Our farm is not ours anymore...the weeders have taken over. The gander will run and hiss
and attack anything that is bigger or smaller than him now. The mrs. goose just honks.
He attacked and bit on my little black pug, so i fenced the weeders in where she laid the
eggs. right in front of the house and driveway. its about a 40 foot square area, and the
fence is about 3 feet high. tonight they just airlifted themselves out of it. sigh. anyone
have some great ideas? I have their kiddy pool in there, nice grass, bowl of scratch. few
small trees for them to kill, and lawn to dig up. perfect for them.
DH and I tried moving the eggs and the geese to the chicken yard, but they wanted no
part of that, and flew out of there, and right back to where they thought the eggs were. so
I returned the eggs, and then unrolled the square grid garden wire to fence them in.
I feel like putting a chain and ball on their foot, like a prisoner....
I don't know if we will be able to handle clipping their wings. Although, when we caught
one, it became somewhat docile as we carried it to the chicken yard. I have read that
a goose can break a mans arm with their beaks. Scarey!!!!!!
Taller fence? another layer of fence up above the stuff that is there now?
Feed them so much they won't be able to fly?
tie helium baloons around the fence line so when they try to fly out they will run into
the balloons?
thanks for all your great and creative ideas!
sher
Talouse Goose Laid 19 Honkin Eggs
Could you build a big "goose tractor" to keep them in (like a big chicken tractor), with metal fencing/wire on the sides and top? One that could be pulled by a tractor or 4-wheeler, maybe? ....I'll keep thinking on this one, and ask my folks how Papaw kept his geese from flying the coop.
I've never had geese, but from what I've been told, a goose can break a man's leg with its WING! ...Be careful WP!!
PS: Why are we Michiganders the only ones awake at 3:00 a.m.?? I needed Advil. I worked on my chicken tractor today, and the muscles in my right arm are sore from swinging a hammer all day. .....I'm getting too old for this kind of stuff.....
That is to cool wigglypaw ... I wish KB would let me hatch some chicks but he will not stand for it because one of my silkie female had her neck broken by the male to mate with her has this ever happend before in mateing the silkies???
goose eggs wow... WOW ....
Tracey
Hi Gang
These geese are driving me nutz! My hubby and I cannot go in or out of the
door without them honkin and screeching. You would think they would know
us by now, "oh, those are the humans who feed us and give us the fresh
water and the corn grain".
Glenda- it seems me also, when I have been working too hard doing
bigtime physical stuff, then I pay for it at night. Just too achey to sleep
I guess. Also, I am working around here with a torn rotator cuff, which
I have an appointment in Sept for surgery. No time now, the farm is
too busy for me to take 8 weeks off. My doctor is a nut job. He doesn't
prescribe pain pills, and if he does, then I try them, and when i call and
tell them that they don't work, then he says, discontinue them and
see me at your next appointment. What a jerk. I intend to discuss this
poor doctoring with him. Maybe he wants to get rid of us as patients?
Wants younger less problem prone people?
Its a thought.
sheri
I had Toulouse geese for years. I first had two females and they were pretty good at eating everything, But weeds. They were always loose in the fenced in yard and only went after people they knew they could get away with (One elderly friend used to keep a tiny stick by the gate and whenever she came in the yard, she showed them the stick and they left her alone.) Anyway, one died for unknown reasons and they other nearly died from grief. After a few months we got a young male and then the trouble really started. When it was just the girls, we could go out and collect eggs and do whatever needed to be done in the yard. That stopped as soon as nesting season started. By the time 6 eggs hatched, even I wasn't safe in the yard. That gander was the sneekiest thing I had ever seen. He would wait till I wasn't watching any more and then nail me. I had to carry a stick everywhere. Finailly, I gave him and the goslings away and it was just back to Ethel and me. She was a gentle as ever and lived for several years, finially to pass away in her sleep one night. I know of one pair that are over 40 years old, but Ethel was only about 10.
I don't have geese any more, but now I have strawberries which I could never have with her around.
I don't know how to keep them confined. Mine never tried to fly over even the lowest fence. (they had a bit of a weight problem). I found them to be quite gentle when picked up, it was just catching them that was hard. While their wings are powerful, you also have to watch the toenails. They are sharp and they scratch you with their feet. And they will probably get more agressive till the eggs hatch. My beagle wouldn't even go out to pee when mine were nesting.
I hoe you figure it all out, there is nothing cuter than baby geese chasing bugs in the yard.
Why don't you clip their wings?
Was your pair friendly before the breeding season?
I really doubt a gander could break bones with their wings but I'm sure they could leave a nasty bruise. I have never had a gander try to whack me with his wings...rather they try to charge and bite. I have no experience with goose breeds other than Sebastopols which are less aggressive than other breeds. I know Swans, Africans and Chinese can be down right vicious but Toulouse aren't suppose to be that bad are they? I thought they were wimps.
I would walk right up to the gander, grab him by the neck, put him down on the ground, hold him there for a few minutes (while calling him insulting names) and show him whose boss. Repeat as needed. I wonder how much is bluff? ALL ganders are aggressive during the breeding season but if you show fear or run away from them you have given them the upper hand...er...wing.
If they hatch out any goslings and you leave them with the parents the gander will be even worse and the goslings will fear people. I would remove them as soon as they hatch out and hand raise them so they bond to people. They can easily be integrated back into the flock later after they have feathered out but will remain tame as long as the parents aren't wild acting which they might pick up on.
"Girls & Sebastopols"
This message was edited May 31, 2007 10:55 PM
Cottage_Rose, your girls are so cute. They almost look like they're wearing "live white boas"! Great picture!
I would clip the wings
I've done it to my swans that wern't pinyoned(can't spell this early)
My white chinese would come after me but as soon as I saw him doing that snake dance with his neck I would grab him by the neck,look him in the eye,then toss him in the pond
He'd leave me alone till the next day......
Glenda...those aren't my girls but the photo shows how gentle Sebastopols can be if bonded to people as hatchlings.
we disposed of the geese.
the eggs were non fertile and they didn't earn their living here on the farm.
We will continue with the chickens and the ducks.
I love the feather boas.
sher
Wow, Y'all snatching geese by the necks scare the heck out of me. I know I wouldn't mess with you after that either! LOL
I think you made the right decision WigglyPaw. No geese for me either.
I used to feed a goose that swam in the lake in our sub-division in Pensacola, FL. I called her "fat butt" cause she had one. She used to swim with one white duck & 2 mallards; Larry, his brother Daryl and his other brother Daryl. One of the Daryl's got attacked by a dog & hid out under out deck. Poor ole Larry stayed by his side for days. I tried to rescue Daryl but he ran off & Larry with him. Soon, we were down to just the goose & one Daryl. Our sub-division was destroyed by Hurricane Ivan but that duck & goose survived. Feeding them & chatting with them twice a day was the sole bright spot in my day. We lived in a tiny travel trailer for the next 8 months trying to clean up our property. We eventually settled with the insurance co, sold the property & moved to Texas. YAHOO & YEHAW! Sadly, my neighbor told me after we left someone killed the goose in a most despicable manner. The more I know SOME people the more I love my dog! So, maybe the geese have good reason to be leary of us.
You just got the wrong breed...my Sebastopol geese are as sweet as can be and beautiful as well.
Cottage_Rose, How gorgeous! They look like resting ballerinas!
Margie