Why can geese guard the house instead of dogs?

In Europe, Africa and West Asia, domestic geese were domesticated from greylag geese, and in East Asia, the swan geese were domesticated.

This is the reason why people raise geese to guard the house instead of dogs.

An interesting thing is that domestic geese are fatter than wild geese because when domesticated, humans selected large geese. Domestic geese can weigh up to 10kg while wild swan geese weigh only 3.5kg and grey geese weigh 4.1kg. Although fat, domestic geese can basically fly. At this point, I imagine that domestic geese do fly, but they fly low to chase away people or other animals that tease them. Wild geese still fly normally because they are much lighter.

The earliest records of domesticated geese show that they were fattened for meat and sacrifice, but by Roman times, geese were also kept for eggs and bred for specific traits such as calm temperament or beautiful, luxurious plumage.

The painting Les oies du Capitole (The Goose of the Capitoline Hill) by French artist Henri-Paul Motte in 1889.

It was not until 390 BC that geese were raised as guardian animals in the lives of the Romans . It is said that in ancient times, at the temple of the goddess Juno, there was a flock of geese, they were considered sacred animals and no one dared to catch and eat them. In 390 BC, Rome was besieged by the Gauls and late one night, the Gauls sneaked up the Capitoline Hill where the temple of the goddess Juno was located to attack Rome by surprise. The dogs raised by the people of Rome did not raise the alarm because they were easily bribed with fresh meat. Except for the geese, they immediately noticed the unusual disturbance and started to cry loudly. Thanks to the cry of the geese, the Roman soldiers were awakened and successfully defended their city. Since this event, geese have been considered heroes, sacred animals and people even hold an annual festival - dressing up as purple and yellow geese and teasing and ridiculing dogs for being "greedy " and forgetting their guard duty.

Goose is a "protector" and a "family man"

Now let's talk about the aggressive and "protective" behavior of geese . Geese are aggressive - this behavior is related to their size - a large and clumsy bird. Geese have a hard time hiding when threatened, so they will show aggressive and aggressive behavior to avoid danger. Geese can withstand harsh weather well, even when it snows, they still like to stay outside to groom themselves. Their ability to protect themselves well, combined with their preference for being outside rather than indoors, means that geese are often raised by farmers among chickens and ducks, and geese will protect themselves.

Geese have extremely keen eyesight (nearly blind at night) and hearing , and can sense movement long before humans do. While most birds do not react to what they see in a way that benefits humans, geese are the opposite. They are loud and aggressive - two ideal attributes for guarding and protecting . Geese are also territorial: they know where their home is and defend it. Not many domesticated birds remain territorial, and even fewer are aggressive when faced with intruders.

The goose's protective behavior toward its mate and young remains unchanged from its wild ancestors.

Geese are more aggressive during mating season or when they are with their "wife" and their chicks. The male goose will immediately stretch his neck to its full length, turn his head to look at you with one eye and be ready to attack, regardless of who the threat is. The geese's protective nature towards their mates and chicks is unchanged from their wild ancestors. Geese live with one mate for life and are very loyal to their owners, not forgetting people or other animals living with them. This loyalty is quite similar to that of dogs, but dogs are far behind in the following aspects:

Geese cannot be bribed with food.

As the story goes, the dogs in Rome were bribed with fresh meat and became "quiet as dogs". Geese, on the other hand, were not affected by food, no matter how delicious it was. That's why many farmers around the world prefer to keep geese to guard their houses and protect other animals than dogs.

In Xinjiang, for example, geese are used to guard police stations and buildings. In 1986, the US military bought 750 geese from German farmers to guard their military bases. Or in Dumbarton, Scotland, the famous whisky brand Ballantine's used geese as sentry from 1959 until 2012, when they were replaced with security cameras. These geese are called "Scotch Watch".

Vegetarian goose and also. lawn mower

Unlike chickens and ducks that like insects, worms, and protein-rich foods, geese prefer to eat plants, very voraciously, but only plants. Perhaps that is why it is difficult to lure our goose.

Farmers do not have to weed and goose manure helps enrich the soil for plant growth.

So many farms raise geese to protect their crops from weeds. When geese are raised in combination with suitable plants, they will eat all the weeds around them and will not touch the crops at all. Commonly grown plants include strawberries, raspberries, herbs, tobacco, etc. Farmers do not have to weed and goose manure helps enrich the soil for plants to grow.

Geese are also natural alarm bells and home invaders.

Besides the ability to guard, the geese's cry can also be an alarm. Geese have a good memory, they remember people, distinguish who is who by their shape, gestures and voice, they also know which chickens and dogs are around them and remember the situation and the surrounding environment. So anything unusual, even a small disturbance, a stranger appears, they will greet with a cry and an aggressive attitude. Those who raise geese over time will be able to know which cry is an alarm of a stranger or a strange event or a call for a mate. Thanks to the cry, you can know when a fox appears near your house or simply someone comes to deliver a letter.

However, geese also like to roam, so it is not uncommon to see geese neglecting their duty to keep an eye out for strangers. Wandering, combined with the territorial nature of their wild ancestors, geese will try to expand their territory if not limited by a fence, and eventually… one goose, oh no, a flock of geese will come into your house, screaming at you to "get out of my house".

Geese are also animals that often appear in family movies, in farm scenes. Many farms are raised not only for the purpose of guarding and protecting other livestock and poultry, but also for entertainment. They are lively, noisy, fierce but also very affectionate with their owners.