geese and weeds/overgrown areas

[prancie]

So i have chickens and love them and have been thinking about getting some ducks and a pair of geese to boot. I have a very large yard with a lot of brush and overgrown weeds (a lot of pasture too) and I am curious if geese will chomp at the weeds and such. There are lots of "gardens" in our yard that we just cannot keep up with. I wouldn't expect geese to do much about it, but I am wondering if they would like to eat at it at all.

 

[Kim65]

They prefer the moister greens, so where they will eat, water it good, depending on where you live. The dry straw-ey grasses or stiff fibrous weeds they will eat if there is nothing else, but it can cause obstructions in their intestinal tract.

I live in western WA with a large back yard and pasture. They tend to avoid the overgrown areas and stick to the newer grasses, which in many spots they've kept nice and short. Now if you want the good grass and weed control, get a sheep

or even goats. They love weeds and long stringy grasses, it's actually good for their systems.

The good thing is geese prefer greens and grasses over concentrated poultry feeds, if both are available. They are cheap to feed. The females need layer feed for three months in the spring. They'll need duck/gosling starter feed (hi protein) for the first four weeks as well as cut up fresh grass/greens but after that, they need to have greens primarily, and a lower protein 16 - 17% poultry feed. Add scratch grains in the winter b/c of the fewer greens (or substitute with stuff in the produce aisle if you are into spoiling them). Scratch grains help them build protective fat during cold weather too.

 

[Goosehaven]

One thing I didn't know until recently is that the weeds and old tough grass hasn't got enough nutrition in it to sustain geese by itself over the summer. If they don't have access to tender grass you will have to provide more of the grain through the summer than you normally would. Also if the weeds etc...is over 4 inches high and tough is can cause it to bind up in them so you want to be sure that you start them in an area that has been mowed down if you decide to get geese.