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  #31  
Old April 28th, 2011, 08:17 PM
Etown_Chick Etown_Chick is offline
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Man border collies are smart! I love watching them work. Thanks for the pix Gail. Working dogs are so happy when they have a job to do.
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  #32  
Old April 28th, 2011, 08:59 PM
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Originally Posted by lindapalm View Post
I don't know what I'm going to do if both pairs come back in a couple of weeks with babies.
At that point...nothing. You'll have to wait until they can fly.

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Originally Posted by Etown_Chick View Post
Man border collies are smart! I love watching them work. Thanks for the pix Gail. Working dogs are so happy when they have a job to do.
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  #33  
Old April 29th, 2011, 12:03 AM
lindapalm lindapalm is offline
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Gail P, thanks for all you help, and pictures. Even if we end up with babies, I'm glad you told me to try to get rid of them early. Even if it doesn't work, at least we tried. I know they will probably be so cute, I'll end up taking pictures, and at the same time swearing at the mess they make.
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  #34  
Old April 29th, 2011, 11:03 AM
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Yeah they're cute when they're tiny. Then they open their mouths and start eating and pooping
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  #35  
Old April 29th, 2011, 08:39 PM
lindapalm lindapalm is offline
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Do geese have teeth, I swear I felt some once when I was feeding someones pet goose and it nipped me, but my husband doesn't think they have any.
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  #36  
Old April 29th, 2011, 08:49 PM
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They have some serrations on the edges of the bill, I think. No teeth, but they can give you a hefty pinch and bruise...
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  #37  
Old April 29th, 2011, 09:00 PM
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They have huge sharp teeth you really have to watch out for ...No, I'm just kidding...it's like Hazel says
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  #38  
Old April 30th, 2011, 07:24 AM
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The purpose of the migratory Bird Convention act is to impliment the convention of protecting and conserving migratory birds - as populations, individuals birds and their nests.

“hunt” means chase, pursue, worry, follow after or on the trail of, lie in wait for, or attempt in any manner to capture, kill, injure or harass a migratory bird, whether or not the migratory bird is captured, killed or injured;

any of the above, can result in fines and jail time.

penalties:

Section 13 (1.1) Every person or vessal that commits an offence is liable:

(a) on conviction or indictiment to a fine of not more then 1, 000 000 or too imprisonment for a term of not more than three years or too both;

(b) on a summary conviction of a fine not more then 300 000 or too imprisonment for a term of not more than six months or both.

While yes, K9s are used to control goose popualations, these are trained individuals (like gail) with a permit. Anything else would be classified as harassment and such. Ie: just letting your dogs run a muck chasing birds, trying to deter them from your property.

Lets just hope that the returning birds have not already nested, while your dogs are chasing the adults away. Too much stress on the birds, they will abandon their nest.

Last edited by NoahGrey; April 30th, 2011 at 07:37 AM.
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  #39  
Old April 30th, 2011, 07:36 AM
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Originally Posted by NoahGrey View Post
The purpose of the migratory Bird Convention act is to impliment the convention of protecting and conserving migratory birds - as populations, individuals birds and their nests.

“hunt” means chase, pursue, worry, follow after or on the trail of, lie in wait for, or attempt in any manner to capture, kill, injure or harass a migratory bird, whether or not the migratory bird is captured, killed or injured;

any of the above, can result in fines and jail time.

penalties:

Section 13 (1.1) Every person or vessal that commits an offence is liable:

(a) on conviction or indictiment to a fine of not more then 1, 000 000 or too imprisonment for a term of not more than three years or too both;

(b) on a summary conviction of a fine not more then 300 000 or too imprisonment for a term of not more than six months or both.

While yes, K9s are used to control goose popualations, these are trained individuals (like gail) Anything else would be classified as harassment and such. Ie: just letting your dogs run a muck chasing birds, trying to deter them from your property.

Lets just hope that the returning birds have not already nested, while your dogs are chasing the adults away. Too much stress on the birds, they will abandon their nest.
Thank you for posting that. I, personally, find it very cruel for people to allow their dogs to chase the ducks and geese who are just trying to live their lives as nature intended.
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  #40  
Old April 30th, 2011, 07:45 AM
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Would also like to add:

Section 5.1(1) No person o vessel shall desposit a substance that is harmful to migratory birds, or permit such a substance to be disposited in waters or an area that is frequented by mirgatory birds or in a place from which the substance may enter such waters or such an area.
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  #41  
Old April 30th, 2011, 12:37 PM
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Originally Posted by NoahGrey View Post
While yes, K9s are used to control goose popualations, these are trained individuals (like gail) with a permit.
Have the regulations been updated in the last 2 years? The copy of the regulations I have states that no permit is necessary for harassment (I'm not talking about oiling, relocations etc, just basic harassment). I printed a copy back in 2009 which at the time stated it was current to April 2009. If it's changed since then I need to get a new copy.

Under the section titled Permits Respecting Birds Causing Damage or Danger:

24. (1) Any person may, without a permit, use equipment, other an an aircraft or firearms, to scare migratory birds that are causing or are likely to cause damage to crops or other property.

(2) The chief game officer of a province, with the concurrence of the Director, may grant a permit to any person residing in the province to use and aircraft or firearms, in the area designated and during the time specified in the permit, for the purpose of scaring migratory birds that are causing or likely to cause damage to crops or other property in the area.

(3) No person shall, while scaring migratory birds pursuant to subsection (1) or (2) kill, wound or take such birds.

and then of course subsequent sections go on to address permits being issued regarding eggs, nests, killing, relocating etc.
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  #42  
Old April 30th, 2011, 12:50 PM
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Originally Posted by Love4himies View Post
Thank you for posting that. I, personally, find it very cruel for people to allow their dogs to chase the ducks and geese who are just trying to live their lives as nature intended.
Done properly it's not cruel. No harm comes to the geese and they are completely free to leave the area. It's much less about chasing than about making them feel unsafe...they think there is a predator hunting them, which not an unnatural occurrence at all. I don't believe nature ever intended for geese to live on golf courses where they are sometimes hit and even killed by golf balls, or to nest in planter boxes in parking lots etc. In some cases the geese are actually much safer when deterred from attempting to live in an unsafe environment. There are no shortage of lakes, ponds etc. in my area where the geese could live...the unfortunate part is that humans have created landscaped areas which the geese find more attractive.
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  #43  
Old April 30th, 2011, 02:29 PM
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I don't believe nature ever intended for geese to live on golf courses where they are sometimes hit and even killed by golf balls, or to nest in planter boxes in parking lots etc..
Golfing is NOT natural, it is a human sport and yes, if the golf courses are made around ponds, then it IS natural for the geese to want to live there. Golf courses do NOT need a pond and therefore if they do NOT want the geese there, then DON'T have a pond.
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  #44  
Old April 30th, 2011, 05:39 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Love4himies View Post
Golfing is NOT natural, it is a human sport and yes, if the golf courses are made around ponds, then it IS natural for the geese to want to live there. Golf courses do NOT need a pond and therefore if they do NOT want the geese there, then DON'T have a pond.
I agree with you, they're not natural. They are one of the artificially landscaped areas that I was referring to when I said "the unfortunate part is that humans have created landscaped areas which the geese find more attractive."
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  #45  
Old April 30th, 2011, 06:02 PM
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I'm more worried about the geese that hang around airports! Holy catz! Anyone who wants to chase them out of the area if I'm going to be taking off from there is more than welcome in my book!

But even at artificial ponds, there's a very good health reason to keep them moving. Nearby wells can be contaminated by the sheer volume of goose poop that is produced...

And it's safer for the geese in wilder areas--more places to hide from predators and more secure nesting sites. So it's sort of a win-win situation in my mind when they're encouraged to move on.
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  #46  
Old May 1st, 2011, 12:26 AM
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NoahGrey, we wish our dog would chase the geese away, she won't. Just the presence of her sometimes makes them keep moving, after they land, which is what we want. Our pond water is used for washing clothes, dark loads, and other things. We could use it for showering, but I refuse. Plus, it is also close to our well, so we really can't have the geese hang around 24/7. I have a feeling in a couple of weeks we will probably have little ones around, and then we will have to wait till they're grown and gone before my husband, the border collie replacement, starts shooing them away again.
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  #47  
Old May 1st, 2011, 10:21 AM
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i am concerned with what you are putting in the water, when washing your clothes. Remember that there are other species living in your pond, that you are possibly be harming..as well as other wildlife that eat what is in your pond. Its like a circle.
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  #48  
Old May 1st, 2011, 03:41 PM
lindapalm lindapalm is offline
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We don't wash our clothes in the pond, we draw water from it, like you would a well. Our well iosn't that great, so we use the pond water for hoses outside, toilets, and washing dark clothes. It has filters and chlorine added AFTER its out of the pond, and before we use it. As a mater of fact, we have catails that are taking over the pond, but we refuse to add anything to the water to kill them because of the harm it might do to the frogs, etc.
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  #49  
Old May 1st, 2011, 06:51 PM
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Gail P great info and very interesting. Don't think I have to worry about geese on our pond Tucker won't even let a decoy on it
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  #50  
Old May 27th, 2011, 11:35 PM
lindapalm lindapalm is offline
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They won

Its been over a month since we first saw the three geese, my husband thought that he did a good job of chasing them away, along with our trusty border collie. Five days ago the adults came strolling back, theres now four, laughing at my husband and dog, and they brought their kids, all ten of them. We went from three to 14 geese in a month.
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  #51  
Old May 29th, 2011, 09:38 PM
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Originally Posted by lindapalm View Post
Its been over a month since we first saw the three geese, my husband thought that he did a good job of chasing them away, along with our trusty border collie. Five days ago the adults came strolling back, theres now four, laughing at my husband and dog, and they brought their kids, all ten of them. We went from three to 14 geese in a month.
uh huh, what did I say? very predictable, the incubation period for goose eggs is 28 days.

When I was monitoring the geese in town there were over 40 for a week or two at Rotary Park back in the early spring. Then the numbers dropped to less than 10 for another week or so and then they were gone while nesting. For about a month no geese in town and now there are 4 that are gang brooding 18 goslings, another pair with 7 goslings and sometimes another pair with 3. Every morning we make them swim away and clean off the path and the next morning most of them are back. Sometimes it's only the 6 adults and 25 goslings instead of 8 and 28. There are other geese further downstream, I can sometimes hear them and I know there are lots in a farm field down the road too. It's private land and I don't work them there, not sure if there is an area there where they raise young or if those ones might be some of the juveniles that aren't yet breeding and they just stay out of town. Last year we had the "regulars" that were there every day and about once or twice every week or two when they came back they'd bring friends. The numbers would go from about 4-6 adults with 23 goslings to a dozen or more adults with 50-60 goslings. When we moved them along the extra ones would stay away again for a while. Sometimes boat traffic on the river and swimmers would make a difference. They can help or hinder us depending on if their activities help keep the geese moving or get them turned around and heading back upstream again.
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  #52  
Old May 29th, 2011, 10:08 PM
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I can not imagine 50-60 baby geese, along with the adults, the area near our pond is wall to wall poop with only 14. My husband "bothered" them with the noise of the lawn mower, and they left for 2 days, but were back. Do you think next year the babies will come back to the same place with their mates, or don't they do that? Do they only take the babies to places with ponds, or to corn fields too? The babies are so goofy looking, they look like little dinosaurs when they walk. We're going to have to rent some border collies in the spring next year, ours is useless, she just watches them from afar.
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  #53  
Old May 29th, 2011, 10:22 PM
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Originally Posted by lindapalm View Post
I can not imagine 50-60 baby geese, along with the adults, the area near our pond is wall to wall poop with only 14. My husband "bothered" them with the noise of the lawn mower, and they left for 2 days, but were back. Do you think next year the babies will come back to the same place with their mates, or don't they do that? Do they only take the babies to places with ponds, or to corn fields too? The babies are so goofy looking, they look like little dinosaurs when they walk. We're going to have to rent some border collies in the spring next year, ours is useless, she just watches them from afar.
Does't take them long to grow does it? and their poops along with them At first it doesn't seem too bad but pretty soon it's a mess. Geese deposit approx. 1 1/2 pounds of feces per goose per day.

They do like to return to the area they were hatched but the young won't usually begin breeding as yearlings. They are usually 2-3 before they start breeding. When the goslings are little they'll stick close to water because they feel safer there from predators. Once they can all fly they'll go where ever there is food, sometimes hayfields, golf courses etc. If they still have lots to eat around your pond and they aren't disturbed they'll probably just stay there but if food runs out or they get too bothered by you, the dog, the lawnmower etc. they'll take off for greener pastures. Often once they're able to fly you'll see and hear geese up in the skies around dawn and dusk. As fall comes on they do more and more foraging flights that serve a double purpose...find more food and prepare for the fall migration.
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  #54  
Old May 30th, 2011, 10:13 PM
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At 1 1/2 lbs of feces a day, times 14 geese, we are going to have some really fertilized grass, if theres any left by the time they get done eating it. They remind me of cows, eat and poop, eat and poop, its already impossible to walk near the pond. I guess all you can do is watch the babies grow and enjoy them. I wish they would eat the cattails in the pond, at least then they would be doing some good. They're taking over the pond, but whatever you put in it to kill them harms everything, so were stuck with them, too.
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  #55  
Old May 31st, 2011, 12:40 PM
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I have a copy of an article that was written about someone who does goose control for the city of Toronto. In it, it's stated that in a study someone did they recorded that geese poop every 6 minutes. How's that for a job? Follow the geese around all day and record how often they "go"

Is your pond a natural pond or man made? Any inlets and outlets or is it totally land-locked? If landlocked you may have some options for doing some work on the pond that you wouldn't have if it would affect the surrounding watershed. I'm not thinking of chemical treatments but physical work like excavating it to have steeper sides and adding rock rubble along the edges. That could serve both as a deterrent to the geese and also help prevent the growth of cattails but you'd have to check out first if you'd be allowed (depending on the type of pond you have) and the feasibility of such a project. I was just thinking that it might be worth it for you since you want to be able to draw water from the pond. Even if it's not a land-locked pond you might be able to get a permit to alter it.
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  #56  
Old May 31st, 2011, 10:25 PM
lindapalm lindapalm is offline
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It is a man made land locked pond. We were thinking of having the sides excavated to remove the cattails, but we've had so much rain the normal sides of the pond are now probably ten feet more towards the middle. We've got to do something, though, pretty soon the whole pond will be full if we let them grow. The rock rubble sounds like a good idea, if we do excavate we'll have to wait, though, for the little buggers to grow and leave. Why would they possible take a study on how often a goose poops? What a waste of $. Isn't it sufficient to just know that its a lot, and leave it at that?
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  #57  
Old May 31st, 2011, 10:55 PM
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I don't know if that was the focus of the study, probably not. It may just be that during some other study someone noticed they go a lot and started paying attention and recorded it.
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  #58  
Old June 1st, 2011, 08:47 AM
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If the study was funded by a golf course or a Parks manager, they could well have asked for the researchers to count poopin's and frequency thereof.
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