Free-ranging toulouse? or geese in general?

[jojo@rolling acres farm]

It's funny that you mention the facing West thing. Each evening, when I come home from work, my flock is sitting in the same general area - near the front of the barn (porch side) which happens to be on the West side of the barn, And yes, they are all facing west - watching the sun go down and sunning themselves. When I walk into the house they all get up and stretch, flap their wings and greet me and make their way into the barn and wait for me to come down to the barn to feed them and lock them in for the night.

I'm glad they seem to be doing fine and that things are going well for you and your flock.

 

[GoodEgg]

Quote:
So if I were to get some of that orange snow fence they would stay inside it??

I have not looked closely at it but I would imagine it's strong enough. Most geese won't test a fence that is 2 feet tall or a little more. They may push on it a bit if there is something they REALLY want on the other side but I've always been ok with posts every 5-7 feet. Sometimes 10 feet if you can stretch it pretty taut. I can't remember how big the holes in snow fencing are? Just be aware that if they can get their heads through, they will. I don't like fences with openings big enough for the shoulders as they can get stuck. At the moment, some of mine will squeeze through hog panels or field fencing (4x4 inch squares) to get to green grass (not that they aren't already ON green grass lol).

But it doesn't take a strong fence to contain them. Be aware if they begin to fly. Most sources say domestic geese don't fly but I had some smaller geese that managed to get just a couple feet off the f
ground. Iguess that's not really flying lol, but it would make lower fences no good. Mine never flew over fences even though they could.

And their tendencies have something to do with how many you have. If you only have 2 or 3 geese, they will tend to stick closer than if you have 8 or more. They seem to find some security in their flock, so the more of them there are, the more willing they seem to be to wander a bit. My experience with a few flocks of varying sizes, but it seems to hold true.

 

[Wolfwoman]

GoodEgg, thank you. Mine are currently in a non movable pen and it's not very large, so guess who'd cutting grass for them everyday?

I have a VERY large grassy area that I'd love to get them on next year, I'm sure it would sustain them for most of the year without ever moving the fence! I'm going to see how much the snowfence is and check the openings and try it out!

 

[GoodEgg]

I forgot that I meant to add -- mine face east when they rest. Usually. If they are in their yard, they face the front of the property, the road, the direction I come from, the pasture.

If they happen to be in the pasture they usually face the house, which means they are looking generally south.

I guess they are facing the action, or the direction they expect me to come from. I hadn't really thought about it until you mentioned it though.

 

[GoodEgg]

You're very welcome, Wolfwoman. I hope it works out well for you. I know what you mean about cutting grass for them, lol.

 

[Wolfwoman]

It would be nice to let them have more room, but without fencing it's impossible here.

BTW - I've often seen the three of mine laying down in three completely different directions...lol

 

[rancher hicks]

What is the purpose of keeping Toulouse geese? I only ask cuz I like them.

Rancher

 

[GoodEgg]

I keep Toulouse geese to breed with Emden ganders. The cross is supposed to produce some of the best eating geese. However my current flock are for pets, breeders, and lawnmowers, as well as watchdogs. They won't be eaten. I will probably keep back some of the Emden goslings for breeders as well, though I don't have a Toulouse gander so I'll have to purchase any new Toulouse geese.

 

[Goose and Fig]

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Mine are for pets, lawmowers & watchdogs as well. Plus they are supposed to be really decent layers as far as geese go. I think I love them even more now after they all came running and went right into their little house last night! I was all worried for nothing

 

[goosedragon]

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You will probably not beleive me but I fenced my geese off my driveway, side walk and away from the road using a simple two string fence (string not wire) I chose white nylon for my string so it would be visble and people wouldn't be triping over it. I used 1/4 rebar because I wanted something strong and easy (any reasonablely strong stake would work) and I used a timy bungee cord to maintain tension in the string. The lower string must be low enough so geese can't walk under it (they can 'scoot' under it but won't). The top string must be high enough so they can't step over it. It helps if the string is very visible but evidently not a requirement. I stold this idea from a product my company used to seperate a pond from their lawns to keep the pesty year round Canadas off it, worked so well that I thought it was electric fence and I checked it out, it was not. googled the trademark and here is a website http://www.lakerestoration.com/c-4-goose-control.aspx You will note that the commercial product is rather pricy. I did it myself for less than $10 and the labor was simple. Try before you invest in snowfence unless the fence is to keep other animals out.~gd