Goose lovers – please help!!

[Iain Utah]

I know they will eventually get over it, but it was still a bummer they reacted that way upon seeing me this morning. I find it interesting that geese seem to hold onto negative experiences longer and lose trust easier than horses. I thought horses taught me much about patience, but geese are letting me know I have more to learn.

 

[psue]

We luvs ya......... and the geese will again

 

[Going Bhonkers]

After we finished the round up, we discussed nutrition and enrichment suggestions to improve overall care. He is a STRONG believer in geese living on grass (I got extra gold stars for my set up lol). He felt that a feed program should be 80% grass or grass hay and 20% grain supplement. He felt the 50/50 blend of Flockraiser and whole oats was better than 100% mazuri!! Yes, he said it! He pointed out the 1st ingredient of Mazuri is ground corn, which is crap. All grains should be in whole form. Oats, barley, wheat are all great. Whole kernel corn is a good optional supplement to put on weight or to provide extra calories in winter. He showed me a powerpoint presentation of feeders to recommend for birds in small yards. He felt they should be randomly scattered and filled randomly once per day. I will have to get the pics from him to post, but they basically came in 3 forms, all of which required the geese to think to get small quantities of food at a time. The one is liked the best was a homemade hanging deer feeder. The 2nd one was a box with a lid (and top of sides were cut out for bird safety) that the bird had to lift to gain access to food (then the lid had a hinge to auto close it). The 3rd was a large log with holes drilled into it. He recommended toys for mental stimulation. He prefers digestible toys, like watermelon, cotton rope, paper balls or pretty much anything you can buy for pets that can be digested. For other undigestible toys, he recommended indestructible things like kong toys. He said he does MANY surgeries to remove undigestible items like cheap plastic toys.

It would be so great if the vet were able to send you pictures, I'm interested in seeing what these feeders look like

 

[ultasol]

After we finished the round up, we discussed nutrition and enrichment suggestions to improve overall care. He is a STRONG believer in geese living on grass (I got extra gold stars for my set up lol). He felt that a feed program should be 80% grass or grass hay and 20% grain supplement. He felt the 50/50 blend of Flockraiser and whole oats was better than 100% mazuri!! Yes, he said it! He pointed out the 1st ingredient of Mazuri is ground corn, which is crap. All grains should be in whole form. Oats, barley, wheat are all great. Whole kernel corn is a good optional supplement to put on weight or to provide extra calories in winter. He showed me a powerpoint presentation of feeders to recommend for birds in small yards. He felt they should be randomly scattered and filled randomly once per day. I will have to get the pics from him to post, but they basically came in 3 forms, all of which required the geese to think to get small quantities of food at a time. The one is liked the best was a homemade hanging deer feeder. The 2nd one was a box with a lid (and top of sides were cut out for bird safety) that the bird had to lift to gain access to food (then the lid had a hinge to auto close it). The 3rd was a large log with holes drilled into it. He recommended toys for mental stimulation. He prefers digestible toys, like watermelon, cotton rope, paper balls or pretty much anything you can buy for pets that can be digested. For other undigestible toys, he recommended indestructible things like kong toys. He said he does MANY surgeries to remove undigestible items like cheap plastic toys.

Geese definitely need turn out on grass! If you read the goose books from the early 1900s as well as the modern literature on geese pasture is mentioned as the superior feed source. Not only that, but grazing keeps them entertained and busy. Bored geese can be destructive.
Wheat is another alternative to oats that allows for the provision of a whole feed. I allow for free choice wheat, and provide the concentrated food 1-2x a day.

Beyond watermelon rinds etc, good distracting/busy snacks are whole apples, squash cut in half, etc. They will eat away at them, and often chase each other around with their prizes.

In this picture you can see a young American Blue running around with the remains of an apple in her mouth. Behind her comes another goose chasing after her. There were plenty of apples, but the grass is always greener and the young geese seem to make it a game.

 

[LightningTFarm]

Not 3' wide but 18-20" wide would be good. Make sure you have enough room to get in and clean it out also.

Okay. 18-20" wide by how tall? Three feet? I will have another regular people door for me, so I won't have to squeeze through theirs (don't think I could - I haven't been that skinny in a while!).

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

3' would be fine. I will measure the door on the juvenile house when we go out this morning.


Iain sorry they ran yesterday when you went to feed.

 

[Iain Utah]

Going bonkers, I will do what I can to get pics of the feeders and post them.

Lightning, you are getting good answers on door size. Just wanted to say I think it's awesome you are going the extra mile to provide your pair a palace.

Ultasol, cute picture! I love watching my geese run around with pieces of watermelon rind in their mouths. They look like they are having a lot of fun.

Celtic, it is a bummer, but they were back for dinner feeding time, so I think they are getting over it. Whew!

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

Very good to hear Iain.


We have had so much rain again we dumped every pool and put them away. There is standing water in every yard and the rear pasture is knee deep. Great for waterfowl and reconfirms why we are reducing chicken numbers and increasing ducks/geese. Oh and turned our guinea keets loose this morning.

 

[Iain Utah]

All is normal at the farm this morning. The geese acted like the other day never happened. Thank goodness!

Celtic, yuck for you, but awesome for your waterfowl! No rain here, but pasture irrigation is back on, so the adult dewlaps are loving having their pond & swamp area again.

 

[jerryford]

All is normal at the farm this morning. The geese acted like the other day never happened. Thank goodness!

Celtic, yuck for you, but awesome for your waterfowl! No rain here, but pasture irrigation is back on, so the adult dewlaps are loving having their pond & swamp area again.

Have to love geese they are never mad very long LOL glad they are back to them selves