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

[CelticOaksFarm]

Ducks and geese shouldn't be on a main diet of corn and scratch. At the very least an all flock pellet should be fed. Geese are graizers and need pasture/grass/weeds to eat. As new hatchlings a waterfowl starter or chick starter should be fed, again avoiding the whole corn and scratch.

 

[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.

 

[destinduck]

Im not going to go by that book at all

Seriously mine get well over half of what was listed there! Thats just wrong on every level .Oh well anybody can author a book.

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

Yep, I agree with the spinach and that's about it from that list. Maybe I should write a book called the chocolate diet.

 

[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 )

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

I don't think laying is the keyword since breeding seasons also dandelion season in many areas.

 

[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.