Best guard geese???

[beccaWA]

Hi, there. I've kept chickens, ducks, and turkeys in the past. Now, I just have a very small flock of chickens. I let them free range on my fenced acre, and they're pretty good at looking out for hawks. However, I'm wanting to expand the flock a bit more and also add ducks back in. The term "sitting duck" definitely is true. They are predator magnets in my experience.

I'd like a guard goose that will not be TOO aggressive towards humans, but that will protect the flock from aerial predators. I'm thinking a female, as I've heard stories of male geese trying to mate with or not getting along with ducks.

Also, my setup is that the flock free ranges over the entire acre. Thus, I'd like it if the goose did not attack any visitors to the house I might have!

Those of you who have a guard goose, can you tell me your experiences? What breed? How did you raise it? Do you keep them separate at night? Do you have male/female? I'm interested in hearing from people that have a single guard goose. I'm thinking a Buff female. I have neighbors and I guess Buffs are not as loud and more docile, but I'll hear it!

Thanks!!!

 

[Magnolia Ducks]

a single goose will be very lonely. I must try to dispel the myth that they they are guardians. They are alert animals so they will scream to let you know that a predator is eating one of your flock. They are subject to predators themselves. Geese are most effective against humans but not other animals. Please consider a pair. If you handle the Gander often as a baby, they are usually only aggressive to strangers. They are wonderful animals, just not livestock guardians. I do have to say my gander cornered the Comcast repairman and I had to rescue him.

 

[Alliesan648]

My two emdens are sweet hearts so far.. to me. I tried to handle them as much as possible as babies and I try to go out there every day and spend time with them.
They seem to get a kick out of grabbing the chickens..when they can however, and they certainly aren’t nice about it. Plenty of pulled out tail feathers.
They all share about 500/sq ft of space that includes a pond but sometimes picking on the chickens is still more amusing to them.

Buuut They happily hang out with the ducks in harmony and they’ve alerted me to diving hawks by screaming at the top of their lungs but they definitly weren’t diving in front of any bullets so to speak, they were running away screaming with the rest of the flock lol
All that being said, every goose is different.

 

[Miss Lydia]

a single goose will be very lonely. I must try to dispel the myth that they they are guardians. They are alert animals so they will scream to let you know that a predator is eating one of your flock. They are subject to predators themselves. Geese are most effective against humans but not other animals. Please consider a pair. If you handle the Gander often as a baby, they are usually only aggressive to strangers. They are wonderful animals, just not livestock guardians. I do have to say my gander cornered the Comcast repairman and I had to rescue him.

Geese def are not guard birds. I agree with you completely. And that is hilarious about your gander cornering your Comcast repair man lol any one wanting an animal for a guard animal should look into LGDs or if they have the space donkeys or llamas

 

[Magnolia Ducks]

Domestic animals can be deterred as long as they are not that interested. My Gander bit both my dog and my husband on the butt when their guard was down. Not to protect anything really but for gander entertainment. Coyote ate him. Any real predictor will eat your geese unless they run faster than the rest of your flock.

 

[SkyBlueEmu]

Embden geese are usually a docile breed and are known to be very protective of the flock. My embden gander I hatched is very protective of my flock and alerts to anything and everything he thinks is a threat (even airplanes that fly over), but is usually very friendly since he was handled a lot as a gosling.
African geese are pretty loud, and mine are slightly aggressive compared to my embden, but the african gander is actually friendlier than the African goose. Africans would also be a good choice if you wanted to be alerted about predators or threats.

 

[Table4Six]

I currently have two pairs of white Chinese geese. I love them so much. As others have stated, they can’t protect your flock from major threats, such as coyotes or foxes, but certainly will alert you of danger. I used to have two other ganders, that would follow people around the yard, or when we were walking in our small field. They would never hurt anyone, and there was nothing they loved better then to be hugged and kissed. They meant everything in the world to me, I can’t even express how much I loved them. The older of the two, who was around 20-25 years old was killed by a coyote two and a half years ago, and still it feels so empty without him. You can’t protect your geese from humans either. My other gander, Mochi, who wasn’t even two years old was hit by a car this March. The person was on their phone and speeding in a 25 mile per hour zone, and the geese were just grazing near the side of the road. These animals will steel your heart, but they have been worth it for me in every aspect. Good luck.

 

[Callender Girl]

My American Buffs, Gussie and Golly, are pretty docile. I got them as less-than-week-old goslings and handled them every day. Right now, they are in temporary housing waiting for me to finish their new shelter. So, every morning and every evening, I have to transport them to and fro. Golly ALWAYS freaks out when I pick her up and cradle her. But she has never been aggressive to me. Gussie will yell and flap his wings madly when I'm carrying Golly, follow us halfway to the coop -- then wait patiently for me to come pick him up and carry him over the threshold.

They are great at alerting me to human intruders -- although I haven't had to rescue anyone yet, loved that story! Gussie is, however, protective of his goose, and without actually hurting anyone, he will politely lower his head and nicely suggest the ducks move away from his food and mate.

I have not been terribly successful with livestock guardians. My Great Pyrenees was not properly trained before I acquired her at 7 months; she chased the miniature goats until the dowager goat gored her repeatedly. Pearl is now a house dog.

Jerry, a 400-pound spotted donkey, was supposed to protect the goats and sheep. He went to a donkey rescue group after an altercation in which he broke my pelvis in two places as he objected to me feeding treats to another animal and not him. (Just an aside -- this was totally my fault. He nudged me to warn me he was unhappy. I failed to appreciate his seriousness and foolishly turned my back on him).

 

[nobueno]

Domestic animals can be deterred as long as they are not that interested. My Gander bit both my dog and my husband on the butt when their guard was down. Not to protect anything really but for gander entertainment. Coyote ate him. Any real predictor will eat your geese unless they run faster than the rest of your flock.

Yea, like I said, they're not going to stop a coyote, fox or raccoon but they definitely make a difference. Our neighbors, whose chickens and ducks share a fence with our ducks and geese, have lost over 30 birds in the past year and we've lost none. Given the choice, the predators avoid the geese.

 

[MillersFarm]

a single goose will be very lonely. I must try to dispel the myth that they they are guardians. They are alert animals so they will scream to let you know that a predator is eating one of your flock. They are subject to predators themselves. Geese are most effective against humans but not other animals. Please consider a pair. If you handle the Gander often as a baby, they are usually only aggressive to strangers. They are wonderful animals, just not livestock guardians. I do have to say my gander cornered the Comcast repairman and I had to rescue him.