What NOT to feed geese? (Food that isnt safe for them?)

[The goose girl]

I've never heard of a goose getting sick from eating fresh fruit or vegetables. Foraging geese seem to naturally avoid what's poisonous.

I have several poisonous plants in my yard, and as it's surrounded by Ligustrum (privet, which is poisonous), there's not a whole lot I can do about it. None of my geese have ever shown symptoms of poisoning. One pair even took to chewing off privet twigs, but apparently they didn't eat them, just played with them. They've never touched the rhubarb plants, the conifers or the potato plants.

What's more likely to harm geese is feeding them rotting or moldy fruit and vegetables. Be sure to only feed them fresh greens, and remove the leftovers before they start decomposing. In the summer, cut grass will start decomposing within a few hours.

Also, geese thrive primarily on fresh grass. Anything else is a supplement or a compromise - and may harm them if it's a unilateral diet.

Fatty foods like nuts are not poisonous, but they should not have a whole lot of them. Just like us humans.

 

[larkflying]

Usually, my geese will nibble new veggies, and there will be a prompt head shake and then they don't touch it. Onions have gotten out there sometimes if the kids have taken the compost bucket to the chickens by mistake . . . my geese do not approve of onions. They let them lie. And, if they have a lot of grass they don't usually eat much else. Even watermelon rinds - which they love in the summer. They love grass! I can pick grass in the field and bring it to them and they eat it like noodles. Don't know why the grass is always better OUTSIDE the fence, as I move them around often and we always have green grass here in the Northwest, but it is . . .

They like to chew on things like puppies . . . they did nibble down the small conifers and the side branches on my cedars and firs . . . I don't know if they were just playing with them, or if they actually swallowed the pieces, but it didn't hurt them. One of these days I'm going to plant a row of potatoes/corn and see if they chew/play with them, or leave them alone. After the firs, I tend not to trust them . . . but I have heard of geese being used to weed corn and potatoes, so maybe . . .

I miss their gosling stage though -- goslings eat SO much grass . . . they are having a tough time keeping ahead of the grass this spring as adults . . .

 

[destinduck]

I tend to think like The Goose Girl. I have had several poisonous plants around my geese and ducks for that matter and they do seem to avoid them. My whole top of one pen with my Magellan geese gets covered with those red colored trumpet vines.That and wisteria.is all over here.

 

[dvrkennels]

What is a normal goose diet?Can they eat whole corn like my ducks or is there special food I need to purchase.Right now I buy whole corn and scratch along with baby chicke/duck formula mash.Is there something I should watch for when feeding these?Will be getting my first geese soon is why I am asking

 

[wildpeas]

I just got my copy of 'The Ultimate Pet Goose Guidebook' and the author says that for laying geese you should avoid treats like spinach, beets, celery, collard greens, dandelion greens, eggplant, escarole, green beans, kale, leeks, okra, parsley, parsnips, green peppers, pokeweed, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, rhubarb, rutabagas, sorrel, squash, swiss chard, tomato sauce, turnip greens, watercress, and yams.

She says these things can interfere with calcium absorption and could cause problems when laying. YMMV.

 

[The goose girl]

What? Avoid dandelions? Sure that's not a typo? Geese love them.

 

[Going Bhonkers]

Maybe the key word in that book is "Laying Geese"? I guess any other time its ok for them to eat some of those things? (i too have read about others saying that their geese love dandelions)

I also stumbled on a thread on here that stressed avoiding spinach (https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/331576/please-dont-give-your-geese-spinach )

 

[Going Bhonkers]

 

[wildpeas]

I didn't say that I agree with the author, in fact the more of the book I read the less I like it. It was recommended to me as a good source of info and it does have some good tips but overall the feeling is too rescue-y and over the top lovey dovey. For instance, they will not adopt any geese to a person who free-ranges because its cruel to expose your geese to possible predation. I dont want my geese or ducks to get eaten but I am also not going to keep them locked up in cages like a zoo. I am ordering the Holderread book next week.

The list of treats she has is in reference to LAYING geese only and I do not know if its all valid but the OP was asking about what not to feed. If these treats do interfere with good egg production then it might be worthwhile holding off on them during the laying season. I do not know enough about geese yet to make any kind of determination. My goslings are only 2 weeks old and they get to eat as many dandelions as they want when they are outside, one of them has even taken a liking to the flowers. I would have to guess that the author is meaning treats in large quantities, but its only a guess.

 

[The goose girl]

Maybe the key word in that book is "Laying Geese"? I guess any other time its ok for them to eat some of those things? (i too have read about others saying that their geese love dandelions)

I also stumbled on a thread on here that stressed avoiding spinach (https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/331576/please-dont-give-your-geese-spinach )

That thread recommends kale instead of spinach (although one gosling seemed to have a problem with it), and kale is also on the list of no-nos from the book. I'm getting really confused. Does the author list any kind of reference or source to her claim?

A quick googling came up with this table: http://oxalicacidinfo.com/ Although the three sources do not entirely agree on all the foods, it seems to me that the book exaggerates the oxalate levels of some of the listed greens. Especially since many of them are very rich in calcium.

Oh well, I can't tell my goose to leave the dandelions be. So she'll just keep on eating them.