Do your geese dig?

[jeffw]

I am not talking about small holes here...
but holes 4 or 5 inches wide and maybe 6 inches deep...
leg breakers....all around the edges of thier pen... base of the trees in the yard... in the sand by thier pool!! every where!!
Are they a little known breed of Southron Gopher Geese?
What gives... for two little birds they are becoming a big problem...
Jeff

 

[floridaquilter]

My geese dig some mighty big holes too. They have a blast digging holes in the soft ground where there is a puddle of water. perhaps looking for worms and bugs??

 

[Lund121671]

Yes, geese dig in wet spots usually, but can dig anywhere. Africans seem to be the worst (in my experience anyway) The thing that helped the most is I put gravel down under where I keep there pool and that pretty much took care of the problem. They do still dig some out in there pasture etc., but nothing like they were. Good Luck

 

[rainplace]

I also use gravel around the pools, the pond, and also their water bowls. Another alternative is to use bricks or any other hard surface around where ever they have access to water.

I never knew where our gutters drained until one day I walked through the backyard and almost tripped in this huge hole, which had a drainpipe sticking out. The next time it rained I noticed all the waterfowl down in the same area having a good ole time making pools out of the runoff. I still haven't done anything to fix it... just don't have the heart to do so.

 

[Cat Water]

Do you think they are like chickens and are trying to take a dust bath? In my non-expert, non-goose-owning opinion.

 

[queenbeezz]

Geese don't dust bathe, they bathe in water. Mine love to excavate the edges of the pond. I'm sure it's for grit, bugs and tender roots. They also like to dig in mud puddles after it rains.

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

I would not mind the holes if they actually found something - like gold, silver - long lost buried money, jewels - SOMETHING, but nooooo, all I get are dirty geese

 

[rainplace]

They use their serrated bills to sift nutrients out of the water...

 

[bwindell]

I am SO glad to hear my Chinese geese are not "odd"! LOL! I' going to try the rock idea as the hole keeps getting bigger!

 

[larkflying]

My geese have a crater under the drainpipe at the side of the house, where they have eaten away the dirt . . . . My son woke up at 2 am with a nightmare several days ago, and as I was going to bed afterward I could hear a weird tapping noise -- made me worried for a minute and then I realized it was the geese nibbling on the drainpipe itself -- I guess they were wondering where all the water went . . . They also gather around our frequent mole hills and gobble up the dirt as fast as they can -- apparently mole hill dirt is better than the regular stuff. We filled in a couple areas around the faucets with some gravel and that stopped the holes in those locations -- eventually I'll fill in around the drainpipe with gravel, or get a rain barrel for that spot . . .