general questions about geese

[bibliophile birds]

i'm about to get my first pair of domestic geese. a local BYCer inherited them and can't keep them so she's passing them on to me! i'm so excited, but i wanted to get some information.

as far as we know, they are brother and sister- no guess on age. i believe they are tufted Romans from the picture and description. she said they both have blue eyes and are probably about 5-10 lbs, so they aren't Embdens right?

they've been living in a large chicken tractor for a week or so and have apparently never been on open water- the member i'm getting them from took them to her neighbors pond and they didn't seem to know what to do with all that water. she also gave them a kiddie pool which they only groomed in. they will be in a large dog pen for the first few days here at my house, to get acclimated to me and their surroundings, and then they are going into a larger area in one of the fields surrounded by electric wire (3 strands). we're going to start them off on the small pond in the horse field and then hopefully move them up to the lake. there are wild Canadian geese on the property but i've read that they usually aren't a problem.

basically, what should i do to get them settled? i know they mostly live off forage but is chicken scratch ok as a supplement? the local feed store doesn't have waterfowl feed, so i'm looking into other places to get it. what's a good treat for them? is there something i should avoid completely?

thanks for your help!

 

[jojo@rolling acres farm]

I can't make out the top of the females head but the larger of the two, and I'm guessing he's the male, looks like a Roman Tufted to me. I have mine on Purnia Flock Raiser that I get at TSC and the free range and graze all day.
I think you'll really like them. Keep us posted.

 

[[email protected]]

Really Joni? Are the romans sometimes darker like that, I thought they were stark white.... of course, what do I know. jen

 

[jojo@rolling acres farm]

I think they need a bath or they could be cross bred...it's hard to tell on my screen- I can't see the "tuft" on the female at all.

 

[bibliophile birds]

yes, i think they needed a bath in that pic! and it's always possible they are crosses. as i said, they were inherited by another member and she's never had geese. i made the Roman guess based on my internet research.

thanks for the advice! can't wait to get these guys home!

 

[TennesseeTruly]

I think they're Roman Tufted. I just bought 3 Roman Tufted eggs on Ebay a few days ago. Now I have to find space for them in my incubators.

They're adorable and probably just need a good bath.

Laurie

 

[[email protected]]

Well, whatever they are they are beautiful. But b/t you and me and Laurie and Joni, romans are the best!! Of course, that's all i've ever had... j

 

[TennesseeTruly]

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Well, whatever they are they are beautiful. But b/t you and me and Laurie and Joni, romans are the best!! Of course, that's all i've ever had... j

I have 6 Sebbie adults and 12 goslings. I adore the Sebbies but I wanted to try something else as well. Of course I didn't tell hubby that I was getting other goose eggs and he opened the box and saw them. He just rolled his eyes. ROFL!!

Laurie​

 

[Kim65]

They will figure out the pool thing eventually . . . I have two yearlings who have never had much of a pool, and only the female is really good about swimming and bathing (typical female

).

I think geese feel safer in a larger flock when it comes to water. When I had a flock of 11, and a big pond, they stayed out on the pond most of the day, but not until they were adults. My current flock had my bathtub and a large bucket of water for the first few months, and are still a little slow about swimming. They use ANY water to groom in, though, but a good swim in the pond is the only thing that gets them clean. They are lavenders and esp the gander gets dusty looking.

Mine have all purpose poultry feed (unmedicated) and chicken scratch, but by far prefer grass, dandelions, some weeds, and dirt

They LOVE kale, spinach (in small amounts), lettuce, cabbage

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
I have a couple of heads up for you. geese need to be trained to electric fence! The feathers tend to insulate them so they don't get a huge shock with normal contact but waterfowl are very oral if they grab a wire with their mouth they may be unable to let go and end up fried on the wire. If you have a fence that pulses it might lesson the problem but most of the chargers these days are steady state.
The combo of wet mouth and being so close to the brain can be nasty. try licking a wire yourself NOT it might kill you too.

If the Canada geese have claimed the lake they may be a problem espically if the Canadas out number your pair of romans. I have had a few visits of Canadas and my mixed flock of domestics reacted the way they would to a preditor, formed up to a compact group with the ganders to enemy, geese to the rear. I don't know of any actual battles since I would go out to see what all the fuss was about and the Canadas would leave.