Goslings Won’t Stop Crying + Other Questions

[KathiQuacks]

Hello! My 2 goslings are 8 days old now, and I have some questions..

On the first day of having them, they would not stop crying for me!!! I’ve distanced myself, and they’ve gotten better.. but if they so much as catch a glimpse of me, or hear me, they’ll start screaming again. They have everything else they could possibly need, and I take them out every day to run around & eat grass. I don’t know what more to do. My ducklings weren’t like this.

Another more minor question I have is about my gosling’s obsession with hair.. I’m serious. 1 gosling in particular is all-over my hair and will stop at nothing to chew on it.
I move it out of her reach, I push her away, I block her path, I pinch her bill closed for a few seconds. None of it sways her. Will she break this habit, or is there something else I can do to get her to stop? I’m a bit concerned she’ll choke on it / actually eat it.

The last question I can think of asking right now is.. do geese wander far? I have donkeys and horses, and I’m concerned about my geese walking / swimming into their pastures in the future (my pastures all connect back to my pond).

 

[Goosebaby]

Goslings want to be with and snuggle with their parents at all times. In nature they’re never away from their parents and if they were it means certain death, so instinctually they want to be with you.

You can give them a stuffed animal, but it won’t compare to you.


Most geese/goslings have an obsession with hair or any stringy thing to an extent. Some do grow out of it, others will continue to as long as you let them. For goslings I think it’s normal, they start out nuzzling and nibbling on their parents feathers when snuggling.

Geese will explore the pastures if they’re connected to the pond. They’re grazers so any grassy areas will be an attraction.

 

[KathiQuacks]

I’ve given them 2 stuffed animals, which they snuggle with regularly.. the crying is no better If I really must, I can move them outside in a week, but I’d really like for them to be indoors until they’re bigger.

That makes sense.. I figured it reminds them of grass. I just can’t believe how insistent she is! I guess I’ll just continue to block her and see if she’ll improve.

I really hope they won’t go too far.. They’ll have lots of space and grass near home. They’d have to wander maybe 200 ft or more to get to any of the bigger pastures. I just don’t want them getting hurt or worse.

 

[AGeese]

It might take a year or two, but if you don't have a fence they very well may wander off. It's got to the point where now I have them in my back yard which I have fenced until I can finish fencing in the rest of the property. But once that was under control my neighbors geese started showing up nearly every morning so I end up walking them back home about a quarter mile down the road.

 

[Berd Man]

I’ve given them 2 stuffed animals, which they snuggle with regularly.. the crying is no better If I really must, I can move them outside in a week, but I’d really like for them to be indoors until they’re bigger.

That makes sense.. I figured it reminds them of grass. I just can’t believe how insistent she is! I guess I’ll just continue to block her and see if she’ll improve.

I really hope they won’t go too far.. They’ll have lots of space and grass near home. They’d have to wander maybe 200 ft or more to get to any of the bigger pastures. I just don’t want them getting hurt or worse.

So I sometimes raise goslings inside in my office in a tub brooder… these always end up being more imprinted than my other goslings that I give back to the females and they cry for me when I leave them alone in brooder. They usually grow out of it once they have been moved to the outside pen for a week or so. We made a small goose tractor that can be as simple as a section of rolled fencing arranged in a circle like a kids play pen. We keep it close to the house and have dogs so predation isn’t an issue for us here.

As for ranging, I don’t know that your geese will range too far. Some will range further depending on circumstances I’m sure. But my experience has been more often not when they are out of pen and allowed to be “ free ranging” they find a patio to hide on or a doorway to wait for someone to emerge from for an ambush or possibly to beg for treats.
They don’t leave my property and I’m less than 5 acres