Do geese make good pets

[BlueO]

Thank you it's better to have atleast 2 geese because they will get lonely I only have 1 because her sister clover passed away from unknown causes. Dandelion spends her days trying to bite the hens and the ducks through the fence! I will get another goose soon.

I was hoping to get 2 the trouble is finding them

 

[peafowl_Lover]

Yes Dandelion took months to find!

 

[Callender Girl]

I have two American Buff geese, which are generally fairly docile as a breed. Gussie and Golly were the last two goslings in a brooder at the local farm store. They weren't the breed I initially wanted, but they were so darned cute.

They are loose with my runner ducks and chickens during the day, but house in their own separate shelter. They are not aggressive with people. However, occasionally I will annoy them and I get the stretched-neck, hissing reaction. It passes quickly when I return the gesture (good thing I don't have any close neighbors to watch my impression of a haughty goose). And, they get agitated when I steal their eggs in the spring.

They don't hurt the ducks, but have a tendency to "herd" the runners. Ducks will be minding their own business, lying quietly, and the geese will -- for no apparent reason but their own enjoyment -- walk up behind the ducks, who immediately get up and move, single file, somewhere else.

It's a mixed bag with chickens. Gussie and Golly sometimes nip at my Buff Orpington, but appear terrified of my Colombian Wyandotte who will chase the much larger geese across the yard.

On the down side, the geese nibble at everything. I need to replace some wood trim along the patio doors because chunks are missing. I already threw out a wooden loveseat that they enthusiastically munched on.

I think they have a sense of humor. Gussie once snagged one of my cleaning gloves and made me chase her through the yard to get it back.

Some people want geese as guard animals. Mine wouldn't care if an eagle grabbed every other bird on the property. But, the geese are good at sounding the alarm when there's an eagle or hawk overhead, and few visitors get past them without some very loud honking.

I love all of my critters, but honestly, the goose girls have the most personality of all the poultry.

If you decide to get geese (and I think it's a great idea), you're right, you really should get at least two if possible. My girls rarely leave each other's side, and when they do, they start calling to one another to make sure they know where their sibling is.

 

[JRies]

I was hoping to get 2 the trouble is finding them

Kinda the wrong time of year for geese. They have a 3 month window for babies. This time of year there all mini adults Metzers is taking orders for next spring but ask allot of questions to folks here about what breed to get.

 

[Shadrach]

Hi simple question. I would like to get a pair of geese next year. But I have ducks and I’m going to get chickens. Does anybody know if geese make good flock member or should I give up and put it out of my head.

Geese as pets and geese to integrate with ducks and chickens are rather different.

The geese I care for are unbelievably messy. They are foul mouthed, bad mannered and sometimes endearing.
The chickens and the geese don't really get on and in my opinion shouldn't be housed together even if they free range with other birds. Space, as always will make a huge difference. I've you've got a couple of acres or more everyone can avoid those they wish to. In a small back yard their on each other toes and that causes stress and conflict, usually over what resources there are.

I am told and have seen evidence of geese making very pettable creatures but even so, a pet to me is a creature that one can have in the house. Geese are not suitable for indoor living.

I've not seen any evidence that the geese will do anything to protect other birds. They may be better at alerting the keeper to possible danger because we can hear their warning calls at a distance. Very unlikely a keeper would hear a roosters warning call and by the time they hear the chickens alarm calls which are loud it's usually too late.

 

[rootandbloom]

My Sebastopol goose and Toulouse gander are super friendly and puppylike. They live happily with ducks and chickens and don't bother anyone. They run over to check out guests but they don't bite. They run to me and the kids because they want to follow us all around. They only let me pet them though and definitely act like I'm "mom." They will sit on my deck and peck at the sliding glass door until I give them attention. The gander gets so excited to see me he flies over and crashes into me making a ruckus. They're my favorite birds. My setup is: large coop all birds sleep together in at night, free range on 23 acres with pond during the day.

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

I really didn’t think I wanted a goose
But somehow when I went to get my ancona duckling my Stella ended up in the car too ( may 4 /2023)
She was 4 weeks old and not for sale
My friend hatched them for herself and even did dna testing
My daughter who is 29 years old
Somehow got me convinced to take Stella and Jess convinced to sell her
( we banned her from future pick ups )
Stella grew up with the ducks , she thought she was one
Very friendly girl. She loves cuddles , jumping on my lap
Kisses and pets
A few weeks back I saw her trying to mate with my ducks
A different lady I knew happened to have 3 mature ganders same breed She brought him over and he immediately ran to Stella. Hasn’t left her side since
I was worried about a gander being older and new to us
But he has been great
I caught him trying to mate her yesterday ( he missed the target ) and she started to lay eggs last Saturday ( so far 5 eggs )
So even with them in a cycle of mate and eggs both are not aggressive towards us or the 19 ducks
They are all out together in the day but night time I do have separated pens in the coop
I wouldn’t want to chance those geese getting my ducks in an enclosed pen
I also have a few drakes that like to fight now and then so every little group has their own safe place at night
Stella and Gary will make noise if the boys fight
They stand over them yelling like crazy
So I’m not sure if a predator came what they would do
Probably just yell
My two are Pomeranian saddleback
Stella is buff and Gary is grey/ brown
In spring / summer if they go back into a cycle I would love to hatch a few from them
The temperament is perfect !!