Choosing a Hatchery - Ideal poultry?

[Khota]

So I've been taking a closer look at the hatcheries close to me, and I've found that Ideal Poultry is probably my best bet if I dont want my goslings to go through a longer trip than they should have to. (It's only a few hours away from where I live.)
I mentioned in a previous post that I really loved embdens, but I noticed that Ideal Poultry also has Grey Saddleback geese! Does anyone have any photos of geese recieved from this farm? I'm curious on the quality of care (in terms of the birds looking like what they are supposed to and the chicks not having various problems as they age [Wry neck, spraddle leg, etc.]) these birds are given. I'm not looking for show quality geese as I only want pets, but I can't really seem to find pictures of the geese they are selling which worries me a bit.

If this doesn't work out I've decided I'll probably be ordering from Metzer as I had originally intended, though the long trip still worries me for the little babies! Though I still figure that metzer specifically only breeds water fowl, that if I want quality pets they would likely be my best bet.

Thanks for reading! I greatly appreciate any help I can get on this.

 

[Khota]

I was also wondering how loud the breeds are compared to each other (Embdens and Saddleback Pomeranians). I'm seeking backyard pets to keep wtih my ducks and I can't have anything overly loud.

 

[Nodaksnakelover]

I have no experience with Ideal Poultry's geese. However I do have experience with Metzer farms and am more than happy with what they have sent me over the years. I too just want a nice looking bird for pets, not showing. And they do that! I live in North Dakota, and Metzers is in California. So quite the trip! But they do just fine! And are always ready to hit the floor running when they get here. As for breeds, some individuals can be louder or milder than the breed they are part of. So it's not always so cut and dry. Myself, I like the Embdens because of their large size, the meat output at the end of the year as I don't keep them through the winter. And I love how interactive they are as a breed. But that said I'm going to really mix things up this next spring and get a bit of everything in my gosling order.

 

[Nodaksnakelover]

noise is only when they are stimulated to call out. Otherwise you'd hardly know they were there. So the question is, will you have strange things in view of them often for them to give out warning calls? Otherwise they aren't noisy as chickens are by any means. Unless something shows up outside their pen or inside it for that matter and they give the warning calls. If being loud could be an issue, I'd recommend against having geese. But to be fair to them, it isn't like a rooster at 5 am right on time, every morning type of thing.

 

[Khota]

Thanks for the response! Metzer farms Embden geese are my original choice, and I think I'll stick with that unless I see anything good comment-wise here about Ideal Poultry. I'm extremely wary of ordering from somewhere that has no pictures of their flock to show how healthy the birds are. It's good that your goslings survive so well for such a long trip! If you don't mind me asking, about how tall do you think your adult Embden's are? I've heard embdens can grow to be nearly 3 feet tall!! Sounds like some really huge birds.
Would you recommend males or females? (I've heard I should get females as they tend to be more friendly.) I'm hoping for more pet-like geese that I can pet and hold like I do with my ducks, as I don't intend to eat them or anything like that.

If they're less noisy than chickens I think it'll be fine. Pretty much everyone around me has chickens. Being loud is only an issue if it's a 24/7 constant thing, and where I live there's not much stimulus to really provoke them, so I don't think it'll be a huge issue if they're only loud when provoked. The geese would be kept with my ducks in their yard, which is surrounded by another yard, so I highly doubt anything would be getting in to provoke them. My closest neighbor is deaf, so I don't think itll be a problem as long as its not constant screeching on their part.

 

[Iain Utah]

I cannot speak for Ideal, but happy to recommend Metzer. As for gender, males are generally easier to human bond with than females, who tend to be more shy and skittish. I recommend a trio of one male with two females. My rooster is my most annoying bird for noise on my property, and I have 32 geese.

 

[Percheron chick]

Search for a FB embden group. You should be able to find someone who raises nice birds near you.
Ganders have always been more bonded to humans in my experience. They develop doglike qualities, come running when called, look for you, help and complain about the way you are doing something... They are loud. Gooses are more shy and follow the boys. I would get a pair or trio to start.

 

[Khota]

I've already looked around quite a bit for nearby geese I could get - nearest place near me to get geese would be hours away, and at that point I may as well just drive to Ideal Poultry haha
Where I am is primarily cattle and horses, even ducks aren't a common pet around here! It's mostly just chickens and cows lol
The only issue I'm having with getting a gander over a goose is that I've heard ganders can be extremely noisy - though I suppose that's subjective from goose to goose depending on their personality.

 

[Percheron chick]

A ganders voice is more shrill than a goose. One characteristic that can help you identify the genders. A goose is hun, hun, hun while a gander is AAAAhhhhh!!!!!.
If you are only going with one (which few would recommend) I would go with a gander.

 

[Nodaksnakelover]

yes, I too found the ganders in the flock to be the ones doing the main interaction with me, where the girls are more shy. With my bunch that I had, the shyest was the Toulouse girl. All of them got the same exposure to me but it was the Toulouse gander that always took the lead when running to me, and always the one that walked right up to me and talked to me face to face. Next were the Embden Ganders. I had a pair of Buffs as well, that were quieter than the rest but also not as big into engaging in conversation with me as the other two breeds. But I do think that's just an individual thing. I had a girl Embden four years ago that was more engaging than the Buff Gander. But on a whole, ganders will get closer bonds, yet don't count out the girls on that! Just probably on a different level. I didn't do a lot of hands on either with my bunch. As in I wasn't into trying to pick them up and hold them as babies. When I got them in, I waited for them to warm up and settle in. But even that first day I was talking to them and holding my arm in the brooder. Plus I had grabbed grass from outside and was feeding them. And they very quickly saw me as the source to this new food. And in the afternoon after warming up, I took them outside on the grass as it was a nice day. And I talked to them and walked away from them. Getting that instinct to follow me and talk with me went a long way to getting them to bond to me. So for the rest of the summer they would always come looking for me when I came to the farm. It was fun hearing the flock calling for me and seeing them come running with necks out stretched and talking excitedly at my "return" every day when I came to do chores. I tried to keep the pair of buffs through the winter but the snow was very deep and the coyotes did finally get them about half way through the winter. So though letting them have a big fenced area still has risks of predators, I'll still do it again! As for noise, I wouldn't worry about it. The timing of their calling isn't going to be an issue. Look at youtube videos of the breeds you like and go from there. I keep doing it now...deciding what I'm going to get this year... I'm totally changing that order every time I sit down and think it over! LOL! I don't recall exactly how tall the Embdens were, but around three feet would be about right. I had Embdens, Toulouse, and Buffs, and the Buffs and Toulouse were only a little smaller to my eye than the Embdens.