Best Goose breed for pet

gcwfarmgirl

Hatching
5 Years
Jun 24, 2014
4
0
7
To start-I know what I'm asking is a matter of opinion, but I don't know anyone with geese and have never been around any so I'd love your help!

I'm looking into getting some geese next year and I was trying to figure out which breed suits my life.

The main thing I'm looking for is one that's not aggressive. It'll live in the barn yard with our goats and chickens, the same yard I'll have to walk through to reach the barn.

I know that most domestic geese don't fly-but I've read a few stories where some breeds can if they want-I live near a road so I'd prefer a breed that really never/can't fly.
 
To start-I know what I'm asking is a matter of opinion, but I don't know anyone with geese and have never been around any so I'd love your help!

I'm looking into getting some geese next year and I was trying to figure out which breed suits my life.

The main thing I'm looking for is one that's not aggressive. It'll live in the barn yard with our goats and chickens, the same yard I'll have to walk through to reach the barn.

I know that most domestic geese don't fly-but I've read a few stories where some breeds can if they want-I live near a road so I'd prefer a breed that really never/can't fly.
Hi. The most popular breeds for friendliness are sebastopols, Pilgrims, Cottonpatch and American Buff. I have Pilgrims and they´re lovely. Having said that, a lot depends on how you rear them..not enough contact makes them nervous, and too much of the wrong sort can make ganders overly confident. The flying bit is best solved by simply cutting the flight feathers on one wing once a year. It´s very simple to do, and means they can´t get off the ground. The smaller breeds are often the sweetest, (there are exceptions), but also they can fly more easily.
Pilgrims are really sweet as a rule, and are good foragers.
Whereabouts do you live? If in England or nearby, there are also Romans, Steinbachers, West-of-England, Brecon Buffs and Shetlands.
I think shetlands may also be available in the States.
Oh, in the States, can also get mini Oregon geese...
 
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My Pomeranian goose was quite gentle. I would probably stay away from Chinese Geese. I've had them in the past and most of them ended up being aggressive.
 
I have American Buffs and they're terrific. They're one of the heaviest breeds in the middle weight class. They're not know for flying due to their size, but every morning when I let mine out, they try their best. Occasionally they manage to lift their enormous bodies into the air a good 3 feet, only to drop down like the blimps they are after about 5 feet of linear travel.
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So your nearby road wouldn't be an issue for these guys, they'd probably never see it...lol !!! I've also heard good things about the breeds that 'livininbrazil' mentioned in his post.
Basically the only breeds I've ever heard anything remotely negative about are the African and Chinese breeds, but then again, it IS subjective and a lot of their personality is based on the relationship they have with their primary caregiver.
 
The main thing I'm looking for is one that's not aggressive.
All geese act aggressively when they feel threatened. That's just how geese are. Even the gentlest, human-imprinted, hand-reared pet goose will attack under the "right" circumstances. Geese are skittish animals; and if they perceive something (or someone) as a threat, they only have two choices: flee or attack. And as domestic geese are bad flyers, they often pick the latter. Their instincts don't leave them time to consider if they're overreacting. A totally non-aggressive goose does not exist outside movies and books.

What you can do is try to find geese that act less aggressive, which means geese that are used to being around people - and preferably also goats and chickens. Breed doesn't matter much. But how the breeder handles them is very important, assuming you're not getting them newly hatched. If the breeder spends time with his/her geese and talks to them, they'll be way less scared of people and much more likely to consider you non-threatening.

Oh, and once you get them, don't chase them, tease them, or in other ways make them unnecessarily uneasy. They don't forget.
 
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I have just gotten into geese this year and my 2 african gosling are little angels but they dont really like new people that stresses them out and they'll get nippy but they've never nipped me once.They are very talkative and try and have conversations with any one that will keep talking back.I'm glad they dont like strangers but thats cause i want predators to stay out of the coop which i hope the geese will do when old enough.I also clip their wings so i havent had a problem.
 
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My toulouse goose is a sweetheart. Production, not Dewlap. She also can get around three feet in the air if she REALLY tries but only straight up then straight down!
 

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