Domestic goose gone wild

[captain nodge]

On the Sunday just gone, me and fellow boater were enjoying the currant bun
and getting ready to move vessels, when out of the corner of my eye i saw what at first seemed like a normal mute swan nonchantly doing what swans do,didnt think to much about it till it came closer and then it clicked that it was a goose(quite similar think i should get a job on sringwatch)
Next thing to notice as it came even closer was that it was propelling itself along with only one foot, which gave it a strange awkward motion,
anyway 1st thing; never seen one on this tidal river before, plenty canadian
geese, never that close though allways keep themselves to the other side of the estuary, fantastic to watch.The other thing was the way it looked at us as if to say got any food about, well cause we were in the middle of something it eventually just carried on further downstream,
Later on i decieded to go and have a look for it in our small rivertrash collecting boat, and found it on the bank opposite side trying to make pals with some gulls, my first objective was to check that its foot was ok, and only had to draw in close to make it move, all seemed well enough to me, so i
left it alone, when i pulled away it honked as if to say dont leave me, (probly just me).
Later on we noticed that it had come back up and was millering around on the mud persistantly honking, my other half went down to feed it, and the instant she got there it went up to her and scoffed the lot, i could see from where i was that later she was trying to catch it with a noose but being on a steep sided retreating river bank quite impossible, i went over there armed with a net and rope and wellies and between us managed to capture it with no stress or harm or struggle even, we both knew that it would never survive the night out here as the foxs are prevalant, so the least we could do was keep it safe and warm as it was getting mighty chilly by now, Anyway to keep a short story long, lol,she has built it a run and adopted it, we think its a she and have named her Netty, are there any goose experts out there that can point us in the right direction ie sexing it, best food, we got some wheat, and picked some grass, is she ok on her own for a bit, that sort of thing, her foot is a little deformed but doesnt seem to be in any discomfort, shes definatly one of the domesticated type, all white with a big bum,(this is the goose im on about not me other half,) i was surprised how heavy it was,so it hasnt been awol for long, cheers, hope ive posted this in the right thread

[Picidae]

Hi CN

Can you post a few pics so it can be identified for certain it is a domestic goose (although it sounds like it from your description!).

Are you planning on keeping it as a 'pet'? I'd suggest you at least get it checked out by a Vet initially, since it could be suffering from an illness you are not aware of. Also, check if it's wings are pinioned - if so, that's probably why it didn't fly away when you caught it. I'd also check that it doesn't actually belong to someone who may be wanting it back (unless of course you thought it was bound for the pot )

[werdnal]

It could have escaped or been dumped. It could also have been bought for the Christmas table, but someone didn't have the heart to do the deed when the time came. We often get domestic ducks dumped at our local pond. Sadly as you say, they don't seem to have the survival instincts of their wild cousins, so you have probably done it a favour taking it in. Also, if there were swans around, its likely they would bully it when breeding season came - we had a grey-lag at our pond and the swans persecuted it at breeding time - I guess its a large bird and they see it as a threat.

As for what you do now, I'm no expert on geese (we keep chickens). You can get mixed poultry corn from most pet shops/farm suppliers. Its basically wheat and chopped maize. I think geese are like ducks in that they like to eat their food wet, so provide a good sized bowl of drinking water. As you say, grass is also appreciated. You might want to get it check at the vets, but so long as its eating, moving around and seeming bright and alert, I'd wait and see how it goes. They are notoriously messy birds - they used to keep them at the stables I rode at, so be prepared for poos everywhere!

If they as easy as chickens to keep, you shouldn't have too much trouble. A good secure nightime shelter (fox and rat proof) and a daytime run. Have a look online, there are lots of "smallholder" type websites with hints and tips on geese, which should be helpful.

[captain nodge]

Thanks for the replys, she seems quite harppy in her little safe house, plenty grub lots of clean water, we will wait to see if anyone wants to claim her back, being a smallish town it wont take long for word to get out, just glad we put the effort in to save her as i dont think she would have lasted the night, shes def a domestic goose, acording to the rspb book because they are heavy in the rear the cant take off, very friendly, other half happy as she lost her brain damaged jay she rescued last year, gave it a good chance in life,

[captain nodge]

A bit late posting this piccy as ive only just sussed out how to resize me photies, this was the Sunday in question, Nettys doing well and seems quite happy,

[captain nodge]

Must remember to rotate the picture to the proper orientation in future,
all part of the learning process eh, dont want to be responsible for cricks in necks lol

[Hedgehoggy]

Lovely story, CN How's Netty settling in to her new home? A closer pic of her would be great

[captain nodge]

Originally Posted by Hedgehoggy

Lovely story, CN How's Netty settling in to her new home? A closer pic of her would be great

Funny you should mention that, here she is, doing well nobody claimed her yet , you can make out her bent toe/claw, as soon as we can we will make a better pool as they need water to keep emselfs clean, luckily we have access to hay straw ect, and have fed her on mixed grain and hand picked grass, which she loves, also scattered some sand in with her feed,
Again keep saying she but dont know, just needs a companion now,
still need advice ect if any wiser folk out there.
Thanks C Nodge

[Hedgehoggy]

Aaaw, she's gorgeous CN I googled 'look-alike' images for Netty's species and the closest I found was a Roman goose - so she's una bella tipa!

Unless she starts laying eggs, I think the only surefire way to determine sex is by means of a DNA feather test.

[captain nodge]

yeah, shes quite a character too, interesting you say she resembles a roman goose,
should start laying soon if she is a she obviously, just have to beware of foxes here, as we lost some chickens and a cockeral a while back,were so glad we rescued her,
anyway thanks for your posts and interest.CN