Guardian geese

[SummerTheAnimalGirl]

Hello everyone!

I own a smallish flock of free range chickens. We have recently been having a problem with predators, and I have been looking into my options. I have heard from and been doing research about getting one or two guardian geese. I have heard from multiple respectable sources that these work well. Have any of you had any experience? Would you recommend? Thank you in advance for any help!

 

[Goosebaby]

The predators will eat the geese too.

Geese are not flock guardians, the most they can do is spook hawks away because of their size. Geese are no match for even a bold raccoon.

 

[SummerTheAnimalGirl]

The predators will eat the geese too.

Geese are not flock guardians, the most they can do is spook hawks away because of their size. Geese are no match for even a bold raccoon.

Thank you so much for input! Your help is very appreciated.

sure, this makes sense. I was thinking about getting one of the large breeds. If they couldn’t scare something away, I am hoping they could at least sound an alarm that I could hear by the house? I heard they are very good alarms.

 

[SummerTheAnimalGirl]

The predators will eat the geese too.

Geese are not flock guardians, the most they can do is spook hawks away because of their size. Geese are no match for even a bold raccoon.

I have been doing lots of research and read that they will do a great job.

 

[Goosebaby]

I have been doing lots of research and read that they will do a great job.

Different individual geese are different so I can’t say that there isn’t a goose out there who defends the flock but generally it’s highly unlikely a goose will be willing to give it’s life to protecting anything besides it’s mate or goslings.

I think the misunderstanding comes from people that bought a goose as a flock guardian and didn’t bond well with it, once breeding season came they mistook it trying to attack them as a rival for the behavior of an animal that will attack anything that comes near it’s flock, which isn’t the case. Then there’s the problem of others repeating things they’ve heard like it’s fact without actually knowing wether it may be true or not.



Geese will alert you if a person comes into the yard by honking, chinese geese are more likely to do this because they tend to be spicier. Mine “Toulouse, Buffs, Romans” do not, they just hustle quietly off to hide because they aren’t used to people.

Geese are good at alerting other birds to predators but in a way you won’t notice if inside unfortunatly. Typically if geese see something alarming they will stand erect and issue a low “eh eh eh” sound. If it’s something small like a snake they’ll stand around and stare at it saying “eh eh eh” but for something larger “anything between a raccoon and a bear” they’ll run away in the opposite direction once they get a good look at it, usually they’ll run off silently so as not to alert the predator. They will scream if something attack’s them though.

A nesting female will scream if something aproacjes her nest to warn off whatever it is and alert the gander to defend her.

Something to keep in mind also. Most geese will tolerate the presence of ducks or chickens as long as they don’t invade their personal space, however some geese will kill chickens and ducks if they irritate them. Breeding season can make them more prone to violence. Geese are wonderful and I love mine, but they are birds that can make life very difficult if you don’t bond with them. You can force a goose to bond with a chicken and duck, maybe even two birds by only getting one goose, but it isn’t ideal for the welfare of the goose, and it won’t prevent them from possibly turning aggressive against other chickens or dipucks they didn’t bond with.

 

[SummerTheAnimalGirl]

Different individual geese are different so I can’t say that there isn’t a goose out there who defends the flock but generally it’s highly unlikely a goose will be willing to give it’s life to protecting anything besides it’s mate or goslings.

I think the misunderstanding comes from people that bought a goose as a flock guardian and didn’t bond well with it, once breeding season came they mistook it trying to attack them as a rival for the behavior of an animal that will attack anything that comes near it’s flock, which isn’t the case. Then there’s the problem of others repeating things they’ve heard like it’s fact without actually knowing wether it may be true or not.



Geese will alert you if a person comes into the yard by honking, chinese geese are more likely to do this because they tend to be spicier. Mine “Toulouse, Buffs, Romans” do not, they just hustle quietly off to hide because they aren’t used to people.

Geese are good at alerting other birds to predators but in a way you won’t notice if inside unfortunatly. Typically if geese see something alarming they will stand erect and issue a low “eh eh eh” sound. If it’s something small like a snake they’ll stand around and stare at it saying “eh eh eh” but for something larger “anything between a raccoon and a bear” they’ll run away in the opposite direction once they get a good look at it, usually they’ll run off silently so as not to alert the predator. They will scream if something attack’s them though.

A nesting female will scream if something aproacjes her nest to warn off whatever it is and alert the gander to defend her.

Something to keep in mind also. Most geese will tolerate the presence of ducks or chickens as long as they don’t invade their personal space, however some geese will kill chickens and ducks if they irritate them. Breeding season camps make them more prone to violence. Geese are wonderful and I love mine, but they are birds that can make life very difficult if you don’t bond with them. You can force a goose to bond with a chicken and duck, maybe even two birds by only getting one goose, but it isn’t ideal for the welfare of the goose, and it won’t prevent them from possibly turning aggressive against other chickens or dipucks they didn’t bond with.

Thank you so much for your help! I can see you are very knowledgeable and I appreciate you giving me your time. As i can see there is some conflicting information and viewpoints, so I will definitely do lots more research before making a decision.

 

[AGeese]

Thank you so much for your help! I can see you are very knowledgeable and I appreciate you giving me your time. As i can see there is some conflicting information and viewpoints, so I will definitely do lots more research before making a decision.

It's only really conflicting when people talk in absolutes. Whether that's for or against having one or more geese.

When you add geese they are not just the tag-alongs with the duty to keep watch and sound the alarm. The geese are apt to take over and run the show so keep that in mind.

 

[The Dim Side]

It's only really conflicting when people talk in absolutes. Whether that's for or against having one or more geese.

When you add geese they are not just the tag-alongs with the duty to keep watch and sound the alarm. The geese are apt to take over and run the show so keep that in mind.

From my personal experience, my 3-week-old Roman Tufted never bonded with the chicks and always attacked them. And he was so lonely if I wasn't there with him constantly. We got him a goose friend a couple weeks later, made things a lot better though they still wanted a parent around a lot for the next few weeks, lol. Now they're happily mated with their own 6-week-old baby plus a 6-month-old adoptee that they still haven't quite welcomed into the flock. But I'm hopeful they will eventually. XD

 

[JRies]

Hello everyone!

I own a smallish flock of free range chickens. We have recently been having a problem with predators, and I have been looking into my options. I have heard from and been doing research about getting one or two guardian geese. I have heard from multiple respectable sources that these work well. Have any of you had any experience? Would you recommend? Thank you in advance for any help!

I agree geese are all individuals but there best in a flock of geese. They make great presents to prey birds flying over and have some of the best eyesight to see them. Birds that prey see what is in front of them birds that are prey see things all around them with geese each eye works separately with the brain they can sleep on one side and be on gard with the other. So I think this is why they got the job of guardian.
Geese bond great with geese and flock. They can be a great alarm system. When things go wrong. But a happy goose is a part of a goose flock. Or even a human flock.
I originally got geese to protect my ducks. But the geese had a mind of there own. Geese find real estate and own it ducks just borrow it long enough to grab the opportunity and move on to the next opportunity which is usually a food source. I have not had chickens since I was in my 20s but from what I remember there just always bizzy looking for the next exciting peck of fun food not unlike ducks.