Anyone have an imprinted goose?

[iajewel]

I have Emilee, she was hatched June 10th of this year. I have had geese befor but never one that was imprinted. She was the only one that hatched, so I kept her rather then put her down. In the past 2 weeks I have learned more about geese then I thought possible. Im only 2 weeks in so would like to meet other people that have imprinted geese. I don't mean geese you lock up all day and come home to for a few hours, Im talking about geese you live with and allow a natural relationship to be established between MOM ( thats you) and the Human baby ( thats the goose) It was very hard for me to understand that Emilee thought she was human. I even tried to NOT be the mom and put her in with some baby chicks. It wasn't seconds and she was screaming. She was afraid. I took her out and decided that wasn't' the best idea I had had in a while. I then tried to give her siblings, my dog, the rabbit.. all failed but the teddy bear she had had since the day she hatched. Reading a bit I learned they do imprint on inanimate objects so to her, yes the teddy is a sibling.
She will entertain her self in her favorite place in the yard so I do have some free time, however we do sleep together, and she is at this moment sleeping on my foot.
Having EM has changed my life in ways I never would have guessed and I have learned more about geese in 2 weeks then I have in years of watching them at the pond. Im only 2 weeks in and would like to talk to others that have had imprinted geese for a while and can help me with what to expect, how to deal with potentional issues etc. Like the day I had company. Human company. That was interesting. She is very vocal and will ask for what she wants. I don't think I have been yelled at this much even when I had teenagers at home. Im almost 50, so this is a life time commitment for me, and her. If anyone can help us make this as painless as possible that would be great.

Emilee at 5 days



Em 1 week



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[bryan99705]

Interesting...this should be fun. I have a goose that lost it's sibling quite early... I held them both in my lap on puppy pads and watched tv...spent a great amount of time holding both...not quite imprinted as you have though. My husband is only substitue for me in my absence. if i am around she will grace me with her presence and allow sitting in my lap or yell at me... May I make one suggestion...DO NOT let her sit on your shoulders! great fun when they are gosslings but not so much when they are full grown! The goose has no issues w/ it no matter the size. You, on the other hand, will! oh and then they answer the door when the Avon lady arrives!

 

[SouthernPride]

We have a Canada goose that we hatched about 10 weeks ago. She was the only one and imprinted on all of us at home. After two weeks, her constant crying for attention was getting on all of our nerves so I got her two Chinese companions. At first she hated them, would be terrible mean to them. She definately did not want these very foreign creatures around. I gradually brought them together a little at a time and she eventually learned to accept them and even plays a bit of "Mother Goose" by sheparding them where we want them to go. She will be flying in a week or two and if she decides to leave we will be very sad but she has been a true blessing and we would never keep her confined. This picture was taken about 3 weeks ago.

 

[SouthernPride]

Here she is last week.

 

[SouthernPride]

Ok I was wrong, she just flew. I tried to post a video but I guess we can't. I will post to uTube and get a link here.

 

[crj]

I have 2 Sebastopol geese that have imprinted. They come running when they see me but they don't like being picked up much anymore. I agree with bryan99705 about the geese sitting on your shoulder. Don't do it.... lol. When I pick up my almost 3 month old goose Ginger the first thing she tries to do after giving me a big hug is get to my shoulder. They do have sharp claws.... hahaha. They still like being held. Fred will hide his face. Very funny. My 2 have paired up with 2 pekins that are the same age. It worked out very well because they were growing up with 4 chicks. They've more or less gone there own way but still get together while free ranging once in a while. I have lots of chicks, a few turkeys and 2 different kinds of ducks so my geese have lots to do to keep busy and not miss me. I just love my geese though.

 

[drtnsnw]

My wife hatched our Chinese at school for her kindergarten class. She was the firs thing it saw when it came out of the incubator. The plan is for it to go to school with her and kinda be the mascot for the school. Until school got out it rode in a soda box back and forth with her.
We are going on our first camping trip with her on Sunday. That should be a real treat!!

Chris

 

[erinszoo]

Our two geese imprinted on us as well. We were told to make sure they spent as much time with us as possible in the first few days because they become very territorial when they are adults and we wouldn't have as many problems with them attacking us if we imprinted them. Our geese live with chickens, a duck, and a turkey and they are all rather fond of each other. When the geese go in the house at night, so does everyone else.

My geese still sit on my lap but they don't like to be picked up much any more. They are going on 8 weeks now but they still come running when they see me and nap in my lap when they can. And when I sit down on the steps out back they come up and talk to me.

 

[larkflying]

Quote:
Our goose books told us not to imprint them because we wouldn't have as many problems with them attacking us if we didn't imprint them

We've found that a lot with our informational books -- depending on what experience the authors had, or breeds, they all say different things. Makes it hard to figure out what to do! So I tried not to . . . it was hard though, as they are just so cute as goslings. I did pick up one gander more than any others, but it was still just once a day or every other day-- he was the biggest - and now he definitely is my friend. I enjoy him so much. He will come up right next to me and nibble on my clothes . . . All my geese come flying over to visit with me as soon as they see me, and honk at me if they hear my voice through the windows and several more are getting more confident. I agree about the picking up -- mine always act afterward like their dignity has been sorely tested and how dare I treat them in such a disrespectful manner. But I can't resist sometimes . . .

The only advice I have comes from dogs actually -- make sure your goose knows that your the boss. They are smart enough to learn rules and if you don't teach them now, when she is young, she'll be a handful when she is grown.

 

[Sore Thumb Suburbanite]

I've raised 3 goslings this year, the frist two were male pilgrims who weren't my buddies, but the protectors and buddies of eachother. The 3rd gosling was a female tolouse (sp.?) and I was determined to get her on my side so that when she ruled the flock, she would defer to me and be my in with the rest of them. It worked and she is sweet and friendly, she follows me around still at 8 weeks after being in the big flock for the majority of her life and she liked to be carried around-especially when she gets to nibble at greens along our walk. I'm not about to keep her inside, but I spend time with her every day. When I am inside the house and talking to somebody on the phone, she joins the conversation...whenever she hears my voice she talks to me and I talk to her...after about 8 responses she walks to the gate and tries to get out to come to me... I love her, I couldn't be more proud of my goose, she is so well behaved and so sweet. On the other hand, she is a total glutton and will poop on the darndest things ( a special talent I suppose)....
here is Gertrude the Goose with my buff duckling at 3 or 4 weeks.