Guard Geese?

[d3rabbitry]

Was thinking about this myself not to fight the predators but as a warning to help know if there is trouble does anybody think that would work at all

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

I had a African that took on a coyote. He lost in the end but he did his best to protect the ducks. My mom refuses to let us shoot anything, so i had to watch my poor goose fight for and lose his life. He did a better job protecting my flocks then the guard dogs did. Now that we have our own farm if it eats my stock it dies.

I am planing on use a combination of guineas and geese as guards. I also learned to always lock everybody up at night. I free range inside a fenced area for extra protection as well. And the golden rule is always have some extra chickens!


I am going to use Africans. If you let them know whose boss you shouldn't have any problems with them.

AGREED! I have 6 geese, 4 are embder and 2 greys. We recently got guineas as well, just 2. If anything is even a slight bit out of order, i know it WAY ahead of time, even if the mail lady should come to the door. I have handled my birds since they were babies and they know what NO! means. they dont bite or peck me. They are better mannered than my partridge rocks for sure! Everyone free ranges together when i am home. Even the barn cats, and theres never a problem. the cats dont dare to come 50 feet of the chickens and have all learned a painful lesson if they do. 6 adult geese are pretty intimidating to a cat. If you have the time for 5 minutes a day with your geese you won't ever have a problem with them.

 

[chicken farmer]

Ok thanks oregon blues

 

[coffeenutdesign]

I had a goose once. We inherited "him" when my neighbor died. He was funny and good friends with the goat..but then "he" started laying eggs, so apparently he was a she. That darn goose would run all the way from the other end of the property whenever I dared wash all the poop off the porch. That thing would not tolerate a clean porch. I don't know if they are good guardians, but mine sure scared the crap out of me, hissing and crap if I ever got too close. She was good friends with my goat, though and when the goat would lay down, she would go over and groom him thoroughly. They liked to roam around the pasture together.

(I also found out that I do not much care for goose eggs!)

 

[bwindell]

We have 2 Chinese geese, a white goose and a brown gander. Both were bought with the intention of them being "guard" geese. They cannot take on a dog or other large predator, but they will certainly let you know if something is not right in the area.

Our menagerie consists of the 2 geese, as well as 7 guineas, 3 Pekin ducks and 26 Rhode Island Red chickens. We had more, but have lost birds to predators over the summer. The last being a duck that was locked up in their pen with the three remaining ones, and the two geese. Whatever it was, (I suspect a raccoon), got into their pen, killed it and leisurely ate it with the other birds present.

As far as geese go, I love the Chinese. They are one of the bigger breeds of goose and have personalities. My gander, Harold, has very strong protective instincts, as long as the "intruder" is smaller than he, (or has his back turned)... He will attack people when they come into the yard, usually pulling on their pants, but can inflict a good bruise if he gets a hold of flesh. They imprint, usually on one person. I am the one considered the "flock leader", lol, but only because I would not tolerate him going after me. He has been reprimanded enough that he knows I am off limits, but still goes after my husband when his back is turned. They have to be trained, just like a dog, to know who is master. If you allow them to nip at you, then they consider you below them in pecking order. I am presently teaching my 4 year old grand-daughter the ins and outs of working around a goose, and she has become very good at handling Harold's aggressive posturing.

We have a neighbor dog, a Rotty, that has a tendency to go after my birds. Last week, she went after my goose. I was alerted to the attack by Harold who raised a ruckus loud enough to be heard for miles, but he himself did not attempt to take on the dog. He would not have won had he tried. I was able to run the dog off before she really had a chance to harm my goose thanks to Harold's warning.

If you want a bird to warn you of intruders, go with a goose. Guineas are good for one thing only, they are great at keeping the tick and other bug populations down in your yard. As far as warning you of problems, they are mediocre, not to mention as being the dumbest of all bird species. And guineas have no personality. My gander makes a trip down the pond every day to "collect" the ducks and herd them back to the coop for the night, and always stops in at our front door on the way to "remind" us that it's "that" time.... Love em!!

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

I still have all 6 of mine, seems to be 2 gander, the rest are goose. Very aggressive to anyone but immediate family, and anything strange. No more raccoon... not a one. possum either. Dad just laughs.. he keeps saying i told you so! I just love the Africans. they both still enjoy sitting in my lap.

 

[ChickieKat]

We are just sort of tossing around the idea of getting a couple of geese to warn us if something is not right in the spring. We will have 7 egg birds that will be in a large run during the weekdays while we are at work, and free ranging in the late afternoon and on the weekends when we are home. I am reading that geese really need pasture, and I can't for the life of me figure out how to house them. I would love two Chinese geese, and our neighbors absolutely won't mind, but I would love some more info on how to house them all and what to do during the day while we are at work. Would they need separate nighttime housing? A separate run? A fenced in pasture with a locked coop at night? We live on the side of a mountain and have all sorts of forest predators that you might imagine.

Maybe this is just a bad idea overall? I am also extremely interested in the possibility of raising at least one to eat. I love duck and have never had goose, but would really like to try it. Maybe for Christmas next year.

 

[4mybcs]

I had a small flock of 6 chickens and one sebe goose. We got him for enjoyment but were told he would guard the chickens as well. One day I forgot to close the coop over night. In the morning two chickens were gone and the goose was dead. We believe a coyote jumped the 6' high block wall. It appeared the goose put up a big fight and I do believe he helped protect the remaining 4 chickens.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

I had a small flock of 6 chickens and one sebe goose. We got him for enjoyment but were told he would guard the chickens as well. One day I forgot to close the coop over night. In the morning two chickens were gone and the goose was dead. We believe a coyote jumped the 6' high block wall. It appeared the goose put up a big fight and I do believe he helped protect the remaining 4 chickens.

They do try but are no match for a coyote. A fox will and do take goslings. I lost 2 this year and have yet to get that fox. They are alarm birds but not guardians, a LGD is a safer choice.

We are just sort of tossing around the idea of getting a couple of geese to warn us if something is not right in the spring. We will have 7 egg birds that will be in a large run during the weekdays while we are at work, and free ranging in the late afternoon and on the weekends when we are home. I am reading that geese really need pasture, and I can't for the life of me figure out how to house them. I would love two Chinese geese, and our neighbors absolutely won't mind, but I would love some more info on how to house them all and what to do during the day while we are at work. Would they need separate nighttime housing? A separate run? A fenced in pasture with a locked coop at night? We live on the side of a mountain and have all sorts of forest predators that you might imagine.

Maybe this is just a bad idea overall? I am also extremely interested in the possibility of raising at least one to eat. I love duck and have never had goose, but would really like to try it. Maybe for Christmas next year.

They will be taken, as well as any chickens if not protected from predators. Chinese are aggressive to strange animals or people, but no match for a fox, or larger animal.
If contained safely they can free range under supervision, and if you don't clip a wing can escape attacks. I do not clip any bird for that reason.
Geese have a loud warning screech if somethings wrong, they are your alarm! Goose is much like duck, you will love it! Mine are pets, so I don't process them.
I have had canadian goose and loved it! I raise several types of poultry/waterfowl for our table, and someday will get past the "pet" idea on geese too.
They are a family tradition and its like a pet dog or cat for me, same for our goats! Can't imagine them as food.
I keep hearing I am missing out on a lot of good food for my family by not processing the extra ganders and bucks.

 

[ChickieKat]

They do try but are no match for a coyote. A fox will and do take goslings. I lost 2 this year and have yet to get that fox. They are alarm birds but not guardians, a LGD is a safer choice.
They will be taken, as well as any chickens if not protected from predators. Chinese are aggressive to strange animals or people, but no match for a fox, or larger animal.
If contained safely they can free range under supervision, and if you don't clip a wing can escape attacks. I do not clip any bird for that reason.
Geese have a loud warning screech if somethings wrong, they are your alarm! Goose is much like duck, you will love it! Mine are pets, so I don't process them.
I have had canadian goose and loved it! I raise several types of poultry/waterfowl for our table, and someday will get past the "pet" idea on geese too.
They are a family tradition and its like a pet dog or cat for me, same for our goats! Can't imagine them as food.
I keep hearing I am missing out on a lot of good food for my family by not processing the extra ganders and bucks.

Will they be ok in with the chickens in the coop and run during the day, or do we need a separate coop for them? Do they really need to graze all day, or will they be ok in the run until we get home in the late afternoon. What do you do during the winter? It will get extremely snowy here, do they need hay to eat if they are grazers? Will I need to provide green veggies daily to them? Sorry for all of the questions, I am so excited to get our geese (and maybe ducks too) in the spring. Grateful I have all winter to get ready though.