I want to order a pair of geese, new to geese here

[extraordinaryfowl]

I thought about the cotton patch, the price is irrelevent actually and in reality thinking more about this, would really like only a single female. If I bought a pair, as soon as they could be sexed I could let the male go, oh and by the way RH Ranch I live in Alpine so maybe you would want the male, I see you are in san diego area as well COOL....absolutley no agression allowed on my little farm, sign over my entrance gate reads "Sanctuary" home is where I go to get away from the crazy world we live and work in so thats kinda a rule with me. I love my animals and they will have homes forever but, have to be polite. Cannot have geese that can fly out because the pen butts up against the dirt road. Also I will have them behind my house, my bedroom and living room are at the back of the house. I love the fact that I can look out the living room or bedroom window and see what they are up to. My fencing is 7 feet tall small mesh cant stick their heads throught and does have electric wire around the top and along the bottom outside about 8 inches off the ground on the outside of the pen. There are ferral cats bobcats coyote and occasionally the run away dogs pitbulls german shepard big dogs out here. Electric fence is the best protection but, no animals that can fly out. No flying birds and not too loud. Tonight i opened the liv room window and threw out the carrots and lettuce was sooo fun watching them. They have learned if the stand below my living room window and squawk i will come to the window. Ducks are really smart and learn behavioral response really fast, I think a goose will be a great addition.

Thanks everyone for their input here, I really want a goose but am still contemplating the appropriate bird. RH Ranch hey what part of san diego? ok fellow feathered friends again thanks for your assistance.

I don't think a single goose would get along very well unless it had a friend to bond with - I'm not sure if they would bond with ducks? So you might consider getting 2 females.

And as far as noise goes, geese are noisy. No matter the sex, breed, how many you have or how tame they are, geese are noisy! If they see someone or something they don't recognize they let loose with the honking, which is why they used to be commonly used as barnyard watchdogs (along with guineas)!

A simple fix for any flying goose is to clip the flight feathers off one wing. One of my Cotton Patch flew about 15-20 feet high in a circle around their pen and landed one day. That day I clipped all their wings. They can also be pinioned when young.

Good luck -

 

[RHRanch]

Extrodinary, you really need to have a pair. They really bond with each other, and males are just as gentle as the females in this breed. I do have a pet quality gander, free to the right home, but he would also be happiest with other geese. You could get 2 females, and they probably would be happy together. Maybe that would work for you?

Cotton Patch geese do fly a little, but you can clip thier wings. Serina of Flip Flop Ranch (near barstow) can pinion the wings, but I don't know how to do this. PM me if you want to pre-order a pair of geese.

 

[Rosebud 18]

Your Toulouse FLY???!?!?! I am AMAZED at this. Mine cannot get more than six inches off the ground, and that's when they have just gotten The Zoomies and run with wings a'flapping! These are big geese. The breed specs I have read say they're not flyers.

Yes mine fly. My husband want to clip their wings but I don't want to. When I let them out of their pen in the morning they have to stretch their wings. I wish I still had the pictures of them in the air on here but since the forum changed I can't find the ones that I had uploaded. I got them from Metzers the first of july. Someone said they were production toulouse and they do fly. They don't go anywhere just fly around in circles and sometimes one will misjudge and land outside the fenced area and run up and down the fence line until I open the gate or they decide to fly back in. These are the first geese i've had so I'm learning as they grow.

 

[jynxster]

I was really leaning toward Pilgrim so.....well still thinking so....also looking fro runner ducks have my feed store lady looking for me too.

 

[poultry09]

rosebud 18 your geese pictures are on the thread i started "post your duck and geese picture here" they are awesome picture too!!!

 

[Rosebud 18]

yes they will bond with ducks.
I have a pilgrim gander "whose mate died when they were little" that has bonded with a white runner duck. I have tried seperating them for weeks at a time but when I let them out to free range they go right back together. I still seperate them at night. I have caught him mating with one of my toulouse in the water but he then goes back to the little runner duck.

I don't think a single goose would get along very well unless it had a friend to bond with - I'm not sure if they would bond with ducks? So you might consider getting 2 females.

And as far as noise goes, geese are noisy. No matter the sex, breed, how many you have or how tame they are, geese are noisy! If they see someone or something they don't recognize they let loose with the honking, which is why they used to be commonly used as barnyard watchdogs (along with guineas)!

A simple fix for any flying goose is to clip the flight feathers off one wing. One of my Cotton Patch flew about 15-20 feet high in a circle around their pen and landed one day. That day I clipped all their wings. They can also be pinioned when young.

Good luck -

 

[Rosebud 18]

rosebud 18 your geese pictures are on the thread i started "post your duck and geese picture here" they are awesome picture too!!!

Thanks poultry09.

 

[ultasol]

i would get Dewlap Toulouse, american,african(can be noisy but great gard animals) or sebbies. the americans are fairly calm great parents they are avaible in buff, blue or lavender. african are a large goose and make great parents as well but are great watch dogs and will defend and chase away any unwanted preadotors but they can also be noisy!!! they are avaible in buff,brown and if you are lucky white. sebbies are a great goose to have around and have great personalitys and are a very preaty, exotic goose and come in many many colors mainly white. i dont have dewlap toulouse but they are a coolo looking goose and are huge! supoes to be great parents and are a laidback type of goose
if i where you i would order your geese from http://www.holderreadfarm.com/index.htm they are the best to deal with. prices are high but are top quality birds!!!
good luck find the right breed

First- a true large african is not always a great guard goose. They can be loud, yes, but the buff african gander I have has been a very calm bird... also, other than some small predators, geese cannot be relied on to chase off predators. They can and have been killed by coons, coyotes, dogs.
Americans can be great geese and they do come in several colors.
Dewlap toulouse are NOT good parents by ANY sense of the word. Dewlap toulouse are so large that they are not good at setting or turning their own eggs, and can step on and harm goslings. I do not know of anyone who has had great success with allowing dewlap toulouse to set naturally.

For all purpose farm geese, if you are not interested in showing, Americans are a nice all purpose bird, as are hatchery type toulouse. If interested in showing, buff americans can be a good show goose.
Sebastopols are a harder goose to keep in show condition, and can have wing issues. As a farm bird/first goose they are more expensive to procure and are less tolerant of wintery/windy conditions.

 

[Iain Utah]

I love my pair of toulouse/african crosses. They are not aggressive or overly loud. They are extremely self-sufficient, and while my pair can fly very well, they do not leave the property. However, since I got them as adults, they are not "pets". I am told it is best to get them as babies if you want to be able to pet them, hand feed treats, etc.

 

[extraordinaryfowl]

Extrodinary, you really need to have a pair. They really bond with each other, and males are just as gentle as the females in this breed. I do have a pet quality gander, free to the right home, but he would also be happiest with other geese. You could get 2 females, and they probably would be happy together. Maybe that would work for you?

What? I have several pairs and trios. I was referring to the original poster talking about keeping 1. Serina Harvey can pinion their wings? didn't know that.

yes they will bond with ducks.
I have a pilgrim gander "whose mate died when they were little" that has bonded with a white runner duck. I have tried seperating them for weeks at a time but when I let them out to free range they go right back together. I still seperate them at night. I have caught him mating with one of my toulouse in the water but he then goes back to the little runner duck.

That's neat, I have heard of geese bonding with animals like dogs - Good to know though. To the original poster, good luck with your goose venture