african goose

[Blackberry Hill]

Hi - I can sympathize as I am attached to my pair of African geese, too. I hope you are able to pull her thru. My question is for Ruru about feed for geese. The man I got my ducks & geese from just fed them cracked corn. That did not seem nutritionally complete to me so I give them 3 parts Purina Duck Chow to 2 parts cracked corn to 2 parts black oil sunflower seed. I do scatter grit once a week. They can forage in a fenced in 75 x 75 feet run that ends down the hill at a small lake where they can swim. I do bring them daily treats - dandelions, clover, water celery (their favorite), crickets, watermelon and cucumbers. In winter, I give them alfalfa, cilantro and parsley. BTW, at night, they are in a predator-proof pen 10 x 10 with a house 4 x 10. And, yes, they have fresh water twice a day. Am I missing any of the basics? I appeciate any info as I am new to this. I've had ducks for 3 years, the geese for 2 and peacocks for just a year. The ducks and geese live together while the peas are in their own place. Thanks, Sherilyn

 

[Miss Lydia]

You say you tried the flush does that mean you got a good bit of it in her? Which one of the flushes did you use please.? Did you find some fly trap poison down were they hang out is the reason for your assumption that she got into it? might say on the package what to do if ingested.

 

[Haunted55]

Did you get the charcoal?

 

[CAREFORYOU]

I did she has a couple of doses and sha is up and walking still watching closely

 

[Miss Lydia]

That is awesome news. thank you for letting us know.

 

[RURU]

Hi - I can sympathize as I am attached to my pair of African geese, too. I hope you are able to pull her thru. My question is for Ruru about feed for geese. The man I got my ducks & geese from just fed them cracked corn. That did not seem nutritionally complete to me so I give them 3 parts Purina Duck Chow to 2 parts cracked corn to 2 parts black oil sunflower seed. I do scatter grit once a week. They can forage in a fenced in 75 x 75 feet run that ends down the hill at a small lake where they can swim. I do bring them daily treats - dandelions, clover, water celery (their favorite), crickets, watermelon and cucumbers. In winter, I give them alfalfa, cilantro and parsley. BTW, at night, they are in a predator-proof pen 10 x 10 with a house 4 x 10. And, yes, they have fresh water twice a day. Am I missing any of the basics? I appeciate any info as I am new to this. I've had ducks for 3 years, the geese for 2 and peacocks for just a year. The ducks and geese live together while the peas are in their own place. Thanks, Sherilyn

Cracked corn is not that good for geese they need a balanced diet and cracked corn, Purina duck chow I guess is better and too many sunflower seeds can be too much calcium going into the system and can cause kidney failure. As I stated a good water fowl feed or Game bird feed have all that you need to give them because it has the niacin that ducks and geese need,
I have never fed Purina Duck Chow so I am not familiar with the ingredients. You can give some cracked corn as a treat but not as a main diet! Sunflower seeds can be given too but in moderation. Usually the waterfowl feed or Game bird feeds have all the nutrients needed for waterfowl.
Yes we can give the treats but be wise on what you give. Geese are mainly grass eaters., dandelion greens. We can give them Romaine lettuce, kale, apples cut up, tomatoes cut up, watermelon, red or green grapes cut in half, turnip greens, some cooked corn, peas, berries.
Oats, wheat. NO spinach too much iron.
As you can see there are many things they can have.
Given too much protein over 15 to 16% during the winter is good. If you give too much protein through out the winter months it causes fat to grow around the breeding organs and they can not produce and fertilize the females.
Hope this helps some.

 

[Blackberry Hill]

CareForYou - That is Great news! I hope she continues to improve. Is she eating anything?

Ruru - Thanks so much for getting back to me. I looked at every feed store in two counties. I was thrilled to find the Duck Chow as my only other choice was chicken feed.

I agree about the cracked corn being unsuitable as a main diet but at 10 % of the ration in summer and 20 % in winter it does have Vit A and provides a high energy level from carbs to balance the Duck Chow and sunflower seeds that are high in protein, fiber and fat. Ideally, I want my ducks & geese to forage on greens & grass while the Chow fills in any gaps, especially in winter.

I am concerned about you saying that black oil sunflower seeds cause kidney failure due to high calcium. What is your source on that? I'm a biologist and I did a lot of research before choosing the black oil sunflower seeds (BOSS) to complement the Purina Duck Chow. Adult geese need about 3% calcium as well as female ducks whereas the drakes only need about .7% or so. The Purina has a minimum of .4% calcium with a maximum of .9% so I need a calcium supplement. (Cracked corn is low in calcium.)

I choose BOSS over oyster shell, etc because it is a good source of calcium but it's not too high. BOSS runs about .25% calcium per kilogram dry matter with 15% protein and is a good source of niacin, Vit E and iron. Please read up on it at Feedipedia.org which is an encyclopedia of animal feeds. It says BOSS is SAFE for all species.

I would appreciate any info you have on BOSS. Keep in mind that the sunflower seeds that humans consume are a different type so the nutrional info would be different.

We all want whatever is best for "the children" aka our flock. Knowledge gives us that edge and sharing multiplies it. Take Care, Sherilyn

 

[Miss Lydia]

How's your girl doing this evening?

 

[Haunted55]

Yes, I too am interested in how she is making out! I hope you update this thread soon.

 

[Miss Lydia]