African Geese

[the outdoorsman44]

I was going to get some african geese but i want to know...

How much space they need.

What king of food do they eat and whats a good website to get it.

Are they easy to take care of.

And do they fly away with an open roof

 

[flockman]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/497391/geese-sticky-topics-index

This should be a good resource for you. Good luck on your decision. I love having geese. Metzer's is a decent place to get geese. Breeders are the best option but Metzer's will likely fulfill your need.

 

[the outdoorsman44]

thanks^

 

[the outdoorsman44]

can you free range them?

 

[flockman]

We free range them in a pasture. We have let them in our yard but they always seem to like our doors and poop by them. Plus my gander does not like a lot of people. He tries to bluff my kids as well. So we just find it better that they stay out in the pasture. We lock them up in the barn at night.

 

[Supajen]

we have 2 African/Chinese geese - they free range during the day with the chickens and then share the coop with them at night. Everyone gets along just fine. I provide 2 kiddy pools for them so they can swim when they want. Right now they are 6 months old and are delightful! They only go after the small dog and the cat, but love people. Both will eat out of my hand.

 

[Miss Lydia]

we have 2 African/Chinese geese - they free range during the day with the chickens and then share the coop with them at night. Everyone gets along just fine. I provide 2 kiddy pools for them so they can swim when they want. Right now they are 6 months old and are delightful! They only go after the small dog and the cat, but love people. Both will eat out of my hand.

It will only get worse, teach them now to respect the dog especially and also the cat.

 

[RURU]

I agree with Miss Lydia make sure to teach them to respect the cat and the dog. Because the dog will only take so much before they attack and kill the goose.

 

[applied]

How do you go about that?

 

[Starfire669]

I have 4 African geese and 4 Chinese geese. They are all hatchery stock, so not near as big as ones from good breeders get. But the Africans are bigger than the Chinese. The Africans are easier to handle than my Chinese as well. But teach you geese now to respect kids, dogs, any person or animal that will be near them regularly. Geese can and will attack strangers and in the right circumstances, even you their handler, if not properly taught, the females will defend nests and babies, and males will defend females, and their territory. Most attacks come from ganders, they can be very aggressive.

I would be really worried about the dog, it wouldn't take much for the dog to snap and attack back to defend itself. In an instance like this, the dog could seriously injure the goose, even kill it. Now if you have a teacup poodle or other breed less than 10lbs then I'd be worried about the gander hurting the dog (and even this small the dog could still bite and injure the goose). No matter the size of your dog, the bottom line is to teach your geese to leave the dog alone, this will prevent either the goose or dog from being injured.

The first step in teaching your geese manners, is understanding their behavior. Can you recognize the warning signs of an impending attack? If not, there are threads with lots of details on the subject. Then, after understanding behavior, dominance, and how to speak the geese body language, you show them that you are the dominant goose in the yard. A normal donimance encounter between ganders follows the same pattern of behaviors, easy to recognize once you understand what it means.
First is the threat, posturing and neck out I front of the body, then there is chest bumping between geese which is a test of strength, then the fight with biting and wing strikes, then the winner pins the loser down, then winner runs around wings spread honking loudly while loser runs off in shame. This is the cliff notes of what happens between 2 ganders fighting for dominance. There are threads and posts that go into details, they are very imformative and I recommend reading them.
If you see a gander threatening the dog, or a kid or whoever, first try yelling loudly with your arms spread while jogging towards the gander. This is you posturing and threatening the gander, if he runs you won. If he won't back down, give the him a firm (but not hard) nudge in the chest with your foot, this is you chest bumping the gander. The chest bump should be firm enough to make the gander back up (this is not a kick, it is to show you are physically stronger than he is, and might make him back down, but his body should not leave the ground, he should just be pushed back a few steps). If the gander still doesn't back off, grab his neck just behind the head, and force his body down along the ground. 1 hand should always be kept right behind the head to prevent bites, the other hand should be on top of the body to hold him down. This needs to be done firmly but carefully, geese legs are not that strong, so don't throw him down or put your weight on him to get him in position. Hold him there for a couple minutes, this is where he relizeses he lost. Afterwards, do a victory lap just like a winning gander would, make some noise and let the other geese know you won. You don't have to run around with your arms our yelling, but do something to call attention from the other geese.

I have had to pin my gander, Snow, once, another time the chest bump backed him off. Both times he was threatening my children. He hasn't bothered them since, and he has never offered me aggression, but I know I'll have to do it again, especially during breeding season, he is a stubborn little devil, lol. Even though I have pinned him, he does still come to me for treats and scratches, so it won't make your geese afraid of you, he will just respect you and your dominant position.

Hope this helps.