Aug 14, 14 1:48 pm Post subject:
I think they are a bit like cockerels in their behaviour, by the sound of it. I don't handle my young cockerels or try and tame them, because as they mature they start to think that that means they are 'the boss of me', rather than the other way round. Having them less tame to begin with means that they tend to respect humans a bit more.
Don't know what your solution is, at this point - perhaps carry on carrying your stick for emergencies and try and de-tame them?
Thanks for sharing that, the white goose was born a few days before the other eggs hatched and got a lot more attention - he's still a sweetie . I wonder if the brown one has got the hump since the cockrel arrived ( who's very timid anyway and needs to learn to master his chickens ) . But exciting news, I had my first chickens egg today !
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