How many never lock their geese up at night?

[Birdsonghill]

Sooner or later if you don't lock them up securely they will die a horrible death at the teeth of a predator most likely. I have had friends who argued with me and said they been doing it ten years with no losses, then a year later tell me they lost all of their birds to a predator. If you live in the big city concrete jungle with cyclone fences and tall wooden fences your odds are a little better. My old neighbor , God rest her soul, loved her two African geese and they lived in a makeshift shelter without any security, several years. She told me one day, with tears in her eyes, that a bobcat killed both and ate most of one before her husband took a shot at it and ran it off. It had dragged them out of the unsecure little shelter. Her sheep guard dog was in the nearby shed the whole time. I don't know why he did not at least set up an alarm, but he failed as a guard.

 

[JRies]

Sooner or later if you don't lock them up securely they will die a horrible death at the teeth of a predator most likely. I have had friends who argued with me and said they been doing it ten years with no losses, then a year later tell me they lost all of their birds to a predator. If you live in the big city concrete jungle with cyclone fences and tall wooden fences your odds are a little better. My old neighbor , God rest her soul, loved her two African geese and they lived in a makeshift shelter without any security, several years. She told me one day, with tears in her eyes, that a bobcat killed both and ate most of one before her husband took a shot at it and ran it off. It had dragged them out of the unsecure little shelter. Her sheep guard dog was in the nearby shed the whole time. I don't know why he did not at least set up an alarm, but he failed as a guard.

Totally get that and sad end. My geese love going home every night its like they can finally let there guard down. In fact if Im late walking them home they let me know. I think its a we need you to tell us its time we get to let our guard down. They do line up at the barn door but will not go in till I show up to close it behind them.

 

[Iain Utah]

I used to let my birds free range and only locked them up when we had a predator sighting or attack. I've lost many ducks and chickens over 10+ years, but only a rare few geese until this past spring when a coyote took out five geese along with ducks and chickens in a matter of 3 days. The last goose was one of my favorite dewlaps and I was devastated. I have locked everyone up every single night since then.

 

[The goose girl]

My goose is not locked up at night, neither were the previous geese I owned. He just runs around in the yard. He built himself a den beneath my lawn furniture.

My neighbor told me he'd seen a fox several times last year just a few feet from my yard. So I actually don't think it's a good idea not to lock him up, but I've tried and he really, really hates it. Only once or twice a month does he want to stay inside. I'm weighing his desire to stay out against my duty to protect him - so far his desire has won.

The breeder I got him from told me that his neighbor used to let his large flock of geese stay out at night. It went well for five years, then a fox came one night and killed seven of them. Now he locks them up at night.

Foxes are the only threat around these parts.

This answer of mine is from a long time ago. Not long after, a fox came to visit one night. I heard my goose honk and I ran out immediately. Luckily, my goose was neither hurt nor particularly scared (I think he thought it was a cat; he had gone back to sleep before I returned from chasing the fox away), but it was a close call, and I've locked up my geese at night ever since. The next morning I found a mouthful of the tiny goose neck feathers where the fox had been! Fortunately, my goose didn't have as much as a scratch.

I know the fox still visits my yard every night - I can see the tracks in the snow, and I've found fox droppings on a rock - but it can't get to my birds at night. Daytime is a different matter, and my plan is to predator proof the entire yard this year.

 

[JRies]

This answer of mine is from a long time ago. Not long after, a fox came to visit one night. I heard my goose honk and I ran out immediately. Luckily, my goose was neither hurt nor particularly scared (I think he thought it was a cat; he had gone back to sleep before I returned from chasing the fox away), but it was a close call, and I've locked up my geese at night ever since. The next morning I found a mouthful of the tiny goose neck feathers where the fox had been! Fortunately, my goose didn't have as much as a scratch.

I know the fox still visits my yard every night - I can see the tracks in the snow, and I've found fox droppings on a rock - but it can't get to my birds at night. Daytime is a different matter, and my plan is to predator proof the entire yard this year.

Thank you for sharing, Its funny when old posts come back to life, Life is about learning and hindsight. Thank you @MothersEarth for bring this post back to life. If we knew then what we know now. All prey birds would have a safe place at night. After all they have enough to focus on during the day. We all deserve a safe place to sleep at night.

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[Dinosaur Village Keeper]

Sometimes my bad geese refuse to go to bed. They free range in a one acre+ area with 6 foot tall deer fence, and 2 feet of hardware cloth at the bottom. It was actually installed for the cats who are not able to get out because of the design at the top, when has arms that bend inwards. When they go to bed, they are much better secured in the barn. At least I hope nothing can get their automatic door opened! When they don’t go to bed, they are still fenced, but I worry sick about them. Some days I just don’t want to fight with them!

In the five years since we have had chickens and geese, the only thing that has ever made its way over our fence has been a few possums, which we trap and relocate. The possums can get in, but they cannot get back out, so they run along the fence line, back and forth, terrified. Another time, I watched as deer were startled from something on the road and ran into the fence, breaking it, and twisting their bodies all up. They managed to untangle themselves and breakthrough the backside of the fence. That was pretty terrifying watching them stampede through the yard trying to find an exit.

Has anyone had one of their geese killed at night, or day really, in this type of fenced enclosure?