Free ranging questions about geese

[Chickenhatcher89]

I was hoping to have my geese free range all the time, would this be possible? And would they stay in my field and not be going over and bothering the neighbors. I have 4 acres and its all fenced in with 5 strands of electric fence. Also what kind of shelter should I have for them if they do free range all the time? I have geese eggs in the incubator now so just trying to get everything ready for them.
Thanks for any advice.

 

[goosedragon]

No body can really answer the question. If the geese are attracted to somebody or something elsewhere they might roam or maybe not. Geese should have at least a windbreak and some dry bedding material. You didn't mention preditors, the worst are usually neighborhood dogs on the prowl in packs.

 

[banter]

If you have large hawks or eagles, they need to be able to get to/under some sort of cover. I have both type of predators here in Maine, but we're not all open fields.
My geese have plenty of trees and thicket to go to hide, and they go into a barn at dusk.

 

[Chickenhatcher89]

My biggest predators so far have been my own barn cats I am hoping they couldn't take on a goose, who knows

. I have a barn they could go in but would like a big dog house be a pretty good shelter for them? Would the electric fence keep them in or will that not stop them?

 

[DuckyBoys]

Although my geese are pretty good fliers, they don't seem to have any inclination to leave. Mine only have an acre to roam and they know where the feed is so they come in every night. I never shut my barn door though, so they come and go as they please.

My geese terrorize my cat! He is an excellent mouser so I like him in the barn, but those geese would roll him in a minute if he was cornered!

 

[goosedragon]

As to the electric fence it is hard to say, remember they have a good layer of insulation in the form of feathers or down so they may not feel a thing if they touch it. On the other hand there is a goose control device on the market (to control Canada geese which are pests) that basically consist of two strands of string at just the right heights. Geese don't like to duck under things. Of course if the Canada really wants to go somewhere he just flies over it. We had this around a pond at work and the geese just flew in and out. It was partly effective because there was better pasture in the area and the geese would fly between the pasture and the pond, before the string they would walk out of the pond and graze our lawn, sit on our side walks and poop all over the place. The string job actually cut the poop problem by 68% (I got to count the poop and do the statistics)
Try a dog house with a high door (made for bigger breeds) like I said, geese don't like to duck under things.

 

[Chickenhatcher89]

Thanks for the information! That helps alot. Seems like mine will be happy with 4 acres then and not go and bother the neighbors to bad

. I have a small stream in my field and I will have a small pool for them so hopefully they will be happy.