GOOSE BREEDING THREAD - for breeding, incubating, hatching and rearing.

[bloonskiller911]

Oh and that picture is from two weeks ago. Don't know where the time has gone!!

 

[Miss Lydia]

. Here the group of goslings and ducklings

So cute love to see more pics.

 

[countr1chick]

I just purchased a pair of saddleback poms two days ago. The young man who sold them to me said they were only about 3 months old. What is the best way to "domesticate" them? I am hoping they will be friendly enough to the chickens i will be raising from day old. I realize they won't be ready for outside until they are at least 10 weeks of age. Any suggestions? Recommendations for feed and care? I purchased cracked corn and grit and supplement with bread.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I just purchased a pair of saddleback poms two days ago. The young man who sold them to me said they were only about 3 months old. What is the best way to "domesticate" them? I am hoping they will be friendly enough to the chickens i will be raising from day old. I realize they won't be ready for outside until they are at least 10 weeks of age. Any suggestions? Recommendations for feed and care? I purchased cracked corn and grit and supplement with bread.

Geese are grazers mainly they love grass and they need to be supplemented with a good feed like Purina Flock Raiser crumble all your poultry can eat it from hatch to end of life. Cracked corn is like candy really doesn't have much nutritional value at all , grit is very important put it in separate bowl and they will eat as needed. plenty of fresh water that they can dunk their heads into very important they can wash their eyes and nares out especially during eating,Bread is starchy so it doesn't do much for them but make them fat. I do give a small amount of whole grain oatmeal bread to my 2 ganders when everyone else is getting dried meal worms they hate the meal worms. This is like half slice between the 2. Just a taste actually.

Once your gosling are completely feathered in they are ready for a secure place outside they may like the chickens okay when breeding season isn't going on but during breeding season you'll have to watch them they can be very irritable to say the least. Meaning they can cause bodily harm to anyone except themselves. lol
Spend time out with them just moving slowly and talking to them not trying to pet or hold them because that is scary Take some goodies like shredded lettuce or shredded kale . Both my females love dried meal worms. My ganders won't touch them. Post some pics when you can,

and welcome to BYC

 

[mightymax]

My two American Buff geese free range all day with about a dozen or so hens of various size and they tend to tolerate the chickens much more than than they tend to befriend them. In
other words, so long as the chickens know that the geese are the bosses of the yard and not to interrupt them or steal their food during feeding time, then things should work out well, for the most part. But as Miss Lydia so knowingly pointed out, geese in the midst of the mating season are nothing to be messed with. They can, and sometimes do, injure, or even kill,
any chicken(s) that they feel might be infringing either in their territory, their food or their mate's 'business'. That being said, I still let mine free range all together every single day and haven't lost a chicken to them yet (knock on wood), but I have had some very close calls and if I hadn't been nearby to help remove one of my silkie hens from the vise-like grip that my gander had on her, he more than likely would have killed her and although I would have been devastated I would also know that that's one of the risks I ran by free ranging them together.

-kim-

P.S. I do not put them together at night. The geese go into their little house and the chickens know to roost in their own coop. I think THAT type of setup would surely result in disaster.

 

[Miss Lydia]

My two American Buff geese free range all day with about a dozen or so hens of various size and they tend to tolerate the chickens much more than than they tend to befriend them. In
other words, so long as the chickens know that the geese are the bosses of the yard and not to interrupt them or steal their food during feeding time, then things should work out well, for the most part. But as Miss Lydia so knowingly pointed out, geese in the midst of the mating season are nothing to be messed with. They can, and sometimes do, injure, or even kill,
any chicken(s) that they feel might be infringing either in their territory, their food or their mate's 'business'. That being said, I still let mine free range all together every single day and haven't lost a chicken to them yet (knock on wood), but I have had some very close calls and if I hadn't been nearby to help remove one of my silkier hens from the vise-like grip that my gander had on her, he more than likely would have killed her and although I would have been devastated I would also know that that's one of the risks I ran by free ranging them together.

-Kim-

P.S. I do not put them together at night. The geese go into their little house and the chickens know to roost in their own coop. I think THAT type of setup would surely result in disaster.

I diff agree about housing I would never have my flock in one house ducks have theirs, geese have theirs,chickens have theirs. Best way to avoid disaster.

 

[mightymax]

Quote:
So True !!! But if you build the individual houses all by yourself like I do, it sure is a lot more work (and money

!!!), but in the end it's definitely worth the extra effort.

Here are a few pictures of my 'babies' that I took yesterday. I gave them a new, ultra-deluxe (compared to their old one) kiddie pool that is much larger than the tiny one they'd been
using since birth (a year ago this past May 5th) and at first they didn't know what to think of it. They circled it and yelled at it and poked it with their bills until they finally
decided that it wasn't the 'pool demon' come down to hurt them and jumped in. I had made them a little ramp to use to get in and out of it since the sides were twice the height of their
old pool and I didn't want them to injure their legs. But after using it one time each, they opted to just 'go for it' and kind of stumble-fall over the edge and into the water. Figures. Had I built them an in-ground pool of disproportionate size, they would have wanted an above ground wader...lol !!! Gotta love them!

-kim-

P.S. Once they got in, they spent the rest of the day in it trying to 'catch' the little colorful 'fish' that are molded into the plastic sides and bottom of the pool...LOL !!!


GABIE IS ON THE LEFT AND GUS IS ALREADY IN THE POOL!

AHHH...HE'S TESTING OUT THE WATER FOR HIS SWEETIE!
"JUMP IN, THE WATER'S FINE !!!"

NOTICE GABIE'S LACK OF FLIGHT FEATHERS. IT'S BEEN
FUNNY WATCHING THEM MOLT. THEY'D WALK AROUND
WITH THEM POINTING OUT EVERY WHICH WAY. TALK
ABOUT A BAD HAIR DAY!



AND YOU CAN'T TELL IT NOW, BUT EARLIER IN THE MONTH
THE GROUND WAS LITERALLY A BLANKET OF WHITE...
FEATHERS, THAT IS!

 

[Carrosaur]

So True !!! But if you build the individual houses all by yourself like I do, it sure is a lot more work (and money !!!), but in the end it's definitely worth the extra effort. Here are a few pictures of my 'babies' that I took yesterday. I gave them a new, ultra-deluxe (compared to their old one) kiddie pool that is much larger than the tiny one they'd been using since birth (a year ago this past May 5th) and at first they didn't know what to think of it. They circled it and yelled at it and poked it with their bills until they finally decided that it wasn't the 'pool demon' come down to hurt them and jumped in. I had made them a little ramp to use to get in and out of it since the sides were twice the height of their old pool and I didn't want them to injure their legs. But after using it one time each, they opted to just 'go for it' and kind of stumble-fall over the edge and into the water. Figures. Had I built them an in-ground pool of disproportionate size, they would have wanted an above ground wader...lol !!! Gotta love them! -kim- P.S. Once they got in, they spent the rest of the day in it trying to 'catch' the little colorful 'fish' that are molded into the plastic sides and bottom of the pool...LOL !!! GABIE IS ON THE LEFT AND GUS IS ALREADY IN THE POOL! AHHH...HE'S TESTING OUT THE WATER FOR HIS SWEETIE! "JUMP IN, THE WATER'S FINE !!!" NOTICE GABIE'S LACK OF FLIGHT FEATHERS. IT'S BEEN FUNNY WATCHING THEM MOLT. THEY'D WALK AROUND WITH THEM POINTING OUT EVERY WHICH WAY. TALK ABOUT A BAD HAIR DAY! AND YOU CAN'T TELL IT NOW, BUT EARLIER IN THE MONTH THE GROUND WAS LITERALLY A BLANKET OF WHITE... FEATHERS, THAT IS!

Gorgeous geese!! Are those buffs? Did you let them hatch any babies?

 

[Miss Lydia]

So True !!! But if you build the individual houses all by yourself like I do, it sure is a lot more work (and money

!!!), but in the end it's definitely worth the extra effort.

Here are a few pictures of my 'babies' that I took yesterday. I gave them a new, ultra-deluxe (compared to their old one) kiddie pool that is much larger than the tiny one they'd been
using since birth (a year ago this past May 5th) and at first they didn't know what to think of it. They circled it and yelled at it and poked it with their bills until they finally
decided that it wasn't the 'pool demon' come down to hurt them and jumped in. I had made them a little ramp to use to get in and out of it since the sides were twice the height of their
old pool and I didn't want them to injure their legs. But after using it one time each, they opted to just 'go for it' and kind of stumble-fall over the edge and into the water. Figures. Had I built them an in-ground pool of disproportionate size, they would have wanted an above ground wader...lol !!! Gotta love them!

-kim-

P.S. Once they got in, they spent the rest of the day in it trying to 'catch' the little colorful 'fish' that are molded into the plastic sides and bottom of the pool...LOL !!!


GABIE IS ON THE LEFT AND GUS IS ALREADY IN THE POOL!

AHHH...HE'S TESTING OUT THE WATER FOR HIS SWEETIE!
"JUMP IN, THE WATER'S FINE !!!"

NOTICE GABIE'S LACK OF FLIGHT FEATHERS. IT'S BEEN
FUNNY WATCHING THEM MOLT. THEY'D WALK AROUND
WITH THEM POINTING OUT EVERY WHICH WAY. TALK
ABOUT A BAD HAIR DAY!



AND YOU CAN'T TELL IT NOW, BUT EARLIER IN THE MONTH
THE GROUND WAS LITERALLY A BLANKET OF WHITE...
FEATHERS, THAT IS!

They are so pretty, love the story about them and their new pool isn't funny how new things are so scary at first. mine have the same pool Kim and they have pulled most of the little fish off the bottom of the one mine have. silly things. it peels off. Mine have been molting too, my oldest gander looks the worse for wear, he still hasn't gotten his tail feathers back yet. The other 3 are working on their flight feathers still too.

 

[mightymax]

Carrosaur...Yes, they are both American Buffs that I got last May as day olds from Metzer's Farms. Gabi laid well over 40 eggs in this, her first season. She even started laying them in her nest

a few days before she stopped laying completely...lol !!! I'm hoping that come next year she'll have her routine down pat and we can let her keep the eggs she lays and hopefully hatch out a couple of cute goslings. From what I've read, geese don't always have the maturity level to be competent parents their first breeding season so that's why we didn't let her sit on her eggs this year (I don't have the time to care for any more animal 'orphans' right now !!!), besides, she never even seemed to miss them when I removed them every couple of days. But then again, if I had the potential to have over 40 children in one 'sitting', I might not miss a few here and there myself !!!


Miss Lydia..."Why 'Thank you very much'!" = That's what my geese told me to tell you after I mentioned to them that you had commented on how "pretty" they looked.

As for new things being scary to them, I'd have to say a big 'YES!' to that !!! It never
ends. At least a few times each month something as innocent as changing their food bowl to one of a different color will send them into a flapping and honking tailspin. The likes of which (if you weren't familiar with their potential towards paranoia) could send some of your well meaning neighbors to their nearest Animal Welfare Dept. to report their suspicions of abuse. Just the other day it was an old, worn out wheelbarrow that had them up in arms. Apparently they didn't like the fact that I moved it. It didn't matter to them one bit that it had been sitting just 10 feet away from their house for the past 6 months or so. No, it was okay then. But now that it had positioned itself on their side of the fence, well...that just made it a whole lot more menacing

!!!

Sweet Dreams Gus and Gabi.

-kim-













































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