Geese Questions

Pics
Date sort Score sort
G

Grey24

Hatching
Dec 28, 2022
8
8
9
I’m looking into getting a single African Goose to guard my 6 chickens. I got the chickens last year, and they are in a small, 5x4 coop with a 6x4 run. I’m wondering how to arrange the goose so that it can still be near them/let out with them without buying or building a whole new coop for them to cohabitate.

Along with that, I’m wondering if the goose can sleep outside in a fenced inclosure so long as it has a small shelter for winter.

And also if my broody hen raises the goose, will it remain attached/bonded to her enough to guard the other chickens?

Finally, I don’t want the goose to get lonely, so should I get it another goose? And if I do that, will it bond to the other goose and just ignore the chickens? Or will it be fine on it’s own with just the chickens for company? Because if I get two (female) geese, I would need them both to guard the hens , and I’m a bit worried about that as everything I’ve read says to get only one goose.
9FB16F26-8480-4B7F-AB1F-A4756176975E.jpeg


Thanks guys; I would appreciate any help you can give me!
 
I originally got my Geese to "Gaurd" my chickens, they ignored them completely, BUT they were definitely a deterrent to Hawks, I had two hawk attacks in 1 month, got my geese and have had none for 3 years now. But I would say not a deterrent for anything else other then young children
 
A single goose raised by your chickens would be best, if that’s what you want. She’ll bond to the chickens and work as a “guard” by honking a warning to any unusual activity when she matures. That’s pretty much the extent of the guarding, however.
If you have more than one goose, they will more than likely bond together and avoid/ignore the chickens entirely assuming there’s enough space to do so.
Just be cautious. If you want to add more chickens down the line, she may or may not allow them. I’ve heard many stories of geese chasing off or killing chickens they were offended by.

I had a single gander to “guard” my ducks. We had a predator attack and he was wise enough to escort them under some thick bushes and hunker down until the danger passed. Not all birds are alike, but if your predator load isn’t too heavy, an early warning device (Goose or Guinea) can be enough. But not always. Not for sure.
 
SA Farm said:
A single goose raised by your chickens would be best, if that’s what you want. She’ll bond to the chickens and work as a “guard” by honking a warning to any unusual activity when she matures. That’s pretty much the extent of the guarding, however.
If you have more than one goose, they will more than likely bond together and avoid/ignore the chickens entirely assuming there’s enough space to do so.
Just be cautious. If you want to add more chickens down the line, she may or may not allow them. I’ve heard many stories of geese chasing off or killing chickens they were offended by.

I had a single gander to “guard” my ducks. We had a predator attack and he was wise enough to escort them under some thick bushes and hunker down until the danger passed. Not all birds are alike, but if your predator load isn’t too heavy, an early warning device (Goose or Guinea) can be enough. But not always. Not for sure.
Click to expand...

Thank you for this! I don’t need a guard that will attack and chase off predators, just a warning system to alert my chickens and myself. I’m doing this because I’ve had a couple hawk attacks that the chickens just barely escaped; since then, I haven’t let them free range anymore for fear that the hawks might get them next time.

Originally, I was going to get guineas, but they just seemed a bit too chaotic and hard to manage. I don’t plan on adding any more chickens, so I’m thinking that as long as the goose will warm my girls of any danger, it should be enough for me.
 
Even so, I would think the goose would get lonely, if you can keep 2 geese in the same area as the chickens that may work too.
 
We have two female Pilgrims, and my experience is limited to only one year. The geese honk all the time, not just if there is a hawk or an eagle flying over. You will never know if a hawk is the danger honk or not. My geese love the chickens and hang out with them all the time. Pilgrims are gray and our gray chicken (Sapphire Gem) hangs out with them the entire day and is just like their mother. Half their size, they are best friends. I also have a Hamburg chicken that is a quarter their size and they are terrified of her. They cannot resist the buff colored Chickens and will grab a mouthful of feathers anytime they are able to do so. Thankfully, the roosters are above the geese in the pecking order, and I don’t think the Geese would ever get more than one mouthful of feathers. If I pick up a chicken, the geese honk at me like crazy and I have to assure them that I’m not going to hurt them. Those are THEIR chickens, and they will not tolerate it! I have read that a gander may try to mate with a hen and is very likely to kill them if that happens.

The only other thing I can tell you is that I had one of my chickens killed by a hawk a month ago. Neither the Geese, nor the roosters managed to save this poor sweet girl. She was a big Buff Cochin, and they cannot run very fast. While I don’t handle losing one of my girls very well, I also will not lock them up all the time. I sometimes put aprons on them that have bulls-eyes on the back. They are supposed to be hawk deterrents. I don’t know if they work or not. I have beat myself up for not having one on the girl that I lost. I also purchased one of those crazy arm things and we turn it on while they’re coming out of the barn and off just after they go in for the night. if it is raining, and I cannot use the crazy arms, I do lock them up, but it is a 20 x 20 barn/run (for 28 chickens). They still hate when I do that.

We absolutely adore our geese and so I highly recommend them. I do think you will wish you had 2 though if you only get one. If you get them, make sure you subject the cute little things to the chickens when they are smaller than the chickens. They will get pecked and they will cry and it will break your heart, but they will learn that the chickens rule over them. I think that is so important because the chickens are so much smaller and could be so easily hurt by the geese.
 
Are you sure they are Pilgrims? I had three Pilgrims, a gander and two females and they were very quite. He wasn't noisy even when he was upset. I also have three other geese, a gander African/White Chinese and two female African. The gander is noisy! The females talk to me some but aren't noisy.
 

Similar threads

C
Introducing new ducks/geese to an old goose - Tips?!
Replies
5
Views
758
Berd Man
Berd Man
Jelibaen
    • Sad
Advice Needed: Aggressive Gander Trying to Kill Goose
Replies
7
Views
1K
AutumnSol
A
N
    • Like
Goose aggressive towards one chicken
2
Replies
10
Views
284
Nellie Rose
N
M
Incubation Period for Roman Tufted Goslings ...
Replies
2
Views
225
Ms_B
M
Farmerlaney
    • Like
Was the Canadian goose domesticated n dumped or wild ? We got one that just showed up
Replies
9
Views
732
Iain Utah
Iain Utah

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom