As i'm doing more research on getting ready for geese, it seems that many (most?) people feed Flock Raiser. I took a look at the ingredient list today, and of course, it's typical Purina least cost formulation. I won't feed my cats, dogs, or horses anything that's not a fixed formula, and i'm not too keen on letting that slide for any new animals. Anyone know of any better quality brands to investigate? I have access to a wide variety of brands to choose from. I'm guessing this is more of a DIY thing for poultry if I wanted to go that route, but I thought it would be worth asking.
I feed flock raiser and have had no troubles with it. But this feed company might have a formula closer to what you are looking for: https://www.mazuri.com/indexMazuri.asp
Checking with a local mill will probably be the most economical way to find a fixed formula feed for your geese. That said, while I share your reluctance to feed low cost formula feeds to my horses, applying the same feeding principles to other species is not necessarily a good idea. Geese are much different than horses, as are cats and dogs. Low cost vs fixed formula feed isn't as significant in determining a suitable diet in this case. Even your dogs and cats benefit very little if at all from a fixed formula; what they benefit from is a diet heavy in quality ingredients and light or void of fillers. Cats and dogs, like geese can survive and thrive eating a different feedstuff everyday so long as overall their nutritional and biological needs are met.
If it is available, geese should have plenty of grass and weeds as their bass diet. Besides letting them free range in the pasture several hours each day, I have been feeding Flock Raiser. There have been some "changes" in the feed over the last several months, but overall the geese have been doing well. They also get some whole grains. There are products on the market that is added to grains to give the trace minerals and other nutrients that the geese and other poultry need. It is mixed in in different proportions to make the protein level that is needed. Purina makes one and so does the Fertrell company. www.fertrell.com . Using one of those will let you use local grains and mix your own feed as needed.
Quote:What's been said here is, in my own humble opinion, the right idea and very good advice. If really interested in different ideas about feeding and why you might go to www.sebastopols.freeforums.org There is a forum called Care and Feeding or something similar. One of the topics is entitled "The Dangers of Feeding Soy". Forget the title and get into the meat and potatoes of the discussion and I think you'll come away with something to think about as far as feeding geese of any breed.
