Considering geese

[KYchickadee]

I know in a perfect world, geese would be able to free range with a pond. What if I have a backyard with no pond? Could I use a dog pen with a water trough? Is there any way to adequately make this work out?

 

[RolandnDeb]

Geese don't need a pond just a water bucket. They need a kid's pool if you want them to mate geese mate in water.

 

[sparton]

Our Toulouse has a theory that if it has water and he can get his feet in it- it is for sitting. Which makes for some pretty funny pictures of him in the chicken water bowls, planters I was rinsing out, and even once he managed to wiggle into a mop bucket.. Only his feet fit.

We ended up getting him a kiddie pool (the plastic cheap kind) to try and encourage him to leave the water bowls for the chickens alone. If the chickens and him didn't free range it wouldn't be an issue.

Since summer is hot we do have several water spots for him around the yard though- using the big orange home depot buckets- this works really well and since they are tall enough he can't climb in we don't have to unstick our goose from what he wedged himself into.

Overall he has been easier to care for than our chickens. He is pretty low key, happy to graze and supplements with poultry crumble. He is a great guard animal and isn't aggressive to his family (though he really likes to nibble on the dogs' tails).

 

[The goose girl]

Geese can survive just fine with a water bucket. But if you want truly happy geese, give them a kiddie pool. They so enjoy bathing, splashing, diving, and to cool off on warm days.

My goose has two backyards, each installed with a pond, a kiddie pool, and buckets of water. She uses all of them several times every day; the ponds primarily for swimming and playing, the kiddie pools primarily for serious bathing. But when we go for a walk on a rainy day and she spots a puddle, you'd think she'd been deprived of water for weeks. I've seen her try to dive under water in a one inch deep puddle! What I'm trying to say: Geese love water.

 

[Speilb]

How big is the dog pen? How many geese were you thinking of?

 

[KYchickadee]

10x10x6'H... Two. Either a pair or two females.

 

[Speilb]

I think that is a bit on the small side. That would not provide any grazing. Also their is a lot of truth to the saying "loose as a goose"; they poop a lot and you would have to be cleaning it often. They will not poop nearly so much without being able to graze (feed goes further then grass for their needs) but even so it will be a lot of poop. Geese are designed for grazing and I am not sure that a diet of feed alone would keep them in great condition in the long term. Throwing in lawn clippings and other treats will help but lawn clippings go bad quickly. While geese don't require swimming water they need lots of water. They need enough for cleaning themselves, they require much more then chickens for drinking, and they like to play in it. This will make for a mess in a small pen. If they will be on the ground it will a muddy mess. If on concrete you will have wet poopy and slippery conditions. A larger pen can be set up quite easily as they don't require high fencing.

 

[JRNash]

The pooping is definitely something to take into account. One og the guys i work with just called me and asked if i wanted his three 2month old geese. I DON'T guess he ever heard the saying " poop like a pet goose." Picking them up thursday

 

[Skyfire]

Yep, geese love to dive!



They love to poop too, but I'll spare you pics of that, lol

 

[KYchickadee]

Chickens do too. Is it worse than that? We have 22 chickens LOL. I have learned that if you pack some dirt and pebbles around the poop, they make really good projectiles to throw at siblings. I'm 30 and my brother is almost 34, but he was awful to me growing up, so I have a lot of catching up to do. I still owe him payback for the toothpaste on my pillow that got into my eye.