Chickens and Geese

[Hilltowngirl413]

My chickens have recently been attacked by a fox. Sadly I lost a large portion of my group. I've heard that geese make good protection for chickens. Is this true? And if so can they sleep together at night, and be happy with a pool of water?

 

[Wyandottes7]

Welcome to BYC!

We're glad to have you. Unfortunately, I don't know a lot about geese (though I've heard the same thing-- they make great watch dogs/can protect chickens), so I can't really help you. There are plenty of people on these forums that do though, and I expect that someone will come along soon and help you out. It may also be a good idea to post this on the Other Backyard Poultry Geese thread.

 

[TwoCrows]

I do know that geese can be watch birds per say, alerting you to danger, however I am not so sure about guarding a flock. Llamas work really well at protecting flocks I have heard. I can't let my birds free range due to all the predators day and night. So I really don't know.

But as Wyandottes has mentioned, hopefully someone will come along here soon to welcome you with an answer to this question. So stay tuned here! So sorry about your losses.

But it is great to have you here on BYC!

 

[Geneticsnut]

Geese will protect to the best of their ability but they also have been taken by predictors at my house. I have found that (boer) goats are excellent protection against fox and raccoon, if that is an option for you.

A couple other challenges when housing geese and chickens together are that geese make a real mess of the water supply which is unhealthy for the chickens, and male geese often protect the water supply for themselves, preventing chickens from drinking, so its best to water the chickens in an area inaccessible to the geese.

 

[roostersandhens]

 

[liz9910]

Welcome to BYC! I would predator proof my coop/run also, not sure about the geese. Good luck to you.

 

[Farm Girl83]

So sorry to hear about your losses. I have 3 African geese that guard over my flock. They are wonderful protectors! The geese call an alert and all the chickens run straight for the coop. I do have one of my geese that when she's a little grumpy she will bite the chickens is they come to close, but she has never hurt one. Just little bites saying "get out of my space." I'm new at this, but so far, my chickens and geese have been together for 8 months, and I don't think I will ever have one without the other. Good Luck!

 

[sourland]

Welcome to BYC. Geese provide a good warning system, but if hungry enough a pair of fox will take on even the biggest gander and win.

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! Like everybody said, geese are a good warning system, but can be taken by foxes themselves. Predator proofing your coop/run is usually the best option. Electric fencing/netting or a good chicken safe dog or two will help with foxes also.

 

[gander007]

Alright

great to have ya here with us

For the care of ducks and geese you are right but for them
predators you really need to lock up your flock for their safety

Personally speaking as just one of the many predators caught
here the only deterrent is to lock up your animals however you
decide to do it .....




If you look in the background you can see the outside
perimeter fencing well the predators still get passed that

Now this tight old shed is one of the few places a bird has never
been abducted from

Cage wire like this is rarely penetrated and can be used for
many different tasks

I hope this helps you out some

gander007