Geese Questions (Particularly for Cold Climates)

[Country Birds]

I've really been looking into getting some geese and I have a lot of questions! I've raised chickens and turkeys but never any waterfowl, so I want to make sure I know what I'm getting into. My husband is completely on board with getting geese, but I like to do my research and feel really prepared before I do anything, so here I am, haha!

First off, I live in Eastern Idaho in the mountains, so winters are freezing cold and we get LOTS of snow. I live on 5 acres way outside of town and most of it is grassy pasture. I have chickens that like to free range most of the day once the snow has melted but they don't really venture out into the pasture very far. They like to hang out around my house and on my front porch. I'm really leaning towards Buff Geese since they're supposed to be friendlier and I have two little kids that pretty much live outside all summer.

My questions are:
- I've read that geese are not really bothered by cold weather, is that true? I don't want to get them if they will be completely miserable the entire winter.

- I have a feed store in town with limited options, but they do sell all-flock feed. Will that be okay to feed geese throughout the winter?

- Do I need to build a completely enclosed coop, or could I build some kind of shelter that is open on one side (kind of like a horse shelter) and able to be fenced off to keep predators out? I plan on only enclosing them at night for safety. Any shelter recommendations would be appreciated!

- Is there anything you wish you knew about/were more prepared for before getting geese?

Any and all advice is welcome! Thanks

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Geese are perfectly happy being outside in winter. I would recommend a fully enclosed shelter for those bad storms. Ours has a flap the geese have learned to go through. My shed isn't weather right, but provides a wind break, keeps the snow out, and gives me a place to bed well so the geese can get off the ground.

Mine eat an all flock ration. They will always prefer grass, and enjoy an occasional handful of whole corn, or cat, or Dog food. Lettuce is a hit as well as bread, and other scrap leftovers. Geese can get fat easily so I limit the extra stuff.

I personally prefer my geese in a fenced in area. Ours share our goat pasture. Geese poop a lot, and are good at fiddling with stuff, so I personally don't want them up around my house. They can chew through cords and pull stuff apart. They have unscrewed the eye hooks on my bantam run door, and chew through twine to name a few things.

Thing I wished I knew beforehand was how loud African geese can be. I would not have gotten that breed if I knew what a difference there was. My pilgrim and buff are much quieter.

Another thing I wish I knew was how loud and rancorous geese in general get during the breeding season. I nearly gave up that first adult year as I couldn't take the noise and general chaos. Than suddenly one day in the fall my nice geese were back. It's like night and day.

 

[Percheron chick]

I have geese in Colorado and I would think our winters are similar. Geese do just fine in cold weather. Mine have a 3 sided loafing shed in a 6' tall chain link pen and for the most part they only use the shed to lay and for a snow free area. I'll throw down a bale of straw in the shed when a storm is rolling in so they have a snow free area to warm up their feet. They are happy to sleep out in the snow. I feed mine a locally milled 16% all poultry feed. The girls do consume a lot of oyster shell when they are laying (Feb to June normally). In the winter I give them hay. G/A is their favorite but they aren't terribly picky. I give them whatever I have for the horses. They love lettuce, most fruits and vegetables. I stash about 100# of pumpkins after Halloween to give them and the chickens which, with a little care can last through the holidays. They are easily trained to return at night if you only feed them at night.
Breeding season can be a PIA but it will pass and suddenly they all get along again. Some have been good mothers and some terrible. If I let one of them sit on eggs I'll fire up the incubator jik she abandons the nest. I'm also quick to take the babies away if she's ignoring them after hatching. Learned those lessons the hard way.

 

[Country Birds]

Thank you! This is really helpful!

 

[Percheron chick]

The only time mine are miserable is when they want to go for a quick dip and their pool is frozen solid. They can take a sponge bath in a bucket of water but it's just not the same.

 

[JRies]

Geese are more prepared for cold than most birds. There down is amazing and how they use it to benefit they will lay in a pile of snow then pull there wings under there down to keep there feet warm, They will tuck there head under there wing to warm it (keeping one eye to the sky while the other one rests (both eyes work separately)..
I tend to keep them in more than they need to be.
As long as they have a direct draft free place they can get into they do really well.
I do raise African Geese but the true bred heavyweights. There like gentile giants but the boys are still noisy especially at the beginning of breeding season. Once there in there breeder pens (which they are right now) they seem to focus a little more on which girl needs the attention and which one there trying to impress. .
Congratulations on getting the bug to get geese. There is a reason they are refereed to as the back yard dog of birds. When your gardening they will want to help and probably take over. When your pulling weeds they will want to know which one is for them. When your doing a construction project they will grab anything you dropped. When there used to you being around and your not cuz it got gold out well they will let you know.
Socialize them well. Teach them simple things from day one. Like training a puppy but they wouldn't roll over or fetch. You will be supersized at what they can learn. here is a fun post allot of folks answered https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/what-types-of-voice-commands-do-your-geese-know.1555154/

 

[Iain Utah]

I'm only a few hours away in Park City, Utah. My geese do fine in the winter and suffer more in the heat of summer (sprinklers on timers in shady areas is very helpful). I have a barn with a back covered porch that we leave open and they go in on their own every evening in the winter. They really appreciate bedding, whether shavings, old dog beds, or hay. We only lock them up when we go on predator alert. While we lose a few ducks or chickens each year, it is rare to lose a goose (but it has happened a few times in the past 10+ years).

As for food, my birds get a mix of whole corn, flockraiser and mazuri. They gravitate to more corn in the winter, but taper off in the spring. They also love to munch on the hay we get for our horses/cows. IFA carries all three, so if your local store is an IFA, they can get all those feeds. Chewy also sells mazuri at competitive price (the last time I checked).

Frozen water bowls are the biggest pain for us in the winter. Even though we have a year-round stream on property, geese/ducks will not venture through deep snow. My husband has to break/empty multiple rubber tubs (horse grain feed bowls) every day, which requires hauling hose in/out of house to prevent from freezing. We also put water bowls under rain gutters to catch water.

 

[Goosey Girl]

Super cold, windy, and wet days I keep my Sebastopols in the barn with short 10 minutes outside every few hours to eat and drink. Their feathers are unlike those of normal geese and don't seem to insulate as well. If I was in a colder climate than PA, I wouldn't have Sebastopols.