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should I worry about this Canada goose?

10 years ago

A Canada goose has chosen to nest on a rock island in the middle of a raging river in my back yard. she has been sitting on the nest for nearly a week. I have to assume she has eggs there. I used to watch these geese raise their young at my other home where the goslings would quickly be eating grass. there is not a blade of grass on this island, nor any way for tiny goslings to safely cross the 30 feet of high fast water to get to the bank. don't they need to eat fairly soon after hatching? I do not believe that these creatures bring food to their young, or do they? how long after I see the babies emerge should i begin to worry? and worst case scenario, what could I possibly do? the mother would go crazy if I put on my hip waders and went out to assist...
thanks for the input.

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Comments (4)

surya55_gw
10 years ago
She must've chosen the spot to get away from predators and not thinking about food/water safety for the little ones. Can you contact a wildlife rehabiliation center in your community? Usually they are very good at this sort of thing. Good luck and let us know what happens.
myfrozenlittlepond
10 years ago
Your only choice is to let this pair of geese work this out for themselves, despite your well-intentioned interest in helping them. First, geese are not friendly birds when their nest or babies are threatened. Second, geese are born precocial, meaning they hit the ground ready to feed themselves and are able to swim at a very young age. So, they will have to rely on mom to help them navigate to quieter waters when the time comes. I suspect they will do fine. Let us know how it turns out!
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starlinka
10 years ago
I don't agree. I have pet geese and when they making a nest across our ditch, the little ones would getting stuck in it because they can't climb on narrow walls like their parents do. Parents don't always know what is better. If I need to get the babies and parents are trying to attack, I normally just grab it by the neck close to its head and hold down its wings with the other hand. But don't pull or try to pick up it up by neck. Just hold its head so they can't bite you. After that you can restrict the mother in some box until babies are moved.
Incubation period for my geese is around 30 days.
vermontlove
Original Author
10 years ago
thank you all for the input. She is still on the nest and knowing that 'we' have thirty days helps. the river is rapidly diminishing so there may be hope. and there is a nearby island that is sprouting grass now and the trip over there might be ok by the time the river is lower. I am very hopeful!!
will update when the time comes.

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