Feed costs

[Miss Lydia]

Nope unless you order sexed. But my Toulouse gander was nothing like my Embden gander boy now he’s a handful.

 

[Miss Lydia]

They are all going to be protective of their mates and goslings it’s in their DNA. That’s what I love about geese they make awesome parents and mate for life.

 

[DrVeghead]

... aren't they some of the more difficult to sex breeds? I.E colour doesn't give them away? I'm not sure tolouse can be sexed from very young?

We have 3 Toulouse. One of them clearly grew faster than the others and is still (at 4 months) larger than the others. Therefore, we suspect he's male, but we're not really sure. Do other people see a significant growth and size difference based on gender?

 

[The goose girl]

I'm having a little trouble finding numbers on the square footage or metre's squared worth of pasture needed to support one goose; does anyone have a reliable figure please? I just measued the garden and I have 30m3 available - most of the information out there seems to be geared towards people raising geese as a business or as part of a farm.

With only 30 square meters (about 300 square feet) available I don't think you have to struggle over what to plant. Two geese will pick it clean and poop it up in no time.

I have about 350 m2 (3700 sq.f.) for two geese. Approximately half is grass, the rest is patio, paths, beds, and borders. They're only here from noon until bedtime, so they count as only one "full time" goose. And still, the lawn only just survives winter and early spring - they pick it down to the roots.

 

[ColtHandorf]

That's crazy! My American Buff pair couldn't make a dent on the grass in my backyard. And that was with chickens helping.

 

[Leader Bee]

With only 30 square meters (about 300 square feet) available I don't think you have to struggle over what to plant. Two geese will pick it clean and poop it up in no time

I have about 350 m2 (3700 sq.f.) for two geese. Approximately half is grass, the rest is patio, paths, beds, and borders. They're only here from noon until bedtime, so they count as only one "full time" goose. And still, the lawn only just survives winter and early spring - they pick it down to the roots.

Thank you! That's exactly the sort of estimate I was looking for, at least I have an idea now of how much I will be needing to supplement them with!

 

[Leader Bee]

Been doing a bit more research about this and I came across these pellets as a source of feed:

https://www.arkwildlife.co.uk/Item/..._Foods/ADGP/Ark_Duck_-AND-_Goose_Pellets.html

I'm happy with the cost; I'd probably go for the largest 52kg bag which would last me ages I think; However, i'm unsure if they're suitable as a long term food supplement to them also grazing ( I simply do not have enough grass for them to east solely grass) so I asked via the contact form on the site and their response has confused me.

"Good Morning

Thank you for contacting us via our website feedback form regarding our Duck & Goose Pellets.

Duck & Goose Pellets are to be used as a maintenance diet. We would advise free grazing for your geese and adding greens to their diet for their micro nutrients.

I do hope this email have been helpful, and please do let me know if you have any questions.

Kind regards"

If i'm free grazing my geese and adding greens to their diet then what exactly do I need the pellets for? Am I missing something here? are the pellets just a treat or something?

What is a maintenence diet, what am I maintaining with them if they're grazing and eating greens instead?

Sorry, I feel dumb.

 

[ColtHandorf]

Sorry, I feel dumb.

Don't feel dumb. Here is the best way I know how to explain it and I'll use another bird as an example. Companion parrots should be on a formulated pelleted diet because they are well balanced and contain all the essential vitamins and elements they need. Parrots, like children, will often only eat particular seeds or nuts in a mix which can lead to a variety of health issues. In this case the pellets would be their maintenance diet. For most species, seeds, nuts, treats, fruits, and veggies should make up no more than 10% of their diet.

So with the geese, you'll need to always have the pellets out and available whether that be in a feed pan protected from rain, or in a feeder out of the weather. Throughout the day (and night) the geese can eat the pelleted feed and while they are out they can graze.

 

[Leader Bee]

Thanks Colt, that explains things a little bit better; I don't want to get these geese and then find out they're malnutritioned or being fed something that isn't going to be good for them; So for clarities sake, I should allow them to graze at their leisure, but also have the pellets available to them at all times so they have access to all the nutrients they need whenever they want it and they should naturally eat enough of either to stay healthy?

My plan was initially to get them on starter crumb for roughly 3 weeks and then move onto a grower feed until roughly 8-10 weeks of age and then continue with a mixture of grazing and this maintenance fees for the rest of their lives (barring the odd grapes, veggies and other treats they'd occasionally get) is that correct?

 

[ColtHandorf]

Yep, all of that sounds perfect.