I just hatched some for the local zoo in Darwin, Northern Territory. Very different to regular geese, as these you have to assist with feeding as babies. I wet the crumble and handfeed it to the bub as close to a dabbling bill as I can get so he can eat it from my fingers. I constantly dip it after he eats some which seems to get him really wiled up for food. You need a permit for these birds as they are natives. I wont keep these as the zoo only requested me to hatch them (their breeding pair doesn't seem to brood their own) but these guys do fly when adult. However even flocks of wild magpie geese, as they are in abundance where I live, will fly into your yard/property and stick around if they have food available. So if you hatch these, and they know food is always there, I doubt they'll leave. I love these geese, I'd get a permit to keep them if the zoo offers me to hatch for them again.
