Considering Buff Geese

[beccaWA]

Anyone have experience with Buff Geese? I researched some, and it seems they are about the most docile which is important to me.

Are they loud? I have an acre, but do have neighbors. Thankfully, my neighbors are pretty laid back and even put up with a couple turkeys I had for a year, and a random rooster that wandered onto my property.

How large do they get? I assume they don't fly.

I'm thinking of a fenced off area in the back of my property (fenced with welded wire) that is connected to my chicken coop. The problem is, I have red-tailed hawks. I lost a lot of ducks to them. Will they attack full-grown geese? How do you deal with this? Would I have to put up flight netting? The field is open with no trees or brush.

The other option would be to let them free range with the chickens, but not sure how they'd get along.

Thank you!

 

[pennyJo1960]

Anyone have experience with Buff Geese? I researched some, and it seems they are about the most docile which is important to me.

Are they loud? I have an acre, but do have neighbors. Thankfully, my neighbors are pretty laid back and even put up with a couple turkeys I had for a year, and a random rooster that wandered onto my property.

How large do they get? I assume they don't fly.

I'm thinking of a fenced off area in the back of my property (fenced with welded wire) that is connected to my chicken coop. The problem is, I have red-tailed hawks. I lost a lot of ducks to them. Will they attack full-grown geese? How do you deal with this? Would I have to put up flight netting? The field is open with no trees or brush.

The other option would be to let them free range with the chickens, but not sure how they'd get along.

Thank you!

hey there did you try to google them? I have no ducks or geese just chickens
google found this

https://livestockconservancy.org/index.php/heritage/internal/buffgoose


The American Buff is a lovely apricot-fawn color. The buff colored feathers on its back and sides are edged with creamy white. Its abdomen is nearly white. Its bill and feet are orange to reddish orange, and the hard "nail" at the tip of the bill is a pale pink. Its legs may fade to pink during laying, or when green grass is not available. The American Buff has brown eyes.

The breed is the largest of the medium weight class of geese with mature ganders weighing about 18 pounds and mature geese weighing about 16 pounds. The body conformation of the American Buff is typically European in style. It has a medium-long neck with deeply furrowed feathers. It has a chunky body with little or no evidence of a keel, a slightly arched back, and two rounded fatty lobes on the abdomen. The tail is held in line with or only slightly above the line of the back. This sturdy body is set on moderately sized legs that are set suitably far apart to provide a stable base.

When selecting breeding stock, first consideration should be given to good body size. A medium shade of buff that is free of gray is preferred. Even color on the back is desirable, though a portion of the plumage usually is somewhat checkered or mottled, even on today's best show specimens. Avoid breeding stock with pinched heads, small or shallow bodies, prominent keels, gray in the plumage, and excessively faded or dark color. To produce the highest percentage of offspring with correct color, some breeders have found it helpful to use ganders that are slightly lighter in color than their standard-colored mates. Ganders can be mated with three to five geese.

The American Buff goose is calm and docile. They are good parents, attending well to their goslings. These attributes make the breed well suited for the average home flock. The American Buff makes a medium-large roasting bird. Its colored plumage does not show soil as readily as that of white birds, yet its light colored pin feathers allow it to dress out as cleanly as a white goose.

 

[beccaWA]

Thanks for your reply. Yes! I love the Livestock Conservancy. I was just looking for others that had practical, hands-on experience with them and could maybe share their experience.

 

[pennyJo1960]

I really find it hard to believe no one else has answered this seems
like there is allot today that way

 

[Pyxis]

American geese are nice, in my limited experience. I breed tufted romans, but had one American buff for awhile and owned two American buff crosses for a couple years.

When I bought them, they were supposed to have been purebreds out of show stock, but they were not - it became apparent as they got older that they were Canada goose crosses. Even still, they were never aggressive, although they were never friendly the way my tufted romans are. Probably due to the Canada goose parentage. I don't have them any longer because they were both excellent fliers and both elected to fly off and join a flock of Canada geese. First one went, then the other.

But, they were nice geese. The actual purebred buff I got was too, until I rehomed her. You might want to read through the American goose thread for more experiences with them:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...e-lavander-etc-goose-thread-post-pics.700291/

 

[pennyJo1960]

@Pyxis thank you very much we are all a tad slow for some darn reason today glad you came on

 

[Pyxis]

Thanks!

Forgot to say also that they are a large breed of goose, so they do get pretty big, and all geese are loud when they are sounding off. Regular speaking voices are quiet, but if they are greeting you or see something they don't like, they will yell and they are pretty loud.

 

[donkeydew2farms]

I have American Buffs they are very pretty birds good layers most part get along with the chickens and ducks except during breeding season. as far as noise if you don't have a train near by , they honk when ever the train goes by. they aren't as noisy as my Africans. i got my American from Metza Farms except my American Blue which I got from Holderreads.

 

[kazula5]

We have a pair of American Buff geese, Laverne and Curly, along with our 3 ducks and 19 chickens. They are normally on the quiet side walking around their pen but can get very loud when something alarms them, such as a stranger, or when they see my wife or me. They don’t really fly, but I have seen mine get about 3-4 feet into the air when they are excited. I did find one on the outside of the 5 foot fence one time even though the gate was closed, but did not see her actually go over it. We have a lot of hawks in the area but have never had a problem with them yet. Our birds only free range when one of us are home but I am always amazed at how good the geese are at spotting the hawks. They keep a close on them and if the hawks get too close everyone heads for the covered run. Right now I have to keep the chickens separated because the male goose likes to chase and bite the chickens. Hopefully when we get our pasture fenced in there will be more room for everyone to get along.