Learning to speak goose

[Leader Bee]

I had a thought about how geese show affection to each other and realised I didn't really know so I thought I'd ask - then it occurred to me that I don't really understand goose language much at all so I wondered if it might be a good idea to start this thread and ask for contributions of useful "goose phrases" that will help me better understand my birds?

I think I can recognise happy honks and obviously know what a hiss means but...including body language I'm pretty stumped so will someone give me some goose language lessons?

 

[Goosebaby]

Tail wiggles represent happiness or excitement, I’ve seen them do that when greeting or when they’re being nice and making up after a fight.

Stretching the neck out low is a warning. Doing it with the mouth open is them saying they mean business. When they’ve tipped their beak down and are pointing, no longer looking their target in the eye they’ve selected their point of attack and ass whooping is imminent. Wings out while doing all that means ass whooping is in progress.

There’s a variation to the neck stretch that can be too subtle to recognize at times, they’ll stretch their necks out while greeting and wiggling the tail but their beak will be tipped up just slightly. Sometimes they’ll turn sideways a little. They seem do this while greeting someone they’re not sure about, or after a fight, it’s like a “hello but I haven’t decided to trust you yet so look at me display my size, I could attack you but I’m not going to...yet.”
So a direct or downward pointed beak is aggression, a tipped up beak is asking for you to respect personal space. The difference with the beak angle is probably more obvious to them on their level, it’s harder to spot for us tall humans.
Sometimes they’ll shake or ruffle their wing feathers, it’s a display and an attempt to make themselves look larger and more intimidating.

Bowing or head bobbing is similar to the neck stretch and can turn into either of the other options, but generally bowing is sort of like a more polite hello. They do it a lot when greeting friendly flock members. Sometimes it will be a neck stretch with tail wiggles so it can be confusing.

Poking, they’ll scold members of the flock by poking them on the back of the head or neck or base of the neck, sometimes it will be a nip. They do it to subordinate members for getting in their way or to remind them who’s boss.

Happy squees, or that purr sound goslings make when they’re snuggling or just content turns into a quiet sound like “whoo, haaa, huuu, hrrrr, urrrr” when they’re adults. It means pretty much the same thing, sometimes they even do it while eating something extra yummy.

The loud honk they kinda do when they’re excited, like if they know you just came home or it’s time to go out and play in the morning and they’re thrilled.

They do a loud wailing honk if they’re separated from everyone and sad, calling out to their family.

They seem to make a low “heh heh heh” sound if they’ve seen something scary, like a snake, you’ll see them staring intently at whatever it is too.

They do a louder sound similar to the sound the raptor makes in Jurassic Park 3, the bark call at the beginning of the clip “they got that sound from an actual goose”

My geese tend to make that sound as an alert call to the flock, sometimes when they’ve seen something large and scary or they’re trying to get the flocks attention for whatever reason.

Burbles, chirping, chattering, you’ll know the sound when you hear it, it’s just average chatter. I don’t know really what it means but that they do it when all’s well. It’s like a conversation that we can’t understand.


Cackling, it’s a sound only females really do, it’s piercing. They tend to do it as an alert or war cry. It can drive even the friendliest well mannered gander into attacking whatever they’re cackling at.

This is based off of my observations of my own flock, how true for all geese it is is unknown to me, I’ve wondered if different flocks have their own “dialects” so it’s possible what my geese do isn’t what other geese do.

 

[Goosebaby]

I forgot to add:

The amorous display, the gander will turn sideways to show how studly he is with his neck arched, sometimes bow and touch the ground, then sometimes they’ll nuzzle the object of their desire.

Not all ganders do this and some have variations of it.

 

[Goosebaby]

I was just reminded by one of my goslings that there are submissive neck stretches too. They’ll stretch out their necks with beak tipped up, often chattering excitedly and kinda backing away from a more dominant goose.
There’s a lot of neck stretches so those can be confusing.

 

[Leader Bee]

Goosebaby, Thank you so much! This is exactly the kind of information I was looking for, thank you for putting so much effort in! Since i've had my goslings i've worked out that a tail wag is 50% i'm just about to poop and 50% i'm happy or excited - unfortunately they both look the same and there's been occassions where i've paid the price for it .

In the mornings when I come downstairs to let them out of their brooder it is usually accompanied by loud honks with an outstretched neck looking me right in the face, I love how they can tell even though i'm an entirely different species that that's the part they need to comunicate with. I'm certain that it's a greeting...or at the very least "Look here is that large funny looking creature that feeds us and our bowls are empty again" they're clearly excited to see me in a morning; Actually it seems very much like the neck stretch you mention in your third paragraph, but accompanied with honks.
You are deffinitely right about there being lots of neck stretches because i'm sure I could think of multiple occassions where i've seen at least one of these.

Beep Beep - the younger of my two boys - is more likely to make the happy little purr when I hold him and stroke his head, he'll often start to shut his eyes while making this noise before it turns into snoring but unfortunately, Norbert, his bigger brother tends to put up with this for a while before beginning to pant; I think this is stress and I usually put him down shortly after (if he doesn't like it why doesn't he just move himself?)

So cool about Jurrassic park! I didn't know it was a goose sound, they've obviously altered it somewhat but once you know you can tell; I sometimes call them "my little dinosaurs" so it makes sense

Not yet heard the warning cry about something dangerous...i'm starting to transition them to their outside pen this week so maybe i'll hear something then; I wonder if the postman will scare them?
I also haven't had a chance to hear the females cackle either, my two are boys but maybe next season if I have enough space...we'll see....I don't want them fighting over her.

One thing I have noticed, which isn't something you've mentioned is that ocassionally they will turn their head sideways almost a full 90 degrees to look at something...usually me and it almost looks like it's in a very inquisitive way, almost as if they're thinking "what is that?" but i'm daddy goose, they should be familiar with me so I don't know if its some other kind of body language i'm yet to learn. There are a few different turns of the head at odd angles which seems to mean something but other than just getting a better look I haven't yet worked out it's true meaning.

Once again, thanks! Very much what I was looking for.

 

[Goosebaby]

Yeah the greeting in the morning is definitly happiness/excitement to see you!

I have two goslings “Helios and Roxbury” that pant when they’re on my lap like Norbert. They’re extra cuddly babies, they’re overheating when they’re panting, their own body heat and a person’s can be just a bit to much but they just don’t want to leave. I have to make sure they get some water but it doesn’t take them long before they want to cuddle again.

The head tilt is them just looking at stuff, btw they’ll spot planes going by. Sometimes though they stare at the sky and I can’t figure out what they’re looking at. Whatever it is I can’t see. Aliens?
Birds can see in ultraviolet so who knows?

 

[Goosebaby]

Something else I remembered: maybe it’s just my ganders but I’ve seen them expierience something like “ragejoy.” Sometimes they get so excited that I think it overwhelms them and it turns into frustration then rage and they lash out on anything within reach.
This usually happens more often in breeding season.

 

[Leader Bee]

I wonder, will the boys experience mating season hormones without any females around?

 

[Goosebaby]

I wonder, will the boys experience mating season hormones without any females around?

They will. They’ll probably have a few scuffles, they’ll try to mount each other, possibly even you. They’ll be extra emotional and touchy. If you only had two girls they’ll do the same to each other. With birds breeding horomones are inevitable.

 

[Island Girl]

Thank you for sharing so much info Leader Bee and Goosebaby!