Ducks versus Geese -

[Miss Lydia]

Miss Lydia,

I inherited my 1st pair of ganders from the former owners of the current property I live on (who passed away). The ganders are in their teens, I am told. The neighbor lady fed them for 2 years while the property sat vacant before I moved in. The former owners' son came and visited today and hung out with the ganders and their adopted 4 african juveniles. It was sweet listening to the stories of his mom and their favorite gander "Buddy".

Hope you and your geese get to grow very old together.

Janet

Pops: 40 sounds like an extreme, especially for my heavy-set breeds. But I want at least 20!

Thank you Iain I wish the same for you and yours! I bet that was a nice visit.

 

[zooweemama]

Oh I love this thread! It makes me more excited for my goose and gander pair arriving on June 19th. My husband and I already picked out names- Chuck and Sarah. I see these geese a bit like I would see welcoming a dog. If we get too attached having them inside- it will be hard putting them outside.

 

[Mykee]

You won't want the geese inside. They are far too wet for that.

 

[Wynette]

Goodness, I am getting so excited about the possibility of getting geese! (thank you to the member who offered me a few...what a kind & generous offer!

).

My DH will be retiring next year, and I have a lot of time to think on this and figure out how geese would fit in. I do have 3 house dogs that are not very chicken friendly...I would want to allow the geese to range as much as possible, and I need to figure out how I can do that with the dogs. I have a 7 acre pasture that's surrounded in hotwire. Can geese be kept inside hotwire? I'd have to see them get zapped, but if they could learn to respect the hotwire, they'd have a huge field they could live in (of course, I'd have a place for them to go at night - could probably make an entrance into one of the stalls in the barn & they could just come & go as they wanted).

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

Wynette, we haven't kept the geese around hot wire before, I would think they would quickly learn to stay clear of it though. A run in stall would be a perfect spot for them. They would have shelter if wanted during the day and you could close the door at night. Since most stalls are for larger hoof stock, just make sure it is secure on the inside as well from raccoons.

I would suggest chatting with others like Jean (Pips&Peeps) and Vicky (CottageRose) about winter feeding since they both have years of goose raising and both deal with cold winters with snow. They will both have great ideas and hints for you as you think about geese, and can give practical advise for what to feed during the winter months. I can't help there since we have green grass year round.

 

[Wynette]

Thanks for the suggestions, Celtic!

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

Welcome, always good to get real practice advice from someone living in a similar climate.

 

[pips&peeps]

I really don't know how geese would do with hot wire. They are very mouthy and I could see them not being able to help themselves and biting the wire all the time...............

The sebbies can't fly, but a harder feathered bird can get some lift and be able to get over shorter fences. I have my birds in a 4 ft high fenced area. ( I am double and triple fenced in some places.) My whole 10 acres is fenced in and the only way to get in is down the driveway or if you are a predator, you could fly in or squeeze through the six strands of double barb wire. I haven't had anything go after them though (except one stupid owl) as my geese are fairly close to the house at night.

It is a good idea to have an area where you can lock them up or get them out of the weather in the winter.

My feed may be changing here shortly. There have been rumors that the distilled corn by products used in manufactured feed is causing damage to waterfowl. I am looking into finding any research to support this. But I have feed flock raiser to my birds with corn when the temps get really low. They love apples and carrots, etc. I also give them an occassional flake of alfalfa to nibble at too.


About the other poster raising geese indoors long term, it's not a good idea. I have seem many posts here on BYC where people have tried to raise a gosling indoors and they fail. The birds become emaciated and frail. Geese need to be outdoors where they have access to grass, weeds, etc. They need sunlight to properly maintain their hormonal balances and they also need to dig around in the dirt. They can get some nutrients from this, just like a deer licking at mineral deposits.

 

[zooweemama]

I really don't know how geese would do with hot wire. They are very mouthy and I could see them not being able to help themselves and biting the wire all the time...............

The sebbies can't fly, but a harder feathered bird can get some lift and be able to get over shorter fences. I have my birds in a 4 ft high fenced area. ( I am double and triple fenced in some places.) My whole 10 acres is fenced in and the only way to get in is down the driveway or if you are a predator, you could fly in or squeeze through the six strands of double barb wire. I haven't had anything go after them though (except one stupid owl) as my geese are fairly close to the house at night.

It is a good idea to have an area where you can lock them up or get them out of the weather in the winter.

My feed may be changing here shortly. There have been rumors that the distilled corn by products used in manufactured feed is causing damage to waterfowl. I am looking into finding any research to support this. But I have feed flock raiser to my birds with corn when the temps get really low. They love apples and carrots, etc. I also give them an occassional flake of alfalfa to nibble at too.


About the other poster raising geese indoors long term, it's not a good idea. I have seem many posts here on BYC where people have tried to raise a gosling indoors and they fail. The birds become emaciated and frail. Geese need to be outdoors where they have access to grass, weeds, etc. They need sunlight to properly maintain their hormonal balances and they also need to dig around in the dirt. They can get some nutrients from this, just like a deer licking at mineral deposits.

I hope no one is referring to my comment about it being hard to put them out (which I was referring to after brooding them only since we brood in our house)? I wasn't even remotely suggesting I was keeping them indoors. For brooding only. I have 3 indoor cats. It would never happen.

 

[zooweemama]

You won't want the geese inside. They are far too wet for that.

Wouldn't have the patience for it. I just got my last child out of diapers. Never gonna happen.