Help woth baby geese !!!

[elmacri]

Hi everyone,

I am new to geese but have ducks,turkeys, chickens, quails, rabbits etc.
The thing is i bought 2 gosslings here in >Spain about 3 weeks ago and i was told they were around 4/5 weeks old.
They were happy and seemed to thrive amongst all the other animals. However there is now a huge difference in size. One seems to have grown everyday where as the other one is not really any bigger then when i brought them home. They are happy and chirping and still look strong etc, Is this normal ?? could it mean one is female and the other male?? The lady in the shop couldn´t tell me what type they were, she just said they will be either white or greyish brown. lol ( thats normal for the Spanish here they have no idea of types of ducks either lol )
So any help would be really useful please as i am begining to worry,
Thanks.

 

[ellenmartin]

It can be a nutritian issue if one is outgrowing the other. It can be what you're feeding it. There is plenty of advice on here about feeding them but mostly you have to make sure it has enough protein at that age due to muscle growth and skeletal / feather growth. Too much protein is a bad thing too....

Make sure at that age you are feeding them waterfowl feed or chicken/turkey grower with 18-20% protein and are letting them get plenty of GRASS. Geese graze and need to be on fresh grass most of the day. Make a goose tractor if you have to move them around so they are protected. Read all you can online here about protein and feeding at what ages/stages. You have to lower it when they get a older too...

Watch them eat, make sure that little one is actually eating his food and not dropping it... put the water (deep bucket/pail enough to submerge their head completely and their eyes go under water - watch to make sure their eyes go under water and it's deep enough) -- put the water right next to the food within 6-8 inches. Geese wash their feed/mouth and need water with their food.

 

[elmacri]

Thankyou so much for your help,.......sadly the little one passed away before i could do anything, when i went down to the pen this morning it was dead in the house. Its very sad,
Luckly for the other one it won´t be alone as i also had two mallard ducklings that i incubated and were put in the main pen at the same time, they are good frieds and today we have kept a very close eye on the other baby goose and it seems really happy with its duckling friend. I also witnessed it having a huge meal this afternoon before a little swim with the ducklings.
Do you think if i get some more geese now they wil join the other one or is it likely that this one willl always stay with the ducks??

Thanks for all your help again.
xx




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