Birds may be low on the food chain but this doesn’t mean that there push overs, geese will fight and become very aggressive towards each other.
This article explains why geese fight with each other
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Why Do Geese Fight Each Other?
Geese fight and these fights can be very dramatic and serious. All animals in the animal kingdom fight for various reasons.
If you see two geese fighting then it is likely male geese that you’re watching fighting against each other, the females could care less about fighting unless it has to do with their nest
Reasons, why geese fight with each other, include:
Eggs:
The only time that a female goose will attack or show aggression is if you or another goose gets too close to her eggs or nest.
Female geese are fiercely territorial over their nest and gooselings, if you or another goose gets too close then the female will hiss or attack to keep her eggs and babies safe.
What to do:
Keeping away from the eggs is the only way to keep an attack from happening, also, make sure that the other geese in the flock don’t get too close to the nest and eggs.
The other birds will likely do this on their own accord to keep the wrath of the female at bay.
Age:
The age of your birds will cause them to fight as well. Male geese start to become more aggressive and angsty with each other around 8-13 months old. Male birds around this age will pick fights with each other quite often.
What to do:
This is normal behavior for male geese, and this behavior develops in a lot of male geese, you don’t have to worry if these birds start to fight with each other at this age.
As the birds get older the birds will pick fights with each other less and less. As long as the birds aren’t seriously injuring each other then they will be fine.
Fighting over territory:
Territory isn’t very easy to find in the wild, finding a spot that has a good amount of food and water and finding a spot that is safe from predators can be difficult, and once an area like this is found by a goose the bird will be fiercely protective over it.
If a goose were to wander into the territory of another goose then a fight will break out.
What to do:
If you’re watching geese in the wild fight each other then there isn’t anything you can do, these birds need to figure out who gets ownership over the territory themselves. The goose that loses will leave the premises once defeated.
If you’re raising geese on your property then you’d need to make sure that you have enough space for more than one male goose.
Male geese are territorial and need to know that they have their own space, if not then the birds will start to fight.
Mates:
Male geese are possessive, they are possessive over their territory and possessive over their mates too. These birds will be aggressively protective over their mates and will attack any males that come close to their females.
Geese are monogamous, they will pair off for life and the male will watch over the female for life. These birds will only mate with another goose if their first mate dies.
The males will also fight another male if another male intrudes while he is trying to court and secure a female for himself. The males will chase each other and bite each other and the male that loses will not pursue the female.
What to do:
Making sure that there are enough females per male will solve this issue. Keeping an equal amount of drakes and female geese is ok but keeping a ratio of 1-4 and even 5 female geese to one male goose is also ok.
The male goose will fight over his females but the females will not fight over their males they may hiss at each other though. Just make sure that each male goose has at least one female for himself.
If you have limited space then a ratio of 1 goose per gander will work just fine. You won’t encounter the same serious mating issues that you’d encounter in balanced chicken or duck flocks.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other duck related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: How Do Ducks Feed Their Babies?, Why Do Ducks Follow Cows?, Why Do Ducks Eat Their Own Poop, Duck Laid One Egg And Left, Is A Duck Bite Dangerous?