Emden Guard Geese

[rjmt]

whenever our big gander gets aggressive to me, such as now with a goose nesting,

I just spread my arms wide - wider than his wings and yell "BIG HUGS - BIG HUGS"

and he runs the other way

when the kids were younger, he would attack them

so I told my daughter to wear my tall Muck Boots - all he saw was the big boots coming his way and he wouldn't chase her anylonger

 

[rjmt]

our new Emden's are now 5 weeks old - I put them out during the day, but they still sleep in the living room at night
did you know that geese sleep with only half their brain? The other half is active with one eye open and a 180 deg view
if a threat is perceived, the full brain goes into threat mode and their body is up and defensive instantaneously
wish I could do that
but at 72, I can't do much instantaneously

 

[Flopsweat]

our new Emden's are now 5 weeks old - I put them out during the day, but they still sleep in the living room at night
did you know that geese sleep with only half their brain? The other half is active with one eye open and a 180 deg view
if a threat is perceived, the full brain goes into threat mode and their body is up and defensive instantaneously
wish I could do that
but at 72, I can't do much instantaneously

Pee instantly if startled?

 

[rjmt]

Pee instantly if startled?

not geese
they're up and in guard mode instantly
and geese don't pee - is a very smelly poop mixture

 

[Flopsweat]

not geese
they're up and in guard mode instantly
and geese don't pee - is a very smelly poop mixture

I wasn't talking about the geese...

"but at 72, I can't do much instantaneously"

 

[rjmt]

I wasn't talking about the geese...

"but at 72, I can't do much instantaneously"

it takes a while for my brain to wake up, even when startled
as for peeing, wait until your 72 and find out

 

[Flopsweat]

it takes a while for my brain to wake up, even when startled
as for peeing, wait until your 72 and find out

I'm well on my way. This getting old stuff is not for sissies.

 

[rjmt]

I'm well on my way. This getting old stuff is not for sissies.

If I knew that I would live this long, I would have taken better care of my body

 

[Flopsweat]

If I knew that I would live this long, I would have taken better care of my body

Yeah, but I sure had a good time getting here.

 

[Mikej]

If I knew that I would live this long, I would have taken better care of my body

Somehow I bet not? I think maybe "As Good As It Gets" came and went between puberty and 55.

I sure love those geese of yours. I guess they leave you alone unless you mess with 'em too much? Get some more pictures of them up here sometime, would ya'? I've always been a farm animal kind of guy. Horses, pigs, goats, whatever. We spend a good couple of hours in the goat barn at the Clackamas county Fair every year, just communing with goats.

 

[rjmt]

Somehow I bet not? I think maybe "As Good As It Gets" came and went between puberty and 55.

I sure love those geese of yours. I guess they leave you alone unless you mess with 'em too much? Get some more pictures of them up here sometime, would ya'? I've always been a farm animal kind of guy. Horses, pigs, goats, whatever. We spend a good couple of hours in the goat barn at the Clackamas county Fair every year, just communing with goats.

I'll get photos up soon
as a surprise to us, our 10 mo old African started hatching goslings yesterday
I let her sit on 7 eggs, but thought she was to young to have fertile eggs yet
found out I was wrong
she'll be hatching for the next 3 days

 

[rjmt]

this is the first of the goslings to come out from under their mother
you will notice daddy bird is very aggressive and protective this morning
our siding contractor showed up yesterday and daddy goose charged immediately when the guy tried to walk in the yard
4 out of 7 eggs hatched so far

 

[Mikej]

So they don't attack you because they know you well. Total stranger near their pen/goslings is going to get run off but good. They're some tiny little things. Would mom and dad allow you to inspect the young by hand after a bit? Just want to hold them/feed them for a little bit.

 

[rjmt]

I got this photo just now of all the goslings out of the nest
then the next photo is of Daddy Goose attacking my cell phone because I got to close
the last is one of our new Emden watch geese, in this photo she's only 5 weeks old, already impressive in size

 

[rjmt]

So they don't attack you because they know you well. Total stranger near their pen/goslings is going to get run off but good. They're some tiny little things. Would mom and dad allow you to inspect the young by hand after a bit? Just want to hold them/feed them for a little bit.

Mike, they have let me pick up the babies if they are out from under the mother
I think daddy goose attacked the cell phone because he didn't know what it was
he doesn't attack me if I sit alone in the nesting coup with them

 

[rjmt]

when we raised the Emdens inside, we coddled them
controled 98 deg under heat lamp
fresh bedding , chick starter and water with vitamins every day
we didn't let them outside for 4 weeks

today Mama goose had her goslings out of the nest and in the yard eating grass

and just now, I observed her take them over to one of our wading pools, then she splashed water out of the pool to make a mud hole and had her babies swimming in the mud hole - at 3 days

 

[OldBroad44]

Actually you can have baby ducks or geese being raised by human rather than mother out just as early as those with momma if you know a critical trick.

The wax gland on the baby duckling or gosling is activated if the baby gets thoroughly wet during the first three days of life. If the baby is brooder-raised this usually doesn't happen, in which case the wax gland goes dormant and doesn't start working until the baby is about two weeks or older. Those unwaxed feathers are like chick fluff, and the baby is neither waterproof nor nearly as cold resistant as it could be. Normally the momma is already leading the babies through wet grass or actually on their first short swims no later than day three. So I give the babies a short swim in a pan of warm water on their second day. Pick them up two at a time when you move them. Those loud peeps they make if you pick up just one are distress calls that tell everyone you are doing something terrible to baby birds. They are screaming desperately because you separated them from the others, not because you picked them up. Being separated from the cohort is terrible for a baby duckling or gosling. In nature, if they are left behind they die. So pick them up two or more at a time so they will be quiet and curious rather than terrified.

Watch the babies during their first swim, as with unwaxed feathers they float lower and lower as their down fills with water, and they can drown. After their swim the babies will spend the next half hour rubbing the wax gland at the base of their tails with great enthusiasm and spreading the wax all over their feathers. Give them another swim the next day and you will see the babies now float high. Their waxed feathers are waterproof. And the babies are now much more cold resistant since they have a warm layer of air next to their bodies because of their waterproof down.

The babies can only go outside with supervision initially, and on warmer days. I put a ring of 2' high hardware cloth around a patch of good grazing, move a pad for me to sit on in the ring and move in the babies. The human is essential if there is no mother duck or goose because blue jays, crows, and squirrels all eat ducklings or goslings. In addition to the neighbor's dog and everything that eats adult poultry. You need to be right there obviously protecting the babies to keep the crows and jays away. Without the ring confining the babies, if they get started such as by a swooping bird, they will scatter in all directions and the bird grabs one while you are trying to round up the others. And they dont yet know how to be herded by people, so are hard to catch. And they can walk right through most fencing. (Ducklings seem to be able to learn to be herded by people when a week old or more but not earlier.) When the babies get tired or cold they will pile up together. If they need more warmth they will pile up together and complain, in which case they should go back in their brooder. If they pile up and are quiet they just need a nap. Baby duckings or goslings need lots of naps. I was usually raising 20 or more ducklings or a dozen or more goslings, and a huddle of that many makes a lot of heat. Even if they have a momma bird involved, much of the time during our mild NW springs the babies will nap in a pile near the mother rather than under her.

Properly waterproof baby ducklings or goslings can be introduced to the main flock as soon as they are big enough to not get accidentally tromped on by the adults and can eat and drink from their food and water containers. This saves weeks of brooder time and gets babies out foraging weeks earlier. Start the baby birds in a section of the adult night pen so the adults and babies have a few days of getting used to each other with a hardware cloth barrier between. Then one evening when adults are in, remove the barrier. The next morning the baby flock will follow the adult flock out to forage and do everything they do.

 

[rjmt]

Actually you can have baby ducks or geese being raised by human rather than mother out just as early as those with momma if you know a critical trick.

The wax gland on the baby duckling or gosling is activated if the baby gets thoroughly wet during the first three days of life. If the baby is brooder-raised this usually doesn't happen, in which case the wax gland goes dormant and doesn't start working until the baby is about two weeks or older. Those unwaxed feathers are like chick fluff, and the baby is neither waterproof nor nearly as cold resistant as it could be. Normally the momma is already leading the babies through wet grass or actually on their first short swims no later than day three. So I give the babies a short swim in a pan of warm water on their second day. Pick them up two at a time when you move them. Those loud peeps they make if you pick up just one are distress calls that tell everyone you are doing something terrible to baby birds. They are screaming desperately because you separated them from the others, not because you picked them up. Being separated from the cohort is terrible for a baby duckling or gosling. In nature, if they are left behind they die. So pick them up two or more at a time so they will be quiet and curious rather than terrified.

Watch the babies during their first swim, as with unwaxed feathers they float lower and lower as their down fills with water, and they can drown. After their swim the babies will spend the next half hour rubbing the wax gland at the base of their tails with great enthusiasm and spreading the wax all over their feathers. Give them another swim the next day and you will see the babies now float high. Their waxed feathers are waterproof. And the babies are now much more cold resistant since they have a warm layer of air next to their bodies because of their waterproof down.

The babies can only go outside with supervision initially, and on warmer days. I put a ring of 2' high hardware cloth around a patch of good grazing, move a pad for me to sit on in the ring and move in the babies. The human is essential if there is no mother duck or goose because blue jays, crows, and squirrels all eat ducklings or goslings. In addition to the neighbor's dog and everything that eats adult poultry. You need to be right there obviously protecting the babies to keep the crows and jays away. Without the ring confining the babies, if they get started such as by a swooping bird, they will scatter in all directions and the bird grabs one while you are trying to round up the others. And they dont yet know how to be herded by people, so are hard to catch. And they can walk right through most fencing. (Ducklings seem to be able to learn to be herded by people when a week old or more but not earlier.) When the babies get tired or cold they will pile up together. If they need more warmth they will pile up together and complain, in which case they should go back in their brooder. If they pile up and are quiet they just need a nap. Baby duckings or goslings need lots of naps. I was usually raising 20 or more ducklings or a dozen or more goslings, and a huddle of that many makes a lot of heat. Even if they have a momma bird involved, much of the time during our mild NW springs the babies will nap in a pile near the mother rather than under her.

Properly waterproof baby ducklings or goslings can be introduced to the main flock as soon as they are big enough to not get accidentally tromped on by the adults and can eat and drink from their food and water containers. This saves weeks of brooder time and gets babies out foraging weeks earlier. Start the baby birds in a section of the adult night pen so the adults and babies have a few days of getting used to each other with a hardware cloth barrier between. Then one evening when adults are in, remove the barrier. The next morning the baby flock will follow the adult flock out to forage and do everything they do.

thanks
we've not had goslings out here for 16 years

 

[monks]

It's the gigagoose!

 

[rjmt]

It's the gigagoose!

our Emdens are expected to lay 35 eggs a year, the Chinese, up to 25
but we can control how many they will be able to sit on and hatch
I'm happy with the size of our flock now of 11 geese, we have enough forage to support that many
and geese can live up to 30 years, more time than I have left
I haven't decided yet if we want to raise geese for sale or just eat the eggs
one goose egg makes the equivalent of a 3 chicken egg omelet

during the American depression, most rural Americans raised chickens for eggs, not meat
for some, eggs were the only protein they got
if we had to go into survival mode, we can collect enough eggs to feed our family of 3