Goose breed most recommended for urban backyard living?

[katlovesaandw]

We have had chickens for 3 yrs and we now have ducks.
I have always wanted a goose and I see many people on the board in the duck section that have a goose or 2.
So, thought I would pop in and see what people say.
We have a LARGE city lot and have 14 chickens and 3 ducks with the idea to add 3 more ducks in the future.
Are there any goose breeds that do well as a single female goose, are quieter and do not need a constant swimming water source?
Our ducks are Muscovies and while we will have a pool for them to play in Spring thru Fall during their free range time, they do not have one in Winter nor is there one in the pen because they are not a breed that needs a constant swimming water source nor are they a noisy duck breed.

I would love to get a gosling and raise it up and feel we have time and energy to try it with 1 goose(we usually adopt older chickens and ducks) but do not want to get the wrong breed for my area OR if it isnt recommended at all because there are no quiet goose breeds for city poultry keeping..... then I will not do it.

But, need to do my homework before I present this to hubby!LOL

Thanks for all advice!

 

[BeccaOH]

I have 4 geese (2 pairs) and they can be very LOUD. If they get to screaming/honking at night at something like deer too close to the pen, it will wake me up at the house, which is a good distance from their pen on the other side of the garage. It does seem to me that the ganders are loudest. And my Embdens are especially noisy compared to the Pomeranians, but the Embdens are older and first on the farm, so I'd consider them to be leaders. I will say that having loud geese does seem to help keep potential predators at bay. They scare my dogs.

I'm not sure there is a quiet goose breed.

And all waterfowl need to have buddies to pal around with.

Muscovies are great for being quiet (and entertaining and territorial).

Among my other ducks, they can be loud as a group, especially the girls when they all get to quacking at once. Male ducks quack very softly.

I do not have a pond either. I have a sunken landscape pond/tub in their yard that they don't seem to care for much. I use a large mixing tub from TSC (about 10 gallons) that they use to bathe most often. It is in there year round, but I only refresh it when the nights aren't freezing hard. In summer I add a hard plastic swimming pool for them. I got fertile eggs last year, so it seems be be okay for their needs.

 

[katlovesaandw]

Ok, as for buddies.... wouldnt 3-6 ducks and 14 chickens be enough to pal around with or would you recommend another goose?
LOL!
I can see this snowballing! We started 3 yrs ago with 3 chickens, a year later had 10, and were up to 15 until a few weeks ago when we rehomed a VERY noisy hen before we got in trouble with neighbors. We started off with 2 Muscovy drakes we rescued, ended up trading them for 3 Muscovy hens and got our lot permitted for 3 more ducks which we have yet to purchase!LOL

I can see 1 goose... turning into 2 easily!

 

[JordanFamily]

Quote:
If you got in trouble over a hen being loud I would say geese are probably not for you... They are louder than any hen I have ever heard... Their yell is as loud as a Rooster crowing but longer... A goose maybe quiter than a gander but she will still make goose noises loudly on occasion... If you still want one My advice would be a Sebastopol, but Sebs are all I have so I love them!!!

 

[GarlicEater]

Geese don't sleep - they just eat, rest, take a nap, then eat, rest.... all through the 24 hour cycle. They're quieter at night because they don't see well in the dark - except when they decide to hold a midnight screaming match.

They can be good watchdogs, for some reason most people are scared of geese. They have a special hiss that says "this time we mean it" and it's a good indicator that there's a rat, possum, etc out there.

 

[mominoz]

Well, I had noisy ones (chinese years ago) --But I have Tufted buffs now, and had Pilgrim and Tufted white geese and they and the Buffs only make noise when I let them out in the morning ,(Greetings!) Or if one gets separated. Otherwise they are quiet, and even though I am in a high predator area , they don't make noise at night (that I know of. Now years ago we had some "go off" at night, but that was because of raccoons or possums going after the chickens and them. I think it's the whole move slowly thing, Dave Holderread says. If they get scared they may make noise, otherwise I work around the yard all the time an they don't make any noise.

 

[Olive Hill]

If you had to rehome a hen because she was too loud geese are not for you. Plain and simple. No matter how many people tell you their goose/geese is/are quiet, there is absolutely no guarantee and those geese are an exception -- NOT the rule.

You could get lucky, but it's unlikely and in the end you'd just end up rehoming yet another bird.

 

[rainplace]

Quote:
What she said.

 

[adrian]

I think geese can be rather quiet; ganders are the ones who make the biggest racket. If I were you, I'd get two female pilgrims/sebastopols, SEXED, (luckily pilgrims are sexually dimorphic even at birth so that makes matters easier) and see how that goes. A gander is the biggest producer of noise in a group of geese; especially if you've got more than one. I've had geese before and they are relatively quiet creatures. They will all scream if very alarmed, but assuming there aren't a lot of predators in an urban backyard and the geese will always be together and are of a quieter breed, you may very well luck out... Pilgrims and sebastopols are relatively quiet and gentle, and the females even more so. Geese are wonderful, wonderful animals, honestly, despite what anyone says.