Geese on pasture?

[docdubz]

Ive been keeping my geese on pasture and moving their fence about once a week. So far its been not working out as intended. There are plenty of shady spots but they always choose one general area to trample to death. And because of that Im running out of good pasture to set them out on. Does anyone have suggestions on how to deal with this? Ive been having a very hard time finding proper feed for them so supplemental feeding isnt as possible as I would like it to be.

 

[quackingdom]

Try smaller pastures and more frequent moves. In high-intensity cattle grazing, which mimics natural herd behavior as closely as possible, the cattle are placed in a very small area, so they're forced to eat the entire area evenly, but they are moved to fresh pasture every day. Each pasture needs to rest for 30-60 days, depending on speed of growth. If the area is large enough that they can be picky, they will, as you've seen, trample and overeat some areas while letting others go uneaten.

It isn't strictly necessary to have "proper" feed for them. Ducks do fine on chicken feed, and in my experience, geese do too. I feed my geese some layer feed and some milo/sorghum. I think grower is better than layer feed for geese, since they don't need as much protein.

Do you know what types of grass/weeds are in the pasture and if they're nutritious enough to sustain geese? We have a variety of weeds in our yard and the geese primarily stick to just a couple different types.

 

[Leader Bee]

I have noticed the area around their water seems to be the first to become unviable because they tend to spend a lot of time 1) soaking the place to death 2) spending a lot of time around the water means that's where they're also pooping a lot and i think the poop is killing the grass.

Time for me to sow a lawn on the other side of the house so I can rotate Methinks.

 

[docdubz]

Im not entirely certain what grasses are growing, Im pretty sure that a lot of it is johnson grass though. Ive been squeemish about giving chicken feed because thats what I was doing for a while but half of them started developing angel wing, once I stopped most of them seem to have recovered but one of them has it so bad that it looks grotesque.

I have noticed the area around their water seems to be the first to become unviable because they tend to spend a lot of time 1) soaking the place to death 2) spending a lot of time around the water means that's where they're also pooping a lot and i think the poop is killing the grass.

Time for me to sow a lawn on the other side of the house so I can rotate Methinks.

The way they mat down the poop definitely kills everything growing. But I tried giving them two pools at opposite ends of their pasture and they still pick one general spot to ruin, even when I move the pools they go back to their preferred spot.

 

[quackingdom]

Some think too much protein causes angel wing, others think that it's actually too much carbohydrates. I have no idea. What sort of chicken feed did you give them?

Maybe move the pools every day?

 

[docdubz]

20% starter for the first couple weeks then 17% all flock. Hard to find lower than 17% in my area.

 

[quackingdom]

If you end up needing to supplement their feed, you could try mixing the chicken feed with grain to lower the protein content. Like I said, I give my geese a lot of milo/sorghum. Wheat and oats are also options. Idk about corn. I've seen geese that were fed nothing but corn and had terrible angel wing.

 

[docdubz]

If you end up needing to supplement their feed, you could try mixing the chicken feed with grain to lower the protein content. Like I said, I give my geese a lot of milo/sorghum. Wheat and oats are also options. Idk about corn. I've seen geese that were fed nothing but corn and had terrible angel wing.

The only grain my feed stores carry is corn or scratch. Ive seen whole oats in stock one time in the past year. Its nuts, Im in the country but not that far out and everyone here has animals but the feed stores offer almost nothing.

 

[Percheron chick]

All feed stores have access to other feed options. Ask. I only use wheat to cut chicken feed.
The simplest way to cut both protein and sugars is to include more fruits and vegetables in the diet. Lettuce, squash, apples, berries...mine love it all. To add more natural grasses to their diet, give them a nice tender high horse quality grass hay. Mine will eat about 1/2# a day each in the winter. Just place it in a hay rack about 2' off the ground or they will make a poopy mess out of it

 

[Cazook]

Angel wing is due to growing too fast, either high protein or high carbohydrate feed can cause it. Restricting feed and giving only low-calorie treats like salad etc helps. If angel wing is just beginning you can also bind the wing to the body in hope that it straightens out.