Goslings of 2014 Hatch-a-long

[ChickDancer]

I just got finished planting a bunch of seeds in those little indoor starter "pellets" for a vegetable garden.

But the primary purpose of the vegetable garden is actually to give the ducks and geese something different to graze on. It'll be fenced off for a short while, and then they'll be turned loose to eat the veggies and the plants growing them.

 

[8GeeseALaying]

5 more days left for my babies. Yes im counting down lol
Maggie is still sitting tight on her 5 eggs and Ethel has 6 eggs in her nest and i may let her brood as well if she wants.
I think breeding season is winding down for us. Im only getting 3 eggs every two days now.

 

[servpolice]

Ok 3 of my pure African eggs are in lockdown i can finally stop turning eggs!
(unless some spoilt goose stops brooding and leaves her eggs! -_-

 

[servpolice]

Hey there! I'd like to join. I have 7 Canada Geese eggs in the incubator due to hatch around May 16th. I'm not 100% sure because I rescued them from being destroyed by a tractor. They look to be around day 7 though... I think she started incubating them as soon as she laid the first one, because they all appear to be on different stages of growth. We'll see
Happy Hatching!

welcome to the hatch along! Keep us updated on your eggs

 

[servpolice]

I dont know if i read the thrend properly but did someone say she/he hatched or mentioned a white African gosling?!
If not well sorry im very tired

 

[Starfire669]

I just got finished planting a bunch of seeds in those little indoor starter "pellets" for a vegetable garden.


But the primary purpose of the vegetable garden is actually to give the ducks and geese something different to graze on. It'll be fenced off for a short while, and then they'll be turned loose to eat the veggies and the plants growing them.

What did you plant? I'd like to give the birds their own section of garden but don't know what's safe. I have nasturtium, carrots, turnips, romaine lettuce, and apparently marigolds. What else can I put in the chicken/goose garden?

 

[ChickDancer]

What did you plant? I'd like to give the birds their own section of garden but don't know what's safe. I have nasturtium, carrots, turnips, romaine lettuce, and apparently marigolds. What else can I put in the chicken/goose garden?

I put anything and everything. I figure even with free-ranging, they are more likely to eat poison oak and poison ivy than to eat the garden veggies anyway (simply because the woods behind the house is COVERED with those two plants). And wild geese are the same way. Besides, almost anything that isn't poisonous for us, is okay for them IN MODERATION. So a wide variety can avoid problems better, anyway.

 

[Starfire669]

I put anything and everything. I figure even with free-ranging, they are more likely to eat poison oak and poison ivy than to eat the garden veggies anyway (simply because the woods behind the house is COVERED with those two plants). And wild geese are the same way. Besides, almost anything that isn't poisonous for us, is okay for them IN MODERATION. So a wide variety can avoid problems better, anyway.

I have been told that parsley is toxic to waterfowl and that spinach impacts their calcium absorption, so I ate a lot of that to make room in my garden for romaine lettuce for the geese.

 

[livininbrazil]

I have been told that parsley is toxic to waterfowl and that spinach impacts their calcium absorption, so I ate a lot of that to make room in my garden for romaine lettuce for the geese.

Starfire, mine just won´t eat parsley or spinach even if i give it to them. They free-range, so have a huge choice of things to nibble. And although I pull up the poisonous plants out there, there are always more growing somewhere, and they ignore them.
The danger really is when folks don´t have the space for them to graze, and inadvertently give them the greens which, when eaten a lot of, can cause problems.

 

[Starfire669]

Starfire, mine just won´t eat parsley or spinach  even if i give it to them.  They free-range, so have a huge choice of things to nibble. And although I pull up the poisonous plants out there,  there are always more growing somewhere, and they ignore them.
The danger really is when folks don´t have the space for them to graze, and inadvertently give them the greens which, when eaten a lot of, can cause problems.

That's why I want to set up a garden just for them, they do eat the grass some but don't really care for it. I don't know if it's the wrong kind of grass or what.. Maybe Texas heat makes the grass to tough for them, it's already 95 degrees here and climbing. Whatever the reason, they go straight for my flower and herb garden and I can't keep them out. The big veggie garden is next door at my moms so they can't get to that. I don't mind a nibble here or there but when they eat a whole bed of marigold down to roots and strip a side completely off my parsley, when they have a whole yard to graze, there has to be something wrong with the grass in my yard. I may end up reseeding my grass for something they like, but once again don't know what grass is good for geese. So I was gonna make them their very own garden till I figured it all out. I am very concerned about their health and want them to thrive.