Yuletime goose?

[belibutn]

Ok, I asked my wife a question and it brought a tear of joy to her eye... "You want me to see what I can find out about raising a Yule goose?"

I assume that someone has undertaken this already. What types of different things do geese need that chickens don't? I don't have a pond. Should I bury a kiddy pool in the meat bird run? Can a single goose be housed with cornish rocks? Will it, if I wish upon the wishing star, lay a golden egg? They should be slaughtered at about 5 months, right? What breeds are good for meat?

 

[ticks]

they need a buddy! they will get very lonely they also should be kept in a goose pen it could cause disease with 2 different species. I think that white embdens are probably the best meat goose.

 

[KSANDERS1]

I'm new here, and I'm new to geese. (I have 11 of them, about 9 days old.) I've heard of people who roast Christmas goose, but I can't imagine that too many of those same people actually have a hand in raising them. Goslings are cute and sweet and very personable. Research shows that as they grow up, their personalities are as diverse as human personalities. Also, they can potentially live a very long time. So, my advice would be to make sure you have ample space, the desire, and the means to raise a goose, (or two because the one would grow up incredibly lonely) should you discover you've lost your resolve to kill one of them. BTW, I'm cheering for the goose.

 

[conny63malies]

I dont have geese , but i bought three muscovy ducks from Brenda(ahbee01) that will be raised for the same purpose. You dont want a sebastopol, they are too expensive. Wouldnt a few of those white weeder geese, embden or toulouse do? The last two the males are around 18pounds and the females around 12. Or you just order 10weeders for 6.92 at MMM

 

[MissPrissy]

I am raising geese I hatched specifically for our Christmas Table.

Geese are herbavors and do best with a pasture to graze, a bit of water to keep their nares cleared and fresh air and sunshine.

I started mine on a chick/duck/goose/turkey starter crumble, supplemented with lettuce and spinach and fresh yogurt for a healthy start, then put them on pasture every day when it was warm. As they got bigger (and they will quickly!) they went out to a pasture and a protected shelter. They are now eating Purina flock raiser as a supplement to their grazing. They 'swim' in a little kiddie wading pool.

I have never raised a bird that I have loved as much as my geese. It will be very hard to process the extra males for the table but this is a farm, I have to be sensible. The extra males will be Christmas dinner.

Wanna see them?

I am also working on embdens as one of our meat birds. These were sold to me as eggs from embdens but you can see they are not. LOL

 

[greyfields]

I raise and sell Christmas goose. I agree you need two geese, so you can have one for Thanksgiving as well as Christmas. Advantages of geese over turkey:

a) Geese will thrive on grass alone, only need feed the first 6 weeks and the last 2-3 depending on how much 'fattening up' you want to do.

b) Geese can generally be let wander your grounds, mowing your grass for you, and are easily trained to "go to bed" someone secure at night.

c) Our ancestors had it correct, goose is far tastier than turkey. It's a dark meat, almost like a beefy duck. The culinary potential is endless. We usually confit the legs, stuff the neck like a sausage (and simmer it in goose fat and homemade lard) and then roast the main carcass. They have actual flavor, rather than turkey which just tastes like the gravy you put on it.

d) Geese are freakin' awesome! We keep 18 for breeding and have somewhere between 25 and 40 in the growing pen right now. As soon as they're big enough to go off grain, they'll just be turned out on pasture like the other livestock. They can also be used to graze your aftermath from your vegetable garden or other crops.

Of all the animals at Greyfields, geese are my absolute dearest and favorite. They entertain me endlessly, are comical and have huge personalities.

Drawbacks of Geese:

e) If you want a pristine lawn, the geese will crap a lot on it while helping you mow. If you have a huge lawn you may hardly notice it, though.

f) You can only really get them in Winter/Spring, so you are stuck raising the animal until late November. It's a long time for the payoff and potential for losing an animal to predators.

g) I still find it hard to slaughter and sell them. Most imprint on me and they're more like dogs than livestock. They follow me around, are curious and are always into something. You might get attached, making the whole experience sour.

h) Turkeys can be brough in as late as August and still be big enough for Thanksgiving. So, it's a shorter 'crop' to grow (but you have to feed 100% grain).