A good starter goose :)

[yoie]

I am really interested in getting a few geese next spring. I love my chickens and ducks, but I know different breeds can well be different

. I really love my Pekins and my Magpie ducks since they will come up to me and eat out of my hands and don't mind being picked up if needed. While my Buff and Cayuga always keep a little distance from me. I would like a breed of goose that would be friendly enough to come up to me, but doesn't have to be cuddler

I just don't want it running in fear from me. I guess noice really doesn't matter much, I can hear my Pekins when I pull in the driveway, they are LOUD. What would you all recommend for a beginner with geese? Thinking of getting 2 or 3, should I stick with all the same breed? They are for pets not really breeding. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I just don't know, there are so many breeds!

 

[Evelle]

i had a friend with a gray chinese goose and she loved to be picked up and hugged and loved she also had a Embrem?? is big and white i know im not spelling it or pronouncing it right but something like that.. she had BEAUTIFUL blue eyes and she was beautiful but hissed and was very stand offish.. i love the long necks of the chinese geese. and hers just made me love the breed even more..
but im thinking that every goose breeder is going to tell you something different.
im guessing that if you get one you love it would be a good choice. but i would only get females.. and try to keep babys away as soon as babys are introduced man they become bears and protect the heack out of them or the compleat opposite.
i would love to hear more. like what you decide on and pictures and all kinds because like you i to would like geese just so uneasy about it for they are large and EAT alot like great danes of the bird family

good luck and im sure youll make a good choice.

 

[gryeyes]

I have a large flock of chickens of all types, several ducks, and I "started with" a pair of Toulouse geese. (The "utility" type, not the Dewlap Toulouse.). I love 'em. They aren't all cuddly, but they are friendly and very curious. They know their names, too.

Ganders are generally friendlier than the geese, although both will get extremely protective and touchy during their breeding season. I think two would be good, if not a pair (a gander and a goose). They do prefer to hang out with their own kind. Kate and Angus were not raised together at first, so they developed chicken buddies. Once I got Angus into the flock, from another location, he bonded to Kate, but he still acts quite friendly to his BFF chickens. And Kate had a few minions of her own, which still like to hang out with her. She tolerates 'em, much more so than other chickens in the flock.

So they can be solo, but... I think it's best to give them the company of their own kind.

 

[Terri O]

I have had geese for many years and have a very large flock of Toulouse. They are a bigger goose and do very well free range. In fact mine never come in at all except for very bad weather...then they just go into the barn and hang out. When I had only 3 they would climb into my lap. Geese sometimes pick one favorite person though so they defend you against "predators!" (like your husband--LOL!) That one was a male though...
I would say get babies if you can and then they will be very friendly to the people that feed/care for them. I only have experience with Toulouse here...I know that my friends Africans are VERY loud and never shut up! Mine only make noise for disturbances or when mating.
Good luck in your quest...if you are near WI or can come...see me in Spring for babies! Terri O

 

[pete55]

What gorgeous Toulouse and in lovely condition

 

[melissa41927]

tufted roman geese are gentle and smaller than other geese. they are also quieter.

 

[bayyjayy]

I really worry about getting a pair of geese. I don't want to have to deal with the breeding season and dont' want babies. So....if I were to get two of the same sex, which would be better....girls or boys? I like the idea of girls for eggs, but I read over and over that boys are friendlier. I worry....during breeding season, would they fight, and would my ducks be in danger of being hurt?

 

[Cottage Rose]

Sebastopols, American & Pilgrims are often said to be more quiet and calm
but that all depends on the strain and how they are raised.
Raising goslings from day olds will assure you get some people friendly geese.
I have some info on raising geese on my website you might find helpful.
Good luck!

P.S. I'm raising 2 Embdens for the freezer this year and they are aggressive and rowdy
and I raised them from day olds.

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

I love my Sebbies! They are not very big, very friendly & curious...not as loud as my dewlap Africans....

The Africans are friendly...just not as friendly....still babies, though...