Question about Geese

[Baskar]

This is the closest thing to Farm Birds so figured I'd try here.

I've had some Roman Tufted geese for a while now, but when my male had a nasty death due to a wild dog, I knew I needed to get another male somehow.

So, this last spring, I went to get some more Roman Tufted Buff Geese. Unfortunately, the local hatchery (45 miles away *rolls eyes) had too much demand for them and we agreed on Chinese geese. Free for the delay and not getting what we wanted. Have 5 of em now, 1 male (Gilbert) and 4 females - one with a droopy wing..Guess what her name is? LOL.

I realize that Chinese geese, especially males can be quite aggressive and it's that aggressiveness that is becoming a royal burden. Why they have to be so nervous and paranoid is beyond my understanding.

Has anyone tried cross breeding a Chinese Gander with a Roman Tufted Buff goose? And if so, how did the males turn out? This question has been in my mind for the last month and a half.

Also, is there a way to train him to not be so darned aggressive? He goes after everything - maybe because he's so young, I don't know. I just know I don't want another injured duck or one of my Wyandottes almost killed to deal with.

At least he's friendly with people..at least until one of the females decides to give someone more attention than him.

Thank you in advance for any info.

[TAWhatley]

Hi Thomas,

I don't know the answer to your questions or dilemma. I can tell you that I have had male Chinese Geese that were so totally "attuned" to me that it wasn't even close to funny. The same with male Muscovy ducks. I do think that part of the problem for them is just being young and inexperienced in the ways of the goose or duck world. Your ratio of females to male seems good, so I'd suggest just giving the young one some time.

I just got in a HUGE young Muscovy drake yesterday. He is gorgeous, healthy, but just too aggressive for the home he was in. So far, he's been fine here, but I suspect that I will soon be having a big, white, Muscovy drake, jumping on my back and grabbing my hair .. been there and done that. I can deal with it, but most people won't or can't.

Terry

[Baskar]

Ooo, Muscovy - Kewlies! For the life of me, I can't figure out why some people think they're ugly. But then, we all have our own preferences, don't we?

And how big is huge? Giant Pekin huge or Khaki Campbell huge? Khaki drakes are aggressive as well.

Including Gwendolyn and Mai (The Roman buff's), there's a total of 6 females. More than enough for a drake. We were all hoping for two gander's, but the way I look at it is that it's better to have 1 male and 6 females than 7 females.

For some reason the geese don't like the persimmon fruit from the tree's. All my other birds do, just not the geese.

Oh that reminds me - have you ever had dealings with wood ducks? We've tried and TRIED to get this one pair that returns each year to use a nest box we have set up (and yes we made sure it's set up properly), but the blasted birds keep using a certain cherry tree that HAS to be removed. We don't call it the Leaning Tree of Doom for nothing. Just that we don't have the heart to miss out on watching them year after year.

[TAWhatley]

Originally Posted by Baskar

And how big is huge? Giant Pekin huge or Khaki Campbell huge? Khaki drakes are aggressive as well.

He is the size of a goose .. very big boy. I'll post some pics in the next few days. You'll find a lot of my pics in the Other Birds Story and Picture Forum.

Oh that reminds me - have you ever had dealings with wood ducks? We've tried and TRIED to get this one pair that returns each year to use a nest box we have set up (and yes we made sure it's set up properly), but the blasted birds keep using a certain cherry tree that HAS to be removed. We don't call it the Leaning Tree of Doom for nothing. Just that we don't have the heart to miss out on watching them year after year.

I have had dealings with Wood Ducks but never in trying to get them to use nest boxes. I did a huge rescue years ago at a park/lake here where they had Wood Duck boxes. The boxes were quite successfully used.

Terry

[Baskar]

Holy crow, I had no idea muscovy's could get that big. *blinks*

[Fancyfowl4ever]

Chinese geese are agressive little devils, even crosses with those and other breeds still make nasty ganders. Can't turn your back on them.

Ganders that were hand-reared and raised together with other types of fowl usually have a higher tendency towards agression cause he does not see humans/other birds as something to respect/fear, he sees them as "other ganders" that he needs to chase and attack to defend his territory/girls.

My ChinaXEmden(beautiful cross, sex-linked, with blue ganders and brown geese) Gander killed a fully grown Rhode Island red roo of mine and almost killed my Swedish and Crested ducks.
I ended up selling them after 3 yrs, since I wanted to into another direction waterfowl wise.

Now I raise Scovies and Snow geese. The scovies are almost twice the size of the Snows.
I have several Scovie drakes, no agressive ones yet. I can imagen what pain it would be to have something with those claws attack you......

[TAWhatley]

Originally Posted by Fancyfowl4ever

I have several Scovie drakes, no agressive ones yet. I can imagen what pain it would be to have something with those claws attack you......

It's really, really, "special" .. I can vouch for it. That one I just posted pictures of is extremely wild and human unfriendly. Scovy talons truly are lethal (or at least blood drawing) weapons. Still, Muscovies are my favorite kind of duck. Most of them are quite tame, sane, and loving beings.

Terry

[Baskar]

Ganders that were hand-reared and raised together with other types of fowl usually have a higher tendency towards agression cause he does not see humans/other birds as something to respect/fear, he sees them as "other ganders" that he needs to chase and attack to defend his territory/girls.

Oh....Greeeeat. This would explain why Gilbert tends to make a high pitched honking noise whenever I'm standing around...Or the barking he makes whenever I open my mouth to say something.
See with the Chinese geese, we hand-raised em. One day, when they were outside for their daily eatings (still amazed by how much Chinese goslings ate compared to my other geese) the older geese ended up taking em in. Sneaky little goslings found a hole in a makeshift fence and ended up following the two geese. We kept a close eye on em and they got along great. We hand-raised em for a month and a half before the two geese took over.

The Chinese Geese are 5 months old, is there anything I can do to help correct his attitude before he reaches full maturity?

I've gotten to the point of carrying around a walking stick. Gilbert get's too close and I just gently push him away. He really hates it when the other geese come to say hello to me.

And boy are they loud...man, I thought the Roman Tufted were loud, but the Chinese put em to shame. Only time the Roman Tufted females get loud is when I give them their weekly special treat. (A piece of bread between the two, usually the end piece of a loaf).

So cross-breeding between a Chinese and a docile breed would still produce an ill-tempered male? What if the goslings were raised by the parents? Any ideas?

I've seen pictures of Swedish Crested Ducks....Believe you me, if they sold em around here I'd probably get em. Never heard of snow geese.


It's gotten to the point where my father and I are putting up an electric fence. I swear, what's with Chinese geese and roads anyway? Or better yet, what's with Chinese geese and horse dung? Amish buggy goes by and they HAVE to go and inspect the dung.

[Fancyfowl4ever]

I have tried to get my hand reared geese to see me as more then another goose by chasing them with my hands up in the air and yelling at them, but they aren't going for it. Geese are smart.
Problem is when you have parent birds that have lost the respect to humans the goslings they raise usually pick up on their parent behaviour, its a vicious cycle.
My second gander I kept was raised by my original china male(who dispised every human he saw), he was good until he hit about a year of age and then he turned into a cheeky monster like his dad. I have heard of sweet chinese ganders out there, and I bet there are lots of them. I just wasn't one of them people who got one. It is an awesome breed, if I get the chance I probably would give them another try.

Now I only keep Migratory geese like Snows(both blue and white) and Canadas. They keep to themselfs and try to avoid any conflict unless theres no other way since taking unnecessary risks in the wild would not be healthy.(yay for instinct!) If I catch my snow gander and pick him off the ground and restrain him, then he will pinch(while he tries to hide his head), but only then.

I love Swedish ducks(not the crested variety since those are technickly crossbreeds of a crested duck and a swedish). I did manage to get my hands on purebred white crested ducks(not crested pekins), they are hard to find cause they get crossed with other breeds to make ducks like runners or swedish have crests. They did not impress me tho. They sell them for too much money I think(a pair goes for up to $125).

I hope your Gander will not get too nasty.
Anna

[jbangelfish]

I have had alot of different kinds of geese, mostly wild types. Ganders of any species can be quite aggressive and I had Embden/Toulouse crosses that always chased my mother-in-law. She accused me of trying to keep her away.

I had Canadas that never chased anyone except my older sister, back when I was a kid. She didn't appreciate it but I thought it was pretty funny as they didn't bother anyone else unless they had eggs or young at the time. I never had geese actually harm another bird but they all tended to chase ducks and other fowl. They were the undisputed kings of the yard.

I did have some very aggressive Muscovey drakes but also never to a point of harming anything. I did worry about them being so mean but everyone learned to stay away from them, especially during breeding season.

My original Muscovey drake lived with chickens for a year or so before I had any Muscovey hens. He roosted with the chickens and never bothered any of them. He did not swim, even though I had a pond and other ducks (Mallards, mostly). I picked up a couple of hens at a swap meet and it took him a full year to leave the chickens for the Muscovey hens. Once he did so, he began swimming and breeding and behaving like a duck but I was quite surprised that it took him so long.

I also raised Wood Ducks and they readily adapted to nest boxes. The hole size seems to be the critical factor and I'd have to check to be sure but somewhere around 5 inches seems right. If you could wait until fall to cut the tree down or at least until the Woodies leave with their young, it is very likely that you could replace their hollow tree with a nest box in the same area and they would probably use it. They need to be at least a few feet off the ground to make them feel safe and most are mounted on a pole but you can also attach them to a tree.

Bill

[Littlecoo]

Originally Posted by Fancyfowl4ever

Chinese geese are agressive little devils, even crosses with those and other breeds still make nasty ganders. Can't turn your back on them.

On the upside he may greatly enhance your home security