Why Are Weasels Afraid of Geese? What Is the Scientific Basis
The weasel, formally known in Chinese as the yellow weasel (Siberian weasel), is the subject of a folk proverb that says “when a weasel pays New Year's calls to a chicken——it means no good”; in reality this is an abnormal situation. Recently I heard people say that weasels are afraid of geese. Why is that? Is there any scientific basis? The details are compiled as follows:
Explanation of why weasels fear geese:
Weasels generally only dare to attack chickens or birds of relatively small size, and are rather afraid of larger birds. Geese are relatively large in size and also quite fierce; when they see a weasel they will peck at it with their beaks, and the call of a goose also frightens weasels, so keeping geese to guard against weasels is a fairly good method.
Geese are highly aggressive, and anyone who has raised geese knows that geese guard the home. Especially large ganders will actively attack unfamiliar people or other creatures. A weasel is no match for a goose at all. A big white goose can not only guard the home and yard like a dog, but is also a natural enemy of the weasel. It is said that weasels dread the excrement of geese, and that if even a little gets on their body it will cause festering, with the most dangerous spot being the weasel's foot pads. However, compared with the droppings of other birds, goose droppings are indeed fairly acidic, but not to the point of making a weasel's feet rot away.
Editor's summary
The great Northern Song dynasty literary figure Su Dongpo's “Chouchi Biji” (Notes from Chouchi) records: “Geese can guard against thieves and can also repel snakes. Their droppings kill snakes, and when people of Shu kept geese in their gardens and ponds, the snakes went far away……” This shows that snakes fear geese, and in addition weasels also fear geese. Among chicken farmers in rural areas, goose droppings are often scattered around chicken coops in the hope of preventing weasels. So why do snakes and weasels fear geese? The editor of First Agricultural Economics has given you a detailed introduction in this article, “Why Do Snakes and Weasels Fear Geese?”, and hopes it is of help to you.
Why you must not hit a weasel
From a scientific standpoint, the little yellow one is a protected animal and a good hand at catching mice, so it must not be killed. From the standpoint of folk legend, it is said that the little yellow one is very spiritual.
In the Northeast there are plenty of such legends, and ordinary people really do not dare to provoke these things; I have heard quite a few stories about weasels bewitching people. Ordinary people do not dare to touch it. Better to believe it exists than to believe it does not!
When I was little, there were especially many weasels, and at night the miserable screams of chickens often came from the farmhouses; one listen and you knew a weasel was stealing chickens.
Although stealing chickens is hateful and detestable, in rural areas people generally do not dare to provoke weasels lightly; legend says that if you beat them to death, misfortune will befall you. In fact, there really is such a thing.
From the standpoint of folk legend: weasels are very spiritual and highly vengeful; they are all called weasels -- Great Immortal Huang. If you beat Great Immortal Huang to death, it will take revenge even on the next generation.