Are geese aggressive toward others goslings?

[Thamnophis]

My toulouse goose's eggs are hatching. She's been faithfully sitting on them for so long I had begun to think they were lost. She's keeping them under her wings waiting for the rest to hatch. But my pair of roman geese are very interested and seem to be threatening the babies. I put a make-shift fence around the mom and babies but they'll need to get out to the grass/water soon.

Can the babies survive with other geese (and a few young chickens) sharing their pen? Do adult geese harass/kill other gooses young?

I would hate to loose these little guys!

 

[Kim65]

Not usually. It could be the romans know there are babies in there and WANT them.

Go with your instinct and make the goose and her babies safe from them. If the geese fight over the babies one could get stepped on. Perhaps pen the romans or make the mama's pen accomodate a longer stay. Geese do not usually harm infant poultry, but finding out you have an exception is not worth it.

What is the roman's behavior? Hissing and snakey necks? Or are they just hanging around with their heads down low talking to the babies? Do they normally get along with the Toulouse?

When I put my four female goslings out with my SEVEN ganders (my typical luck with straight runs), they hung out near the little pen all afternoon and wouldn't leave. They kept their heads down low to make "eye contact" with the goslings. I put one gander in with the goslings, and he just looked smug and special. The next day I let the ganders "have" the now month old goslings and I never got near them again (lol I love telling that story)

ETA: Once the goslings are a little larger and sturdier, see how they all do together and be ready to rescue, just in case. That's what I would do. Maybe a week or two old. You know your geese best.

 

[Thamnophis]

Thanks for your thoughts. The romans and toulouse have been together since birth last spring. They seem just very interested in the babies - heads low and honking at the babies. Seems to make mom feel threatened though - she's stuck on the nest still, I assume waiting for the rest of the eggs to hatch. So she's hissing at the "intruders". I'm concerned she'll get mad enough to get up and trample her goslings.

I wonder too why the romans didn't lay eggs - or maybe they did and the toulouse just decided to brood first. I couldn't tell if both were laying eggs in the same spot or not.

 

[Kim65]

Yes, the Toulouse might get careless and hurt the babies trying to defend them from the interlopers. I would prevent the Romans from getting too near her, if possible. They sound jealous

If you end up with little pure yellow fluffy babies, you'll know if the roman goose laid eggs. Either that or the romans are all ganders. This was how I discovered I had no females in my first flock (no eggs).