How to Get Your Geese to Come to You?

Geese are absurdly cute and entertaining creatures whom we like spending time with. Many geese raisers toss with the idea of getting their birds to come to them whenever they call the birds.

Training your geese to come to you whenever you call them can have many advantages, such as keeping the birds safe from ferocious predators. It’s also fun and somewhat rewarding to watch your geese coming to you excitedly when they heed your call.

5 Tips to Make Your Geese Come to You

Most geese won’t come running when their owners call them. Instead, they will wait for their owners to pick them up. When you train your geese to come to you, you’re giving the birds an excellent way of defending themselves, especially when you notice a predator waiting to attack your unsuspecting free-range geese.

Furthermore, you will easily find your birds when they wander too far from your homestead. These five tips will help you train your geese how to come to you when you call the birds.

Using Food to Attract Geese

Using treats makes it easy for geese raisers to train their birds to come. Train your geese using foods they like and foods they can easily associate with your calls. Strictly give your birds their favorite foods while you are training them to come to ensure they associate such foods with your calls.

Otherwise, the training won’t work for your flock. Pick any food you are sure each goose in your flock will love. Some treats to use while training your geese include fresh seeds, grains, and stems. Such lovely treats will help catch your birds’ attention.

Choose foods you can toss over a few yards while calling your geese. Tossing will ensure every bird can taste the enticing foods, so all the geese will come to you when you call them. Repeat this training once daily until the flock learns to associate their favorite foods with your calls.

Reward the birds with their favorite foods once they heed your calls to encourage them to keep coming when you call. Like with training your dog, training your geese to come when called can be time-consuming, even when using the best foods available. Consequently, you must be patient while training your flock to come when called using healthy and enticing foods.

Making Sounds to Attract Geese

Geese have a vast vocabulary besides their usual honking sounds. While you can’t talk to your flock as if you are talking to humans, you can make some sounds to help you communicate with the birds. For instance, you can make a low-pitched honk to call your flock.

Or, you can make a loud, shrill sound to call your free-range flock to come to you when it wanders too far from your premises. Your flock will respond to your alarm call because the birds assume you have spotted a predator nearby. You can also make a soft whistle to encourage the geese to come if they are a few yards away.

The whistling sound can be effective, especially when calling the birds to feed. Geese raisers can make cackling sounds to encourage their birds to come to them.

These sounds can be effective when calling your flock to climb out of their pen at dawn and start foraging. While making sounds can help attract the birds, loud and high-pitched sounds can scare away the flock.

Approaching Geese Slowly

Geese are cautious and wary of anything or anyone trying to approach the flock. Approach your birds slowly while trying to call them, lest they think you are ambushing them. You can approach the flock while making soft, friendly sounds to make the flock feel at ease.

Otherwise, the birds will run away or become aggressive. Worse still, your geese could charge at you if you approach them abruptly without warning. Ensure the flock can notice you coming. Stop when you are a few yards from the birds and call the birds.

You can approach the flock slowly while throwing treats to ensure your presence doesn’t bother or irritate them. Avoid holding any object, such as wood, in your hands while approaching the birds lest they think you are spoiling for a fight. More significantly, don’t approach the birds in the company of another human or a pet.

Respecting Geese Boundaries

While you can train your geese to come when you call the flock, respecting their boundaries for the training to work is imperative. For instance, you shouldn’t try to call your birds when they are actively courting.

Geese usually walk in pairs during courtship, so they can’t respond to your calls in pairs. Furthermore, avoid calling your geese to come if they are swimming or foraging in the water.

Being avid swimmers, geese won’t be eager to respond to your calls when they are busy swimming. Moreover, don’t attempt to call the geese hens to come to you if they are having quality time with their goslings.

You should know when to call the birds, or they won’t heed your call. For instance, it helps to call your birds during feeding time or when you spot a vicious predator stalking the unsuspecting birds without their consent.

Be Patient But Persistent

It isn’t easy to successfully train your geese to come to you within days. The training can be time-consuming, so it only works after a while, especially for some aggressive geese breeds. There is a need for patience and persistence while training geese to come. Moreover, you must try other training methods to ensure the birds can finally come to you when you call them.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

These are the mistakes geese raisers must avoid when trying to get their geese to come to them:

  • Avoid making loud noises and sudden movements
  • Avoid getting too close quickly
  • Avoid running after the birds
  • Avoid disrespecting your geese’s body language, including signs such as wing flapping, head lowering, and hissing.

Conclusion

Geese are fascinating birds that are trainable to do almost anything, from dancing to coming when called. It’s easy to train your geese to come to you, provided you avoid the mistakes that scare away geese when you attempt to call them. Moreover, you must be patient and persistent when training your birds to come when called.

avatar James
Hey, I'm James, a hardworking homesteader for more than 30 years. I enjoy the feeling of accomplishment that comes from tending my flock. I've raised chickens and ducks for eggs and meat for many years. I also have experience with other poultry too. Learn more

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