Geese food and other curiosities

[CrazyDuckLady95]

Ok little backstory...I got "Willard the farm goose"(african grey male) and "Graceland"(white chinese female) back on May 22nd so they r now 2 months old and some change...they coexist along side my very mixed up chicken flock of 76 hens and 8 roosters...andthey all get along amazingly with each other...I keep out for 24.7 access layer pellets and or crumble depending on which one southern states has in-stock when I buy feed... scratch grains...feed oats and cracked corn they also free range from sun up (first light) to sundown when the coops solar lights come on then I lock them up for flock safety.

Now here is my question about goose food

Do most geese prefer cracked corn over other feeds bc Willard and Graceland will whoop every chicken in the flock over the cracked corn but r "meh" about everything else should I be worried considering there love for corn about them lacking other nutrients bc of it or obesity..idk if geese get obese I've only ever had chickens and ducks ...first time goose momma here

Now here r my other questions

#1- considering there age atm should i be able to expect eggs 2024 spring or 2025 spring,....ive read alot about geese laying first egg at 2 yo and not very often sooner than 2yo

#2- they have a small pond i dug myself in my back yard for them...it is rather nasty the water is green bc of how much they poop in it and they stay in it 95% of there free ranging time...my filter is broken so i am waiting for my local lowes to get more instock before i buy one..so id there anything i can put in it to help clear it up bc it looks like coffee with creamer and green food coloring all mixed together atm and quite rancid in smell...and all my flock use it as a water source so i want to keep it safe with what i put into it

#3- is cedar chip or pine chip bedding safe for them Inside the coop i am currently clearing a 28 acre pine and cedar thicket on my land and am sending all trees thru my wood chipper so it will be 100% natural bedding chips but i have heard the store bought chips r not so safe for ur flock

#4- also I have a hen that is hatching eggs as I type.. this they should all entire clutch be out of egg by tonight or in the morning...Will my geese go after my hens chicks or should the chick's be fine

I want my entire flock to be happy and healthy i take "Willard the farm goose" and "Graceland" to see my local vet each month for health checks and the vet comes out each month and goes thru my entire flock with a fine tooth comb bird by bird checking them over one at a time so I stay on top of the flocks health

 

[Jenbirdee]

hi there
where do i start
geese eat mostly grass if its available it needs to be pesticide free and herbicide free for the last 3 years or they can get liver failure
they should have a good waterfowl feed, or an all flock pellet feed, I use nutrena naturewise all flock pellets , pellets are better than crumbles because crumbles can cake up
yes you do not want them malnourished from cracked corn that invites diseases
pine flake bedding is fine i use that
i think cedar chip is toxic? not sure
better look that up ~ maybe its a different wood thats toxic i forget which one
You dont want your males (gander, roos, drakes, eating Layer feed, the extra calcium is bad for them. and even your goose hen doesn't need that either she is too young for it , i know it can hurt ducklings if they have layer feed too soon so probably hurts geese too ... but in late winter put out a dish of calcium for her to free choice eat from like crushed oyster shell , she will probably start laying eggs in March
I would be very concerned about the water pond they can all die from botulism . if it smells bad i would immediatly fence it off and no access for them until its fixed
i saw a video where a guy put something in his gross water pond to absorb all the yucky stuff I will look for that for you

 

[Jenbirdee]

heres a good article about bedding https://www.tyrantfarms.com/whats-the-best-bedding-for-your-duck-coop-or-run/
i was right cedar is bad, but pine flakes are very good

this vid he talks about "barley boys" (barley straw) that soak in algae Go to minute 5 . (he is rescuing domestic ducks not really stealing them but hes a comedian )

 

[Anne 671]

Ok little backstory...I got "Willard the farm goose"(african grey male) and "Graceland"(white chinese female) back on May 22nd so they r now 2 months old and some change...they coexist along side my very mixed up chicken flock of 76 hens and 8 roosters...andthey all get along amazingly with each other...I keep out for 24.7 access layer pellets and or crumble depending on which one southern states has in-stock when I buy feed... scratch grains...feed oats and cracked corn they also free range from sun up (first light) to sundown when the coops solar lights come on then I lock them up for flock safety.

Now here is my question about goose food

Do most geese prefer cracked corn over other feeds bc Willard and Graceland will whoop every chicken in the flock over the cracked corn but r "meh" about everything else should I be worried considering there love for corn about them lacking other nutrients bc of it or obesity..idk if geese get obese I've only ever had chickens and ducks ...first time goose momma here

Now here r my other questions

#1- considering there age atm should i be able to expect eggs 2024 spring or 2025 spring,....ive read alot about geese laying first egg at 2 yo and not very often sooner than 2yo

#2- they have a small pond i dug myself in my back yard for them...it is rather nasty the water is green bc of how much they poop in it and they stay in it 95% of there free ranging time...my filter is broken so i am waiting for my local lowes to get more instock before i buy one..so id there anything i can put in it to help clear it up bc it looks like coffee with creamer and green food coloring all mixed together atm and quite rancid in smell...and all my flock use it as a water source so i want to keep it safe with what i put into it

#3- is cedar chip or pine chip bedding safe for them Inside the coop i am currently clearing a 28 acre pine and cedar thicket on my land and am sending all trees thru my wood chipper so it will be 100% natural bedding chips but i have heard the store bought chips r not so safe for ur flock

#4- also I have a hen that is hatching eggs as I type.. this they should all entire clutch be out of egg by tonight or in the morning...Will my geese go after my hens chicks or should the chick's be fine

I want my entire flock to be happy and healthy i take "Willard the farm goose" and "Graceland" to see my local vet each month for health checks and the vet comes out each month and goes thru my entire flock with a fine tooth comb bird by bird checking them over one at a time so I stay on top of the flocks health

My geese, african and talouse, also only eat the corn and will not touch anything else. They are on our lake all day.