As spring is here, so visits to farms and nature parks are increasing. Over the winter frostbite was probably the key risk to Ms Markie’s fingers, but it’s now water fowl I worry about.

Is it safe to let swans and geese take feed from her fingers? It’s already happened once with a swan (which obvs ended okay) but I’d just like to be sure that wasn’t just a lucky day! I would try feeding the swans from my own hand, except that I’m scared!

FWIW, she can’t yet be made to hold her hand flat as one would when feeding a horse or cow (or goat or sheep), so she is gripping bread or feed between thumb and forefinger.

Thanks for any advice

Mark

Nope. No teeth you see.
I would imagine the worst they could do is scrape the skin a bit.
But as you know, swans and geese are prone to snatching, even if the skin isn’t broken it could hurt a little one.

Evil buggers swans they can break your arm so I guess a toddlers finger is just an hors dervs to a swan

How do they actully break an arm? Always thought that was a bit of an urban myth.

Thanks both! There will be no more hand feeding of large birds (not that it was actually planned the first time). We’ll hand-feed the ducks and fling bread at anything bigger.

Also, just found some horrifying pictures on flickr of swan and goose bills… no teeth, but much serration!

If a swan or goose goes for you and get hold, grab it by it’s neck and throw it away. If it comes back do it again, but hold the neck for a bit fighting it.
The generally submit after that.

I have to do it about once a month with Bruce the Goose at work when he is being a ****.

as a country side farmers child person, i can tell geese and sawns can be really nasty, and can easy brake a adults arm, many people use them in stead of guard dogs..just be carefull!

the only way a swan could break you arm is if it tripped you up swans bones are the same as all birds hollow and light weight if they were strong enough to break a humans arm they would never be able to fly

Always thought that was a bit of an urban myth

It’s a rural myth, actually.

With respect, I think you should relax more and stop worrying about things like that!

geese are nasty horrible loud things and are used as gaurd dogs, however if you dont run away there’s **** all they can do other than flap there wings and look menacing

mmmm

whilst on bike I’ve been charged into by a full wings out irate goose (mating season) and although I won I can’t say I enjoyed it – I did (I think) actually go over it but it was still running around when I left the area.

I know where there are some swans. Has anyone got a toddler I can borrow?

I’ll report results back later 🙂

Over the winter frostbite was probably the key risk to Ms Markie’s fingers, but it’s now water fowl I worry about.

You sound like you might be worrying a bit much – over anxious parents make for very nervous kiddies. I know ‘letting them get on with it’ at times is the scariest thing ever, but think about it – how often do toddlers suffer frost bite? and if these birds could take toddlers fingers off, they wouldn’t have them to feed at kiddies petting farms.
Lighten up Dad.
(and yes I have 3 of my own)

It’s a rural myth, actually.

Boom, that’s my 17th favourite post this week.

Bruce the Goose 😀

With respect, I think you should relax more and stop worrying about things like that!

You sound like you might be worrying a bit much – over anxious parents make for very nervous kiddies. I know ‘letting them get on with it’ at times is the scariest thing ever, but think about it – how often do toddlers suffer frost bite? and if these birds could take toddlers fingers off, they wouldn’t have them to feed at kiddies petting farms.
Lighten up Dad.
(and yes I have 3 of my own)

Thank you both, well-meaning advice well taken at this end. 🙂

The swan / goose concern was genuine, the frostbite not so (except perhaps on one particularly bitter day out with the parent’s-in-law, but then the real danger was probably a Donner-Reed situation!).

If I could get it off my phone I’d now post the pic taken on Thursday of the little one (19 months) at the top of one of those wooden ladder things that you have on the side of gyms… risk aware, not risk averse (with a side-helping of unnecessary worry that I am trying to control!)!

I don’t know about the arm thing, but I do know that there’s nothing funnier than a stupid swan attacking a white canoe because it thinks it is some kind of giant uber swan trying to encroach on its territory (at least it’s funny when you are in a different canoe!)

swans and geese can be very intimidating.. and they are brave and ferocious..

but there’s not a great deal of actual damage that they can cause to an adult.. they could give a toddler a proper nasty buffeting though..
I remember getting nipped on the butt by geese when I were a little ‘un and it definitely upset me.. more out of fright than pain though..
I don’t think they have enough strength in their jaws(?) to actually remove any digits but they are grumpy..
stick to ducks..

the only way a swan could break you arm is if it tripped you up swans bones are the same as all birds hollow and light weight if they were strong enough to break a humans arm they would never be able to fly

It’s a rural myth, actually.

well acording to the swan sanctuary (people that know more about swans than is healthy) swans can brake you arm

Is it true that a swan’s wing can break your arm?

Yes, but only in exceptional cases. If a wing in full span and velocity were to hit a weak-boned person (such as a child or an elderly person) then it is theoretically possible. In reality it is almost unheard of and is never used as a form of attack as swans are a defensive bird.

so it seems that although they dont do it very often, it does happen!
See for youre self
http://www.theswansanctuary.org.uk/faq.php
http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/natbltn/600-699/nb616.htm

As the dad of a 2.5yr old who loves feeding the ducks…

He’s been doing it since he was about 1. Yes, we were a bit careful when he was younger and kept him from getting too close to swans if they were getting aggressive (in trying to get the bread) but it’s never been a problem. That said, we’ve taught him to throw the bread to them rather than feed directly from the hand – mainly because it’d probably scare him if they did bite and I don’t really want him to have a phobia about it.

FWIW, I let one ‘bite’ me the other week just to check – its ‘teeth’ are really just serrations and while they’re quite rough it didn’t break my skin despite trying to have a good chomp.

I’d say you’re being far too cotton-wooly if you won’t let her feed them.

Little known fact about geese: they can dislocate their jaws like an anaconda.

I’ve seen and read a number of items that have totally disproved the arm-breaking myth. As has been pointed out, bird bones are hollow and light, an impact with a much thicker human bone would result in a bad fracture for the swan, possibly causing total loss of the wing, or complicated surgery. The buffeting from an aggressive swan could, however, cause someone to fall over, causing an arm fracture, which is probably where the myth came from.
Their pecks can be painful though, and a swan’s beak at face height to a small child could be very intimidating, so it does pay to be careful, a peck in the eye doesn’t bear thinking about, it’s bad enough poking a finger into an eye by accident.

It’s the squirrels you should be worried about, if a swan attacks you they are big enough to punch but squirrels are a bit too small to give them a good pasting.

never mind swans the countryside is a dangerous place, when I was about 13 I was nearly killed by a sheep 😕