Is My Goose Cooked, Or Should I Just Get The Flock Out Of There?

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Sage of Seattle

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Hi all,

My second thread I've started on THR concerns my travels to and from physical therapy.

I'm currently in Boise and there are several small ponds where I travel past. Lots of ducks and, unfortunately, geese. I'm currently in a wheelchair and going to and from my PT puts me in close proximity to one especially large goose who hisses at me as I go past and tends to stand sentry or sit next to, or on, the sidewalk. My only choice is to go into the street and get around the little sucker.

I have no idea about the nesting habits or whatever of geese and I surely would rather not get attacked if I happen to threaten this guy because I have to get too close to it. Now, I'm not thinking that this could be a deadly attack by any means, but I'm looking for suggestions for dealing with this goose. I really have no choice as to which trail I take to PT as this route is the safest (away from traffic and cars which are my primary concern).

I would rather not have to mace or pepper spray this goose, but I will if I have to defend myself. Any advice on what the likelihood of me being attacked would be and what steps can a person who can't run away or travel out of it's "territory" take?

Thanks everyone!


Edited to add:

To make this gun-related, I could shoot it, but discharging a firearm in city limits is a no-no, so that's out.
 
I would call the local humane society and tell them the problem. If they're smpathetic to your dilemna they will handle the goose for you. If not, let them know that you are considering a paint ball gun to deal with the goose, and I can just about guarantee you they will take action.:evil:
 
Note to self:

1) Call humane society

2) Buy paintball gun and some colorful paintballs

3) Bring video camera :D
 
Look at this as a reason to get a .22 pistol and a suppressor:evil:

Just kidding, but the Special Forces teams have had to use suppressed pistols against geese before. They make good watchdogs. See one of John Plaster's books on the Studies and Observations Group in Vietnam. I forgot the title, but it was in there.

I second contacting the local humane society.
 
If these ponds are on city property, as in parks or such, you should contact the city and explain your situation.
That might result in a better, faster response that the Humane Society.
 
Canned air or corn.

You could feed it. They love cracked corn. Or get canned air at Office Depot, hold the can upside down so that the cold propellant comes out. That should do it.

If you take a suppressed .22, just make sure you take enough ammo to shoot ALL the geese.
 
take some bread crumbs or crackers with you next time, the pest is probably just looking for a handout.

If these ponds are on city property, as in parks or such, you should contact the city and explain your situation.
That might result in a better, faster response that the Humane Society.
Click to expand...

I agree....don't do anything stupid, geese are migratory waterfowl and doing anything to harm them is a federal offense.
 
I hate geese, so I just yell at them. Very therapeutic. Seriously, I hate them. Still, calling the city or humane society is the best bet.
 
Think stealth…

Paint ball gun too easily recognized as a real gun – understandably you do not want to end up on the evening news.

Once you do call the humane society, consider that they might be watching the goose with their own video camera. Also, many public areas have cameras recording, also the bank across the street might have a camera looking outside. Again, you probably do not want to end up on the evening news.

Either feed the thing and make it your friend, or pepper spray.

Either way, be safe, BSR
 
Thank you, gentlemen, for your responses.

I actually did briefly consider trying to make friends with it with some food, but I had no idea if that'd even work. I'd much prefer going that route than doing anything potentially damaging, especially moreso now if they're federally protected (ack.)

There are a bunch around the ponds, but only this one has been a problem for me.

So: is bread good enough, or saltines, or what?


Edited to add:

I live right near the Boise River in a nice residential area. The ponds border the roadway, so I'm fairly certain they're city property.

And zoom6zoom, you owe me a new keyboard! That was a classic!
 
My father-in-law has a couple geese as pets in a large lake behind his house.

Actually, I refuse to refer to the as geese-- I just call them his ducks.

For some reason the male SOB HATES me. It runs at me hissing every time I go behind his house. The first time, it surprised me so that I stumbled backwards and landed on my rear pretty hard.


Therefore, my initial response to your question would be to carry a very large and very sharp machette with you. :evil:

But as the calmer voices in my head take over, I would say that I would start with the air horn. I don't know how well it would work, but it could. I would also have some pepper spray as a back-up.

Those that say you'd get in trouble pepper spraying an animal forget that they make pepper spray to use on bears (an animal). Sure, a goose isn't a bear, but it would be attacking nonetheless. Being less mobile in a wheelchair will give you all the justification you need if this became a legal issue.

After all, you AREN'T harboring a deep-seated desire to mace a duck...

Now, if I maced my father-in-law's duck, well-- EVERYONE would know I was guilty.


John
 
You might be experiencing a gander trying to protect his area. No way will you be able to make friends. Sometimes loud yelling and flailing of arms will chase them away.
 
First, the goose can't really hurt you...they don't have teeth. They can only pinch/nip you.

Second, when they actually go into attack mode, they lower their head almost to the ground and charge.

You can just grab one by the neck right behind the head and you have control of it. They're not especially fast or strong.

You can establish your dominance by spreading your arms like wings...I know it sounds ridiculous, but you're showing it that you're bigger and not submissive. MAKE EYE CONTACT and challenge it verbally...talk to it like you know you can punk it out. It will quickly lose interest and move away, especially if there is an easy avenue of retreat.

Trust me, I dealt with my neighbor's geese this way many times. One of the Ganders had my wife totally buffaloed so that she wouldn't go out in the yard if it was around until I showed her how to handle it.

Shooting one with a paintball gun will have little effect...think about 6" of goose down as "body armor". If you hit it in the head, you'll kill it.
 
The food idea is a bad one. Think about having all of them surround you as you go by after a while.

Geese are pretty territorial and aggressive. The air horn may work temporarily, but I bet it doesn't for long. Best to call the city/park authorities and let them handle it.
 
Sage of Seattle,

Please be sure to use a hollow point that is able to penetrate sufficiently, as a SD incident will be similar to a suspect wearing a thick down winter jacket.

:evil:

I agree with the other members. Don’t hurt it; migratory waterfowl is a federal concern. You don’t want to go there. DO NOT FEED IT! My dad has a pond beside his work and decided to feed one goose one day. Now the whole flock recognizes him by sight. And they like him. Too much. Maneuver around it, no point in going into the street in a wheelchair and putting yourself in harms way! Cars hurt far worse than geese.
 
First, the goose can't really hurt you...they don't have teeth. They can only pinch/nip you.
Click to expand...

Hee....hee...Just this week a female co-worker got a nice sized gash in her head from a gander. He was defending a nest and bit her in a diving attack on her head. They don't have teeth, but they do have teeth like ridges called lamellae that can definitely cut! They can also hit pretty hard with their wings, they use the "elbow" portion of the wing to strike with.

Ask me how I know ;)


As for your goose problem, I agree, call the city or park district. There is not a lot you can do without possibly getting yourself in trouble. When nesting season ends so will the aggression, but hopefully you will be done with PT before that!
 
I take it that using a 12 gauge with Season Shot shells is out of the question?
I found out at a young age that those things can nip you pretty hard, and if you feed it you'll have a lot more of them to deal with. Go there without food or don't bring enough and they might roll you and take your wallet instead. :eek:
Is there any local ordnance against airsoft? They have some compact full auto airsoft pistols that shoot pretty hard. Or you could do a nancy kerrigan on it's leg with a baton like Mannlicher said.
If you do Moondoggie's suggestion I REALLY want to see a video!
 
Oh, and please, just call me Sage

pick up a 24 inch Asp telescoping baton, and beat the darn thing with it. Surely a human in a wheelchair trumps an agressive goose.
Click to expand...

Mannlicher, you remind me that I bought a 26" stainless steel Asp for my CJ classes many a year ago which I lovingly nicknamed "White Lightning." :evil: Unfortunately, it's still in storage somewhere, so that's out for now.

DoubleTapDrew, a shotgun is second on my list of firearm purchases, so that'll take another few months or so yet for me to come up with the funds. One of my BILs may have something I can borrow however. Idaho is an open carry state, so me having a shotgun riding uh... shotgun on my 'chair shouldn't be too outlandish. I hope!

It's too late today for me to make any calls, so I'll be calling around to the local humane society or some government department tomorrow and at minimum, start a paper trail so that I'll hopefully have something just in case I am forced to use methods to protect myself. I'm thinking I should make it clear to the local government wildlife bureau that I feel threatened and my choices are severely limited.

Who knows: maybe there'll be a GPO I can fill out. (Gander Protection Order) ;)


Edited to add:

As for your goose problem, I agree, call the city or park district. There is not a lot you can do without possibly getting yourself in trouble. When nesting season ends so will the aggression, but hopefully you will be done with PT before that!
Click to expand...

I'll probably be up and walking again by the summer, hopefully before July, since I've got summer camp to go to with my daughter and a little trip to Reno sometime in July. So, I've got three to five days a week of PT until then.
 
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