I'm hoping someone can give me some advice about taking care of geese.
A neighbor died a few years ago and his family released his flock of geese onto a nearby pond. A group of us have been feeding them in the winters but over the years, most of them have been killed by predators (coyotes) and cars.
There are now only 2 left and I'd like to bring them home but I have no experience with geese or water fowl (I have chickens). I'm thinking of keeping them in a house inside my neighbor's barn. The barn is fairly derelict and has a large open door, so I think they would need to be protected inside it. I was thinking of building a house out of 6 pallets wired together, using one as a door. I would let them out during the day and lock them up at night.
I have a few questions:
Would this housing method work?
Given that the geese now live in the wild, will they return to the house at night? Do you keep them penned in for a few days to teach them to return home at night, like chickens? If so, how long?
I understand that they need a lot of water. How much? How long can they go without water (if it freezes in winter, for example)?
Do they have to have water to swim/splash in during the summer? If so, how big a pool would they need?
Anything else I should keep in mind? It will be a bit of a treck to the barn and there's no electricity or running water there, so I'll be hauling everything myself.
Many thanks!!
A neighbor died a few years ago and his family released his flock of geese onto a nearby pond. A group of us have been feeding them in the winters but over the years, most of them have been killed by predators (coyotes) and cars.
There are now only 2 left and I'd like to bring them home but I have no experience with geese or water fowl (I have chickens). I'm thinking of keeping them in a house inside my neighbor's barn. The barn is fairly derelict and has a large open door, so I think they would need to be protected inside it. I was thinking of building a house out of 6 pallets wired together, using one as a door. I would let them out during the day and lock them up at night.
I have a few questions:
Would this housing method work?
Given that the geese now live in the wild, will they return to the house at night? Do you keep them penned in for a few days to teach them to return home at night, like chickens? If so, how long?
I understand that they need a lot of water. How much? How long can they go without water (if it freezes in winter, for example)?
Do they have to have water to swim/splash in during the summer? If so, how big a pool would they need?
Anything else I should keep in mind? It will be a bit of a treck to the barn and there's no electricity or running water there, so I'll be hauling everything myself.
Many thanks!!