Are geese right for me?

[Just Rosie]

I want to start by saying this idea is in its very early stages. I am not married to the idea of getting geese, but I am interested.

I have chickens currently, and have raised ducks in the past. I found the ducks to be incredibly messy, mainly due to their water source, but otherwise, great birds to have.

I have been reading a bit about geese, and the idea of a weeder and "guard dog" (more like security alarm) intrigues me.

First, I would only keep a small number of geese, likely 2 geese and a gander, or maybe just 3 geese. Likely no more than 3 total, 5 at the absolute most. Could I keep just 2 geese, or is 3 the absolute minimum?

Second, my main reasoning for wanting geese is predators. I have not dealt with a predator death in a while now, knock on wood, but the biggest thing I would like to change about my predator proofing is an alarm bell. My chickens are kept right outside my bathroom window, which is attached to my bedroom. If only the chickens would cry, like they do when they lay an egg, then I think I would hear them. This is where the geese come in.

If I were to get geese, they would be kept in an enclosure beside/in sight of the chickens, but not actually with the chickens. My hope/question is, would the geese sound off in sight of a predator, or if the chickens were making a fuss?

I live in a neighborhood, so the largest predator I have witnessed is an opossum. When I had ducks, there was only one attempt on them by a predator, and it was unsuccessful.

This leads me to my next question. How loud are geese? Are they louder than a crowing rooster? I have 2 roos and they don't seem to bother anyone. I live on a corner and the chickens are kept tucked away behind the house, so their sounds are partially proofed. How would the goose chatter compare? Are there louder and quieter breeds of geese? As I've said, I have no issues if they are as loud as the ducks or even the Roos, but if they are much louder than that, it is something I would have to consider.

Next, I would like to know how messy geese are. Are geese messier than ducks? When I had ducks, I kept a kiddie pool filled for them to get some swimming and water play in, and I would likely have the same setup for geese. The difference though, would be that I would like to free range the geese, so they can do some weed eating.

Which leads me to my next questions: how far would the geese range, and do I have to worry about them flying away? When I free ranged my chickens, they were really good about staying in my yard. Yeah I would occasionally have to run them across the street from the neighbors yard, but overall they seemed to understand the boundaries. Are geese more likely to take off than chickens? I read that they are not very likely to fly away if provided with what they need. Is this true? Does this fact change when they are free ranged?

I think those are all my geese-keeping questions for now. I appreciate any insight on raising them!

 

[Goosebaby]

Geese are less messy than ducks but more messy than chickens. They love to play in water and do get it muddy but not at the rate that ducks do.

Chinese type geese are more likely to alert you to someone in the yard than greylag derived breeds, however geese are all individuals so nothing is guaranteed. My geese “greylag derived breeds” when in the presence of a predator tend to make a low “ehh ehh ehh” sound as well as hissing, they don’t tend to honk as that would alert predators to their location, so unless you happen to be present when they spot something there’s a chance you may not hear it inside.

These are someone’s two Chinese mixes that sadly encountered a mink in the coop.

Keep in mind that Chinese geese are much louder than other breeds.

Geese can be kept as a pair or as three or more, it just depends how many geese you want. Keeping three can be a better idea than keeping two if an unfortunate circumstance leads to the loss of one of your geese, geese form strong bonds and if it’s just the two they can struggle with the loss and sometimes have trouble bonding with with a new goose.

Geese tend to like familiar surroundings and will stick to home, however some do wander, I once had my flock follow one of my ganders down through the woods and down the road. Domestic geese can fly but generally not very far, they do so better when they’re young and if they continue to exercise their flight muscles, otherwise once they’re 2 to 3 years old they don’t do much more than flutter.

 

[fowltemptress]

You could keep two happily enough, but like Goosebaby said, when people lose one it can sometimes be a hassle finding a replacement.

My geese don't care when the chickens make a fuss, but my chickens do care if the geese make a fuss. They immediately run for cover if they sense the geese are distressed by anything, which can be helpful in and of itself. And my geese don't always yell when they sense danger. A lot of times they go very still and watchful, which my chickens are actually able to pick up on, even if I don't. Which is a good thing, because while my geese can be loud, they're very rarely that loud if there's actually a threat around. What they're loud about is usually fights amongst themselves, or commentary on each other's mating techniques, or, heaven forbid, I dare to wear blue jeans into their territory instead of my usual cammo pants. I'd say they're much louder than ducks or roosters when they are loud, but they're mostly not yelling. I don't have the swan breeds, though, which I've always heard are much more vocal. But regardless of breed, when geese decide something needs a talking to, it's LOUD.

Chickens seem messier to me, but my birds roam freely when it's not night. Chickens tear up the grass with all their scratching, which is not something geese do, though they can over graze an area and kill grass that way if you let them. Chicken poop smells gross - goose poop is like pulped up grass clippings, which I find less disgusting even if there's more of it. Don't give your geese access to food or water at night, and they won't foul up their coop the way Chickens do, either. Their water, however, will get filthy, and so will the few feet that surrounds the water. I brought in river rock to keep the area around their pool from becoming a mud slick, and in the summers I'm changing the water twice a day. Adult forms aside, goslings are something like 1000x messier than chicks.
My geese are far messier than my ducks, but I have muscovies so it's probably a completely different experience.
Mess aside, geese can be destructive, so you'd need to be sure they don't have access to anything you don't want torn up. They're very curious creatures that are more than happy to disassemble your lawnmower or tear apart trash bags.

My geese stayed nearby - until they didn't. It doesn't happen often, but when geese decide to roam, it happens when you're not paying attention and they're halfway to the highway. I'd just make sure you're around when they're ranging, just in case their curiosity drags them too far out. In general, though, they like to stay close. Mine can't really fly, though with a good run and some extra energy they'll accidentally clear a fence. I'm on a hill and one of my geese flew (well, soared) clear down it, crossing over the pasture and back tank and into a giant thicket of blackberry bramble, where I had to go in and extract her. She was as shocked as I was that she had flown that far, and I could tell from her expression as I watched her mid-flight that she was thinking, "What the heck? I should've stopped by now!" It's like someone had cut her breaks. In other words, flying off is not something I worry about with the geese. They really do prefer the familiarity of their own territory. The only reason I bothered fencing in their pasture for them wasn't over worries of their wandering, but the gander had started attacking my dog and I needed a way to separate them.

 

[JRies]

I originally started with the idea of getting geese to protect my ducks. Ok started with Production Africans. Let me tell you there is no such thing as a guardian goose. There is a such thing as a goose presents. So Hawks for which I have Manny are not a problem. they just move on. But its more the presents of my geese. I raise Heavy weights Africans now. They get along with my runner ducks much better they just ignore them. Geese are good alarms they are family. I bought my property and built my home to raise ducks. I now raise geese instead. I fell in love with the personality's the love for family and interaction. There incredible. But they are geese. To my geese and they protect there flock, my ducks are just some more sparrows steeling food out of there bowl and they just don't care.. Geese need other birds that speak geese. Most will tolerate other birds just fine. But they protect there flock that speaks goose.

 

[addctd2plnts]

I'm not sure that geese in a neighborhood will make you any friends. We are on 24 acres and I can hear my geese at the middle of the next property LOL Loud noise doesn't bother me but when they get going, usually in the mornings, you can't talk loud enough for a person next to you to hear it, and I only have 2 pairs LMBO If you have anyone near you trying to sleep in, they are definitely going to complain.

 

[Goosebaby]

I'm not sure that geese in a neighborhood will make you any friends. We are on 24 acres and I can hear my geese at the middle of the next property LOL Loud noise doesn't bother me but when they get going, usually in the mornings, you can't talk loud enough for a person next to you to hear it, and I only have 2 pairs LMBO If you have anyone near you trying to sleep in, they are definitely going to complain.

When the geese honk, yell with them.
Set aside some time every day to lay on the grass and allow the geese to weave twigs and leaves into your hair like they’re decorating a corpse.
When someone comes to the door, don’t greet them from the door, emerge from the nearest bush with your gaggle in tow, preferably with your hair still done up the way the geese arranged it, at all times don’t break eye contact with whoever the f it is in your yard. They won’t come back or complain about your geese again, they’ll be too afraid of incurring your wrath.

 

[fowltemptress]

When the geese honk, yell with them.
Set aside some time every day to lay on the grass and allow the geese to weave twigs and leaves into your hair like they’re decorating a corpse.
When someone comes to the door, don’t greet them from the door, emerge from the nearest bush with your gaggle in tow, preferably with your hair still done up the way the geese arranged it, at all times don’t break eye contact with whoever the f it is in your yard. They won’t come back or complain about your geese again, they’ll be too afraid of incurring your wrath.

This is, bar none, the best advice I've EVER read in these forums.

 

[addctd2plnts]

When the geese honk, yell with them.
Set aside some time every day to lay on the grass and allow the geese to weave twigs and leaves into your hair like they’re decorating a corpse.
When someone comes to the door, don’t greet them from the door, emerge from the nearest bush with your gaggle in tow, preferably with your hair still done up the way the geese arranged it, at all times don’t break eye contact with whoever the f it is in your yard. They won’t come back or complain about your geese again, they’ll be too afraid of incurring your wrath.

Love it! LMBO

 

[AGeese]

My honest opinion is that I don't recommended it. Yes it's possible things could work out like a fairy tale, but it's very possible they won't.

And I don't know about yalls ducks, but I see my neighbors ducks, and my geese are just as messy when they want to be. Whoever said they're cleaner than ducks is probably selling geese.

They crap much bigger and love the mud. I do not recommend geese to anyone who doesn't have a farm because they will tear everything up for fun and if you don't have the space for it, that might include your chickens. They are highly territorial so yes they will alert you, but they'll also chase the chickens away from their food and their water, because everything belongs to them.

Now I have seen this the other way around, but it was a special case where the goose was a stray and voluntarily showed up at my neighbors and adopted their ducks.

Two geese will be imprinted only on each other. They may or may not tolerate the chickens in their space because again it's all their space.

So if noise isn't an issue I'd say get a rooster instead.

 

[Taj MaHen]

When the geese honk, yell with them.
Set aside some time every day to lay on the grass and allow the geese to weave twigs and leaves into your hair like they’re decorating a corpse.
When someone comes to the door, don’t greet them from the door, emerge from the nearest bush with your gaggle in tow, preferably with your hair still done up the way the geese arranged it, at all times don’t break eye contact with whoever the f it is in your yard. They won’t come back or complain about your geese again, they’ll be too afraid of incurring your wrath.

GOALS!!!!!!!