Getting my 1st geese: What Do I Need To Know?

[1MrsMagoo]

Okay, so I have been looking for some geese to put with my ducks for a good while. This week I came across an ad on Craigslist from fellow 45 miles from me selling some. He owns Goose Meadow Farms in Mississippi and is holding a breeding pair of Buff Saddleback Pomeranians for me to pick up one evening this week. They are beautiful geese and needless to say, I am very excited.

I have pasture, a pond, an enclosure, almost two years experience with chickens and a mere four months with ducks. So, what do I need to know about raising geese as opposed to other fowl?

Also, the seller says the Pomeranian goose is about the size of a Toulouse; from your experience, how tall do they generally get? He also states that they are very docile and good natured: Do any of you Pomeranian owners have anything to add about their particular personalities?

Thanks in advance for any replies. I want to be a good goose guardian!

 

[nivtup]

OK, I am really not going to be helpful AT ALL but you need to know the Geese are AWESOME.

 

[1MrsMagoo]

Quote:
Well, I tell my husband every day that he is lucky I got chickens before ducks, or we'd have dozens of ducks...lol. According to what I've read I have room for 20+ geese and if they are as great as I am hoping, I'll have to start telling him he's lucky I got ducks and chickens first!

 

[shelleyd2008]

I don't have Poms, so I can't help you on their temperament. I know that it depends on the individual and how it was raised; hand-raised geese are less skittish of people....this can be good or bad. On one hand, they are much more friendly when they are young but they can also be more aggressive when they come into their hormones since they are not afraid of you. Probably the only thing different you need to do for geese is give them a pool of some sort for bathing/breeding and make sure they have access to plenty of greens since they are primarily herbivores

 

[Amigo]

Have them in a grassy area, they eat grass, they love it. We just started raising a goose, a Roman tufted goose named Gabby. They can be sweet if you are friendly to them, and they will be friendly to you a million times back.

 

[1MrsMagoo]

Thanks for all your replies: I appreciate it!

These geese are from a mixed flock of ducks, guineas, and geese that currently have a 3 acre pasture and one acre pond. They are around people, but I don't think he made them into pets, which is okay...especially if it means they won't be as aggressive. They bred and raised goslings this spring, so are probably over a year old: The owner said they weren't over 3 and were not from the same bloodlines.

I have a decent sized pond and about 1 acre of good mixed grass, legume, and chicory pasture available to them and the ducks. We don't let the horse and cow onto this section (they have about 3 acres): We have a bagger mower and feed the big animals the cuttings from this parcel.

I already started buying my winter grass and clover seed since we can grow annual rye grass here all winter. I over seed all our pastures with the grass/clover mix in late October-ish so all the critters have some grass all winter and clover in the spring before our warm season grass comes in.

 

[1MrsMagoo]

Quote:
Awe, I bet she's adorable