I am thinking about getting geese.....

[CrazyChicken Lady]

Any suggestions? I’ll either be getting Toulouse or Buff. Housing, feeding, fun tips and ideas, really anything. I have no experience so anything you’d like to share on these breeds is welcome! I have a flock of ducks and chickens and I’d be looking to just add one goose. Especially since I’ve heard they are alarm calls for predator attacks. Thanks!

 

[MGG]

Any suggestions? I’ll either be getting Toulouse or Buff. Housing, feeding, fun tips and ideas, really anything. I have no experience so anything you’d like to share on these breeds is welcome! I have a flock of ducks and chickens and I’d be looking to just add one goose. Especially since I’ve heard they are alarm calls for predator attacks. Thanks!

They're similar to ducks in needs, but they graze a lot so it's important they have a large area to eat grass in.
Do not get just one goose, it's bad to get just one of any species, but most especially geese. They crave the attention of other geese and they'll get really depressed if they don't have one. Even if they have all of the human interaction or duck interaction they can get. They really need at least one buddy, but I'd recommend getting three. That way if something happens to one he'll still have the other. I'd do a trio, one gander and two geese.
They're very noisy in general. Sure, they can alert you to stuff, but you won't be able to tell it apart from their other constant noises hardly.
The only bird that really works for fending off predators would probably be an Emu. Other than that, an LGD would be your best bet if that's what you're wanting them for.
Sometimes geese will alert you and sometimes they won't, so it's not very reliable.

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

I have American Buffs; I like them a lot; most of the time.
I recommend getting 2 girls. Mine were really attached to me until I got them a butthead boy.

 

[Klala]

Any suggestions? I’ll either be getting Toulouse or Buff. Housing, feeding, fun tips and ideas, really anything. I have no experience so anything you’d like to share on these breeds is welcome! I have a flock of ducks and chickens and I’d be looking to just add one goose. Especially since I’ve heard they are alarm calls for predator attacks. Thanks!

 

[CrazyChicken Lady]

Thanks for the input. Females are twice as expensive so I will probably get a gander. If you were too raise a gander alone, with lots of human interaction would he be mean? I know every bird is different but are all ganders just mean? And would a gander breed a duck?

 

[Goosebaby]

Buffs are a very calm breed, my Toulouse are a bit more temperamental than my buffs so I would suggest buffs, they’ll be more tolerant of your ducks and chickens.
Definitly get more than one, they can be girls or ganders or a mix of both, they’ll get a,omg with each other regardless. Ganders will sometimes squabble in breeding season but will otherwise bond with each other just fine.

If you’re not prepared for gander horomones two girls will do just fine, though they can be bullied more easily by drakes. You wouldn’t think it because they’re so much larger but sometimes my girls get bullied by delusional drakes.

Geese can deter hawks because of their size, but that’s as far as it goes, though they look large and imposing geese are very fragile and can’t realky defend themselves from predators. They’re best a scaring away hawks and humans.

 

[Goosebaby]

Thanks for the input. Females are twice as expensive so I will probably get a gander. If you were too raise a gander alone, with lots of human interaction would he be mean? I know every bird is different but are all ganders just mean? And would a gander breed a duck?

If you raise him like he’s your kid he will love you, but like any bird it’s an ongoing relationship that you have to devote time to, if you stop spending time with him he’ll become depressed and then bitter and aggressive towards you.

This applies to anyone in the household. Anyone who spends enough time with him will be family to him, anyone else that spends less time with him in comparison will be a potential rival.

 

[Goosebaby]

Thanks for the input. Females are twice as expensive so I will probably get a gander. If you were too raise a gander alone, with lots of human interaction would he be mean? I know every bird is different but are all ganders just mean? And would a gander breed a duck?

Yes they can try to breed with ducks, but they can kill a duck trying.

 

[Klala]

I have 2 Toluene and I do suggest 2 to keep a balance. They are a joy and they do make good alarms. I am a spoil them rotten mama, being chased as a kid made me vow to have geese that were friendly. I got mine by luck at Runnings at a couple days old and I kept them inside in my porch until they were old enough to go out in a pen during the day and brought them in at night. Doing this it allowed me and family to handle them and spend time with them. They transitioned well into outdoor geese and integrated well with the geese and ducks after a few days of supervision. But that's going to be expected no matter when or how you bring new ones into a flock. Lol my youngest littlest got picked on from the start ducks now rule the whole flock, chickens included! I can't say do this don't do that because everyone has their own preferences. Like I'm perfectly fine having baby ducks & geese following me around my house and sleeping in my Hoodie, yes while on lol. My geese both sit on my lap, if they agree to share, in the morning as I have coffee and at night we watch the news. They are protective of the flock and if there is something that don't belong I can hear them. Enough rambling I do hope you have a wonderful experience with them, again please get 2. Oh and they are mischievous, put everything in their beaks and they do know when they are caught being naughty. At least mine do. Horrible pictures of me, but this is morning coffee time

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

Another goose raiser here joining in to encourage folks thinking about getting a single gander, especially, as an alarm system/predator deterrent/poultry guardian to read Pyxis's post about why it's important for geese to have a companion of their own species. These are long-lived, intelligent, and social animals, and appropriate companionship is important for their wellbeing.