3 Goslings on their way

[Mrs Fryzzle]

I have 3 goslings coming April 3rd. I have chickens and ducks, but am wondering -really- how much this decision is going to change our lives ?
I have watched every video on YouTube on raising and caring for Goslings, issues that could come up associated with goslings when they arrive (via mail), etc.
I was wondering if anyone had any advice for their coop/hut? what to expect when they come in the mail- get home? Interactions tips for when I merge them in with the rest of the flocks? Really Anything.
Thank you soooo much!

Heidi F

 

[ExoticPetOwner]

Geese are much larger than chickens and ducks, they have different reproductive organs, and require a different diet, so it's better to keep them separated. Geese are much louder + bigger, need more room, eat more grass, and don't produce many eggs every year, compared to other poultry. Make sure you already have a set up ready for them before they arrive, they grow very fast and get big, quick. When you first get them, try not to interact much because it might stress them out. Place them in their brooder with room temp water, small poultry starter crumbles, soft bedding, and a heating source, preferable a heating lamp until they're a little older to recognize that a heating/brooder plate can keep them warm, too. When they are 7-10 days old, ( When you get them, they'll be around 3 days old, so 4-7 days after you've had them. ) make sure to take them off of the raiser and switch them to poultry raiser crumbles. Geese are waterfowl, so they need plenty of water, and they will make a mess of it. I don't suggest letting them be in water until they're close to a week old. When they can be in water, make sure both of their feet can touch the surface, this prevents them from drowning. Drinking and swimming water should always be warm, never cold or hot. You'll quickly notice that the goslings will become attached to you, their owner. The temperature in the brooder should be at 95 degrees F, and lowered every week. READ MORE ABOUT THAT>
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There's a lot to cover, so here's some links to read to learn more about caring for goslings:

1. Care Recommendations For Goslings
2. Seting-Up A Gosling Brooder
3. Gosling Care Guide
4. How to Raise and Care for Geese
5. Housing Geese
6. Geese Companions
7. Male To Female Ratio: Geese
8. The Beginner’s Guide to Keeping Geese
9. Beginner's Guide to Raising Geese
10. How to Introduce Geese to Existing Flock
11. Tips: When to Introduce Goslings Outside
12. Are Geese Right For My Farm

** I hope this all helps! **

 

[Mrs Fryzzle]

Geese are much larger than chickens and ducks, they have different reproductive organs, and require a different diet, so it's better to keep them separated. Geese are much louder + bigger, need more room, eat more grass, and don't produce many eggs every year, compared to other poultry. Make sure you already have a set up ready for them before they arrive, they grow very fast and get big, quick. When you first get them, try not to interact much because it might stress them out. Place them in their brooder with room temp water, small poultry starter crumbles, soft bedding, and a heating source, preferable a heating lamp until they're a little older to recognize that a heating/brooder plate can keep them warm, too. When they are 7-10 days old, ( When you get them, they'll be around 3 days old, so 4-7 days after you've had them. ) make sure to take them off of the raiser and switch them to poultry raiser crumbles. Geese are waterfowl, so they need plenty of water, and they will make a mess of it. I don't suggest letting them be in water until they're close to a week old. When they can be in water, make sure both of their feet can touch the surface, this prevents them from drowning. Drinking and swimming water should always be warm, never cold or hot. You'll quickly notice that the goslings will become attached to you, their owner. The temperature in the brooder should be at 95 degrees F, and lowered every week. READ MORE ABOUT THAT>
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There's a lot to cover, so here's some links to read to learn more about caring for goslings:

1. Care Recommendations For Goslings
2. Seting-Up A Gosling Brooder
3. Gosling Care Guide
4. How to Raise and Care for Geese
5. Housing Geese
6. Geese Companions
7. Male To Female Ratio: Geese
8. The Beginner’s Guide to Keeping Geese
9. Beginner's Guide to Raising Geese
10. How to Introduce Geese to Existing Flock
11. Tips: When to Introduce Goslings Outside
12. Are Geese Right For My Farm

** I hope this all helps! **

This is very helpful, Thank you! Makes sense to step away and let them settle when they arrive... lower heart rate, relax from traveling such a far distance and get to know new home... So appreciative!

 

[gooseapplefarms]

You can feed the geese whatever you feed the ducks when they're young. Waterfowl feed or 'all flock' that indicates usage for waterfowl should be fine. IMO, they're not different than baby ducklings.

They don't require as much heat as chicks. You can get away with a brooder plate as long as they're protected from the elements.
Once they're a week old, if you can raise their waterer slightly it will keep them from splashing out so much. When it's at foot level, they like to try to play in it.

 

[Mrs Fryzzle]

You can feed the geese whatever you feed the ducks when they're young. Waterfowl feed or 'all flock' that indicates usage for waterfowl should be fine. IMO, they're not different than baby ducklings.

They don't require as much heat as chicks. You can get away with a brooder plate as long as they're protected from the elements.
Once they're a week old, if you can raise their waterer slightly it will keep them from splashing out so much. When it's at foot level, they like to try to play in it.

Thank you! I can only imagine at this point what their size will be- so, this is a big help.

 

[Dinosaur Village Keeper]

Thank you! I can only imagine at this point what their size will be- so, this is a big help.

I only have 2 geese that are a year old, so very limited experience, though vast research done. I have to strongly disagree with a bit of the advice you received. Geese form a tight bond with humans in the first several days of their lives... why would you want to give that up by being distant? My geese cried every time we left the room. They absolutely adored us and vice versa. They were never stressed out by being near us, but instead were stressed out when we left! They are the cutest things you’ll ever see, and being distant from them is the last thing you are going to want to do.

The only other thing I can recommend is that when the geese are bigger, yet not quite as big as the chickens, I would put them near the chickens and let the chickens be somewhat mean to them. Not terrible mean, but just enough so that the geese know the chickens are boss. And yes, the poor sweet geese will cry! The chickens need to be the boss now because they are truly defenseless against adult geese. The trick is to not let the geese ever realize this. This happened for us on accident. A couple of the chickens were gently scolded for pecking the geese and now those poor chickens get treated badly by the geese. A huge, regretful mistake on my part. Most chickens were missed and not scolded… Our little 3 pound chicken terrifies the geese, which keeps her very safe. Some of our laregst chickens lose feathers weekly from the geese being butt heads. The chickens should be able to see the geese without any physical contact for a couple of weeks before moving on to letting the poor darlings get pecked. I am going to say it was probably about four weeks before we put them in the range where they quickly discovered the pecking order. I have only one experience with this, and it is my own, maybe others will have advice as I have never heard anyone else talk about this. Also, I don’t have ducks so I’m not sure how it would work with them. My geese are Pilgrim females which could make a difference also.

Enjoy the new sweet little things!!

 

[Mrs Fryzzle]

I only have 2 geese that are a year old, so very limited experience, though vast research done. I have to strongly disagree with a bit of the advice you received. Geese form a tight bond with humans in the first several days of their lives... why would you want to give that up by being distant? My geese cried every time we left the room. They absolutely adored us and vice versa. They were never stressed out by being near us, but instead were stressed out when we left! They are the cutest things you’ll ever see, and being distant from them is the last thing you are going to want to do.

The only other thing I can recommend is that when the geese are bigger, yet not quite as big as the chickens, I would put them near the chickens and let the chickens be somewhat mean to them. Not terrible mean, but just enough so that the geese know the chickens are boss. And yes, the poor sweet geese will cry! The chickens need to be the boss now because they are truly defenseless against adult geese. The trick is to not let the geese ever realize this. This happened for us on accident. A couple of the chickens were gently scolded for pecking the geese and now those poor chickens get treated badly by the geese. A huge, regretful mistake on my part. Most chickens were missed and not scolded… Our little 3 pound chicken terrifies the geese, which keeps her very safe. Some of our laregst chickens lose feathers weekly from the geese being butt heads. The chickens should be able to see the geese without any physical contact for a couple of weeks before moving on to letting the poor darlings get pecked. I am going to say it was probably about four weeks before we put them in the range where they quickly discovered the pecking order. I have only one experience with this, and it is my own, maybe others will have advice as I have never heard anyone else talk about this. Also, I don’t have ducks so I’m not sure how it would work with them. My geese are Pilgrim females which could make a difference also.

Enjoy the new sweet little things!!

Thank you! I appreciate all the advice I receive, and I especially love what you mentioned about loving the little things.
I am afraid my children and I have broken the -no loving on the chicks- type rules, for a while now. The ducklings have our entire heart, but being so soggy- and the wet poopies- it is a little difficult to love on them for too long. I am sure we will not be able to resist connecting with these goslings!! and cannot wait for them to get here.
But, I hate surprises. I want to hear form every corner of the field. I love that you are a new goose owner, too. I practice 'the smallest things on the homestead rule' rule also, both inside the house and out. It has paid off in so many ways- the dogs worship the cat, and the cat is terrified of the love bird and cockatiel, but loves our guinea pig as a companion.... it somehow all works out. TG.
So good to know about this extending to the chickens too. We live in Downeast Maine and there is still snow, but I will pace it out so the goslings can match the chickens in size before I line them up for introductions. Hopefully the weather will work with me on that!


Question tho? How are you feeling about two geese? Are you thinking about getting more, or feel that it was enough? Are they a handful once they are grown? I am recving an Embden, a Toulouse, and a Buff. I have a chicken addiction, but have heard some talk about switching over to geese they love them so much more?

 

[Dinosaur Village Keeper]

Thank you! I appreciate all the advice I receive, and I especially love what you mentioned about loving the little things.
I am afraid my children and I have broken the -no loving on the chicks- type rules, for a while now. The ducklings have our entire heart, but being so soggy- and the wet poopies- it is a little difficult to love on them for too long. I am sure we will not be able to resist connecting with these goslings!! and cannot wait for them to get here.
But, I hate surprises. I want to hear form every corner of the field. I love that you are a new goose owner, too. I practice 'the smallest things on the homestead rule' rule also, both inside the house and out. It has paid off in so many ways- the dogs worship the cat, and the cat is terrified of the love bird and cockatiel, but loves our guinea pig as a companion.... it somehow all works out. TG.
So good to know about this extending to the chickens too. We live in Downeast Maine and there is still snow, but I will pace it out so the goslings can match the chickens in size before I line them up for introductions. Hopefully the weather will work with me on that!


Question tho? How are you feeling about two geese? Are you thinking about getting more, or feel that it was enough? Are they a handful once they are grown? I am recving an Embden, a Toulouse, and a Buff. I have a chicken addiction, but have heard some talk about switching over to geese they love them so much more?

I just posted about a deep sadness with my geese behavior, and mine too, so I feel I’m the worst person to talk about geese growing up and being a handful. I was getting more geese because they are awesome, they are in the incubator now, but things aren’t working out well for me. I would guess that most people do fine. When I first got my geese, I thought it was possible that I could love them more than chickens, because wow, they really have some personality! But now that they are older, they are really breaking my heart.

 

[elenamia]

I think it's important to remember that as somewhat long-lived, extremely social creatures...they're going to go through developmental stages. They grow & explore & learn so much in that first year alone.
For me it was very important to be as hands-on as I could raising my two goslings last year. They spent a ridiculously long time inside our house, because the weather wasn't 'just right'. I spent time with them daily once they were housed outdoors. We went through a lot of challenging times & we still are, but as they mature I can see what they've really grown into.
We're now going through our first breeding season, they're almost 1 year old, & things could be a lot worse. They both want me to be their girlfriend, I've never seen them squabble, & while things like sitting in the grass with them is out - right now - I can still walk & talk with them & we all enjoy our time together.
In a couple weeks I'm expecting two female goslings which I will handraise (& demand family members take part!) until they're big enough to be penned with my boys. I'm excited to see a new set of goslings grow & I am also pleased to see my boys develop & mature.

 

[Mrs Fryzzle]

I am gathering overall that it will/would be a good idea to have a separate area for them to spend their days in during this seasonal time, for everyone's (chicken, people, ducks, dogs, etc) sake. I sooo look forward to loving on them and connecting. It seems that it will pay off with this animal. Thank you for your story and help. Hopefully the weather will cooperate... if not, we will have to find the bigger brooder. thank you !!