Gaggle of Geese Lovers

[ColtHandorf]

Also for anyone not in the know, I re-created an article on geese for the knowledge base here on the forum.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ising-geese-and-are-they-right-for-you.78377/

Feel free to send newbies to it. If you feel I've left something crucial out, let me know and I can edit it.

 

[telandra2]

Great article!

If you feel I've left something crucial out, let me know and I can edit it.

I don't know if it's crucial, but one newbie topic not covered is flight. Cotton patch fly, most breeds rarely do, etc.

Related to that is fencing. My free ranging geese are contained by low garden fencing that is only tall enough to hit them in the chest. On the other hand, a spooked goose cleared the 3ft fence, 30ft of yard, and another 3ft fence.

 

[ColtHandorf]

Great article!



I don't know if it's crucial, but one newbie topic not covered is flight. Cotton patch fly, most breeds rarely do, etc.

Related to that is fencing. My free ranging geese are contained by low garden fencing that is only tall enough to hit them in the chest. On the other hand, a spooked goose cleared the 3ft fence, 30ft of yard, and another 3ft fence.

My Buffs regularly clear a five foot fence. So do the Pomeranians. Mostly it's a jumping off point to learn. At some point it becomes more than a guide for beginners and becomes an in-depth look at all their requirements, which is why I referred them to some books.

 

[fangedknight]

Hi there. I use Hova-Bator 1588s and 2370s for goose eggs due to the size of the eggs. I basically follow Pete55's Goose Incubation and Hatching Guide, particularly around misting and cooling, and I also hand turn the eggs multiple times a day. I've weighed the eggs and adjusted humidity based on the weekly weigh-ins in the past, but find that monitoring the air cell size seems to work as well - at least for me. I have smaller incubators (Brinsea Octagon 20 Advances), too, but I don't use them for goose eggs due to the proximity to the heating element and the limited capacity.

If you haven't already familiarized yourself with Pete55's guide, I recommend it. There are many variables that may affect a hatch, like age of the eggs, how they're stored prior to setting them, the age and health of the breeding gaggle, dependability of the incubator (some will have "stealth" temperature spikes, for example), for starters. What's happening when you try to incubate the goose eggs? Are you doing eggtopsies on the ones that don't hatch?

I'm waiting with bated breath for the first eggs of the season here...and then it'll be "game on" with hatching out ridiculously adorable goslings. Best of luck to you with your incubation plans!

Hi ya! Thanks for the reply! Hova-bators make sense, and yeah there really isn't a whole lot of room in my brinsea for those size eggs. I think I've gone over Pete55's guide before, but I'll definitely look again. I know one of my biggest issues when I tried the first time was trying to keep up with the humidity and cooling protocols. (Also having ADHD doesn't help with this...)

I didn't do eggtopsies on the ones that didn't hatch, but I was candling regularly. From what I could tell from the candling, they were developing but... then they stopped. The good news is, I have a friend with cabinet incubators willing to hatch out some goslings for me. So worst case scenario, I can take a bunch over to him and see what he can do with them since he said he was having fertility issues with his Sebastopols

My Buffs regularly clear a five foot fence. So do the Pomeranians. Mostly it's a jumping off point to learn. At some point it becomes more than a guide for beginners and becomes an in-depth look at all their requirements, which is why I referred them to some books.

I caught my youngsters trying to do a vertical take off the other day. I hollared at them straight away! They know they're not supposed to be flying. One of the many reasons why I'm very thankful I have 6ft. fencing for my run.

I always wondered how the farms that use 4 ft. grazing fences keep their geese in them, because I'm worried if I try to set up a grazing fence like that I'll just have geese all over the neighborhood again.

 

[ColtHandorf]

Hi ya! Thanks for the reply! Hova-bators make sense, and yeah there really isn't a whole lot of room in my brinsea for those size eggs. I think I've gone over Pete55's guide before, but I'll definitely look again. I know one of my biggest issues when I tried the first time was trying to keep up with the humidity and cooling protocols. (Also having ADHD doesn't help with this...)

I didn't do eggtopsies on the ones that didn't hatch, but I was candling regularly. From what I could tell from the candling, they were developing but... then they stopped. The good news is, I have a friend with cabinet incubators willing to hatch out some goslings for me. So worst case scenario, I can take a bunch over to him and see what he can do with them since he said he was having fertility issues with his Sebastopols


I caught my youngsters trying to do a vertical take off the other day. I hollared at them straight away! They know they're not supposed to be flying. One of the many reasons why I'm very thankful I have 6ft. fencing for my run.

I always wondered how the farms that use 4 ft. grazing fences keep their geese in them, because I'm worried if I try to set up a grazing fence like that I'll just have geese all over the neighborhood again.

Mine usually only clear the fence if they are startled, it's extremely windy, or they are fighting. When I said regularly, I should clarify that it isn't all the time. My fences work just fine for keeping them in. I should have said that if they want out, they can get out.

 

[Finnie]

Hi everyone! I posted this in the Indiana thread, but since it’s a goose story, I thought I would put it here, too.



I can’t believe it hasn’t even been two weeks yet. I found a pair of white Chinese down in Greensburg and went to get them on a lovely Sunday afternoon. They will be one year old this spring, and they originally came from Murray MacMurray.

I named them Salamander and Liz. (Short for Lizard)

In the next photo, Salamander and Liz are on the right. This was taken just after Günther had put the young upstart gander in his place. Then the new pair walked off to the right and gave Günther and his flock their space.

The skirmish:

They seem to have worked it out that Salamander is allowed to follow Günther and the ladies at a respectful distance. All 5 are usually in the same general area, but separated into 2 and 3. At dusk they all gather near the gate to their pen until I come open it. That of course makes them scatter. But then I start herding them and they all file in.

I assume I will have to separate them as breeding season progresses. But for now I’m just taking a wait and see attitude.

Shortly before I got the new pair, I did see Günther mating with Künigünde. That’s when I decided she must be a female after all. Plus she has been doing the female thing trying to get attention from me like Gisela has always done. Follows me around honking softly, curves her neck, and tries to get close. If I bend down and hold real still, she will get within touching distance. But rarely does she let me pet her.

It will be interesting to see how many are laying once the eggs settle into a proper pattern. I guess I need to get my incubator out of storage!!

(Oh, I didn’t say it in that post, but I’ve gotten 4 goose eggs in the last 3 days. They either all started laying at once, or someone has a glitch and is shooting out too many in a row. Maybe if she held the first ones in too long? All 4 are a little on the small side for goose eggs.)

 

[3xhhheather]

Wasn’t paying attention recently and with all the honking I couldn’t hear my husband yelling to watch out *BAM* beaned in the face with a buff dewlap gander who flew clear across the yard from zoomies. It was a nice reminder that they choose to stay behind the fence lol

 

[Amer]

Wasn’t paying attention recently and with all the honking I couldn’t hear my husband yelling to watch out *BAM* beaned in the face with a buff dewlap gander who flew clear across the yard from zoomies. It was a nice reminder that they choose to stay behind the fence lol

Lol!
The goose in your avatar is lovely!

 

[Amer]

Such a beautiful, majestic bird. What a lovely soft grey.

 

[Isadora]

Conundrum:

I am getting my Cotton Patch trio in April. I had hoped to breed them and sell goslings. But I'm a "snowflake" and shudder at the thought of hatching babies only for folks to eat them later. Forgive my "snowflake" question, but is it possible just to sell them as pets - even though they will be high quality birds? If people decide to lie to me and eat the geese later, I'd al least be spared the thought.

I would hype up their rarity as much as is reasonable. And it doesn't hurt anything to put something in the listing about them not being for food.