Hi, I am getting 2 Embden/Emden Goslings tomorrow and 5 Khaki Campbell ducklings (all females). I hope to house them together, but I would also like to allow them to graze. There's a couple problems and I am hoping you guys could help me figure them out ... I currently live on 1 1/2 acres. A good portion of this land is wooded. The coop area is setup at the woods edge, there is a garden area in between the coop and the areas I would have for grazing ... How would I herd either all ducks & geese to the grazing area or just the geese? How do you control grazing and reseeding of grazing areas? If possible, I'd prefer to not have tubes/runs all over the yard like some sci-fi homestead. What is a nice sqft rotation space for grazing 2 geese? Should I just setup electric poultry for the geese and house them inside the grazing area(s)? Thank you for any help, suggestions and advice you could provide. If any clarification, is needed please ask. *I would move the coop but a previous owner built it and it is anchored in the ground. A last resort would be to relocate the garden - which would mean constructing raised beds (costly) instead of the already tilled area. : /
We're new to geese, but have had ducks for along time....both geese and ducks herd pretty easily. we use elctronet for our ducks it works great, and one net set up in a circle (ours is 167 feet long, so it's a nice big circle or square)-You can move it to the next quadrant for grazing, reseed, or let the grass rejuvenate. But if the birds have to go through the garden area to the grazing area, they might be really tempted to cause trouble and want to park it there instead of going to the paddock. If you can set up one side of the path you want them to herd along with a visual barrier (like easily moveable 3 ft high fence) that might help usher them to the paddock, birds follow curves really well. Can you post a pic of the scenario at your place? How far from the coop to the paddock/grazing area? One thing is to be really sure that coop is really tight and secure, being near the woods, little weasels and mink love to scout for dinner, and it is devastating to lose ducks to them. And when we left ducks out overnight in the electronet without being shut into a safe nighthouse, we had owls swoop down and kill a duck at night.
Americanmutt & Newgoosegal !! Newgoosegal had some great ideas. As far as reseeding grazing areas, I think with 2 geese, you wont really need to (I have no experience with ducks, i know they forage through the grass whereas geese munch on it) - but then again, it depends on how big of a grazing area you have. I agree with newgoosegal, pics might help. Since you mentioned the garden is in between the coop & the grazing area and dont want fencing everywhere, it sounds like you'll have to sacrifice part of the garden area for them to cross over to the grazing area - I would just put up fencing around the garden part that you'll be keeping. Or, you could build a new coop in the grazing area, but still would need to fence the garden (or grazing area) in case they start to explore. Is your property fenced?
Your property sounds a lot like ours. I built the coops on the wood line so they have shade in the summer and the chickens have cover from hawks. It gets awful hot here, even with the elevation. I fence off the garden when its growing season, but let the geese have access to the grass between the beds when it gets a few inches high. They go right to their grazing areas, no herding required. The woods act like a natural fence in the summer (and most of the year). Geese usually won't walk where they cannot see, so I don't even need a fence. The ducks free range and actually spend most of their time digging in the woods for bugs. If I really need to get the geese or ducks somewhere different I just walk them.
Thank all of you!!!! You are very helpful! I've decided to turn the Coop structure by the woods into a coop for Chickens. Goose and Fig is right, from what I've read, concerning the shade for them. I am going to install hardware cloth on the bottom in the hopes of keeping predators out. I still haven't figured out how to make a moveable paddock structure for the ducks & geese that also provides security. Posting photos is an excellent idea! But, I am embarrassed by the chaos in my yard right now :S I am interested in this idea Goose and Fig mentioned of allowing the ducks to "free range" in the woods. I will probably need to install a better fencing structure around the wood lot for them to do that, esp due to the dogs in the area. I might could locate the duck coop within the wooded area and just fence off a portion of it for them. For grazing, seeding; I am thinking about purchasing a wildlife seed bag? I am planting baby trees on the property and want them to grow - no goosey bark stripping. Thank all of you for helping me!
you will have to fence off each tree to keep the geese from chewing on them. Spring Summer (spread after 4/15) Brown millet does very well here in FL with our heat. We had it knee high in area last summer before we opened the space for grazing. Fall Winter we do field peas, clover, timothy, wheat, oats, rye If you have a space you can block off for a year peanut hay does VERY well, but needs a year to establish
