How Do You House Your Geese?

[The Dim Side]

Hi, I have two Roman Tufteds, one almost 8 weeks and one a little over 6 weeks old. I was just curious what everyone uses to house them at night, and how much ventilation/what kind they need. If they get along well enough, we'd like to keep them around our chickens during the day, which will be fenced in around a mobile coop to move around our land.

So we were thinking of doing something mobile for the geese, too. But then I thought that they could also be led to go to bed wherever, so we could instead house them in a permanent location elsewhere, and we have multiple outbuildings and could build a shed or something, too.

One design I saw online had a hardware cloth bottom and front and back, I think, and corrugated panel top and sides. And I believe this was for the mobile one. But I wasn't sure if that type of bottom would be warm enough and if they needed hay bedding or something, too. I've seen different ideas online but am not sure what's generally considered the most comfortable for them. So any advice is appreciated, thanks!!

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

My primary concern with my geese is keeping them safe at night (lots of predators here), so they go into a secure coop - off the ground, solid floor, hardware cloth over ventilation areas) with my ducks. I use mostly pine shavings and do deep litter for bedding. Do they need this level of protection? From the elements, arguably no - but I haven't lost any to predators so far.

 

[The Dim Side]

My primary concern with my geese is keeping them safe at night (lots of predators here), so they go into a secure coop - off the ground, solid floor, hardware cloth over ventilation areas) with my ducks. I use mostly pine shavings and do deep litter for bedding. Do they need this level of protection? From the elements, arguably no - but I haven't lost any to predators so far.

Thanks! Is the coop made out of wood with a wooden door? How much ventilation do they need? And is it just like a high window covered with hardware cloth to mitigate animals trying to get in?

I really want to make sure they're secure, too, since we're surrounded by woods. And I started with pine shavings in the brooder/pen, but the older one (before I got the second) kept eating a lot of it, lol. So I switched to the shavings on bottom to absorb and then hay on top since it's more edible. I've just been cleaning it out daily while adding hay throughout the day so far. Both of them eat a lot of the hay though, too. So finding the right bedding has been confusing for me, haha.

 

[3xhhheather]

Mine are tucked away in a secure wood coop with hardware cloth covering the floor and the windows that are towards the top for ventilation. If I could go back I would put linoleum on the flooring. I then do a layer of barn lime, horse pellets, and then large flake pine shavings. The window coverings are taken off in the summer and there are windows on the back. They hop right in at night...well my gander needs a push on the bum, but before he became all hormonal he went right in.

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

Thanks! Is the coop made out of wood with a wooden door? How much ventilation do they need? And is it just like a high window covered with hardware cloth to mitigate animals trying to get in?

I really want to make sure they're secure, too, since we're surrounded by woods. And I started with pine shavings in the brooder/pen, but the older one (before I got the second) kept eating a lot of it, lol. So I switched to the shavings on bottom to absorb and then hay on top since it's more edible. I've just been cleaning it out daily while adding hay throughout the day so far. Both of them eat a lot of the hay though, too. So finding the right bedding has been confusing for me, haha.

Actually, mine looks a lot like @3xhhheather's , except that instead of windows, mine has an opening (like one big window that wraps around 3 sides) covered by hardware cloth. The only time I have to cover it with plastic mil is when it snows, so the snow won't blow in. Excellent ventilation, in combination with the shed (sloped) metal roof's ventilation channels.

It's wood-framed, covered by an engineered wood, primed siding. After building it, I know I'll never buy a shed and try to convert it (like I did with my chicken coop).

I like the shavings because the moisture is managed better than with hay...cleaner floor = cleaner eggs.

 

[BrandySC]

Has anyone here started geese inside and transitioned them outdoors? And did you do it with a single goose?

We got one gosling (intended to be a chicken guard when he's grown), and put him in a crate indoors. He's about 6 weeks now and I worry he's become a full-on house goose! He loves his outside time, but only if a human is with him. Otherwise it's all shrieking. He gets uneasy when it starts getting dark and he's eager to come in the front door and go to his room.

We started him in a 35-gallon tote without the lid. He's really too big for it now but he hates change and when I tried to move him to a larger, different crate he flipped out. Now I've reached the point that I've ordered a large pop-up playpen and hope he will be happy in it. I'm also trying to get him adjusted to wearing diapers so he can be out and about in the house with us all the time, as he wants.

I'm starting to think he's going to be that 30-year-old kid who never moves out of my basement. Just wondered if anyone had similar experience.

 

[The Dim Side]

Mine are tucked away in a secure wood coop with hardware cloth covering the floor and the windows that are towards the top for ventilation. If I could go back I would put linoleum on the flooring. I then do a layer of barn lime, horse pellets, and then large flake pine shavings. The window coverings are taken off in the summer and there are windows on the back. They hop right in at night...well my gander needs a push on the bum, but before he became all hormonal he went right in.

View attachment 2622091

That looks nice! Why a fully covered floor versus hardware cloth? So when the windows are covered, there's still ventilations through like the roof area?

 

[The Dim Side]

Actually, mine looks a lot like @3xhhheather's , except that instead of windows, mine has an opening (like one big window that wraps around 3 sides) covered by hardware cloth. The only time I have to cover it with plastic mil is when it snows, so the snow won't blow in. Excellent ventilation, in combination with the shed (sloped) metal roof's ventilation channels.

It's wood-framed, covered by an engineered wood, primed siding. After building it, I know I'll never buy a shed and try to convert it (like I did with my chicken coop).

I like the shavings because the moisture is managed better than with hay...cleaner floor = cleaner eggs.

Thanks! Yeah, I was thinking hardware cloth windows for ventilation would be good but worried about snowy weather! But I was also worried about making sure they can breathe still, haha, but if the roof allows it in as well, then that helps.

Did/do you have any issues with them eating pine shavings? I don't know if the second one would eat them as much, as I switched it out before we got him. But the first one had munched constantly, and I was worried for health reasons, lol.

 

[The Dim Side]

Has anyone here started geese inside and transitioned them outdoors? And did you do it with a single goose?

We got one gosling (intended to be a chicken guard when he's grown), and put him in a crate indoors. He's about 6 weeks now and I worry he's become a full-on house goose! He loves his outside time, but only if a human is with him. Otherwise it's all shrieking. He gets uneasy when it starts getting dark and he's eager to come in the front door and go to his room.

We started him in a 35-gallon tote without the lid. He's really too big for it now but he hates change and when I tried to move him to a larger, different crate he flipped out. Now I've reached the point that I've ordered a large pop-up playpen and hope he will be happy in it. I'm also trying to get him adjusted to wearing diapers so he can be out and about in the house with us all the time, as he wants.

I'm starting to think he's going to be that 30-year-old kid who never moves out of my basement. Just wondered if anyone had similar experience.

That's what I have with my geese now, indoors in a pen and hanging out with them during nice days outside. They don't like to be left alone outside and follow us around everywhere. They're 6.5 weeks and 8 weeks old. The older one was supposed to be a guard goose for our chickens, too, but she never took to the chicks that we had in a brooder next to hers, and she cried constantly when we weren't with her.

And after coming to this site, I learned that they're flock animals and really need to have companionship at all times, especially when they're young. So we got her another goose companion. So they're more okay being away from us while in their pen, but sometimes they freak out and just want company. I've heard they'll get more independent as they get older, but I agree, since they're individuals, who knows. Maybe they'll just always want to be with us, lol.

What kind of diapers did you get? I tried out one, but it didn't fit well, especially with them growing so fast. I had ordered another that took too long to get here and definitely wouldn't have fit, haha.

 

[3xhhheather]

That looks nice! Why a fully covered floor versus hardware cloth? So when the windows are covered, there's still ventilations through like the roof area?

Thanks! Adding linoleum on top would make cleaning easier, I don't have a shop vac right now so it's a lot of sweeping to get all the dust that settles along the wire. With that though, I went a bit overboard and did a skirt of hardware cloth that ran through the bottom of the coop over the flooring, but eh peace of mind.

Yep, ventilation through the rough and the windows are not a perfect seal, just enough to stop a total breeze from blowing in. The inside stayed 100% dry all winter and everyone snuggled up.