I'd like to get a pair of geese.

Starkasm

Songster
10 Years
Apr 1, 2013
773
70
201
In the woods
I'd like to get a couple geese. Mainly for pets.
Was hoping to get a bit of input on which breeds you guys might recommend.
Thank you in advance!
 
I have Pilgrims, I think they´re great. Other popular ones are Am Buffs and Sebastopols.
My mom mentioned Pilgrims. She thought they were smaller than most. Is that true?
Sebastopols are beautiful and I thought about those before, but we have some pretty muddy springs lol. I don't think those feathers would stand a chance!
 
I have three Toulouse and they are very calm and friendly. They were a month old when I got them so there was no gosling bonding with me, I had to earn it by being attentive to their needs. Sebastopols are supposed to be pretty docile and easy to care for but they tend to be costly in my experience. Pilgrims have great reputations for being friendly with their people. Think about what you want in a goose, pet, friendly, loud or quiet, good layer and mother or not real motherly instincts. You came to the right place to start your research and goose quest. Good luck.
 
I have three Toulouse and they are very calm and friendly. They were a month old when I got them so there was no gosling bonding with me, I had to earn it by being attentive to their needs. Sebastopols are supposed to be pretty docile and easy to care for but they tend to be costly in my experience. Pilgrims have great reputations for being friendly with their people. Think about what you want in a goose, pet, friendly, loud or quiet, good layer and mother or not real motherly instincts. You came to the right place to start your research and goose quest. Good luck.

Thank you for the awesome input! I'm mostly looking for pet friendly and want to get them as babies. Getting adults leaves a risk of having mean ones. My mom has two of those....the kind you have to watch your back. She took them in as adults. The male is a tuffed something or other and not very nice. They're new to her flock (about a month or so) so I guess it's understandable that he's not very trusting.
I'm not looking for eggs or setters. If they did great, if not that's okay too.
Thank you again :)
 
Thank you for the awesome input! I'm mostly looking for pet friendly and want to get them as babies. Getting adults leaves a risk of having mean ones. My mom has two of those....the kind you have to watch your back. She took them in as adults. The male is a tuffed something or other and not very nice. They're new to her flock (about a month or so) so I guess it's understandable that he's not very trusting.
I'm not looking for eggs or setters. If they did great, if not that's okay too.
Thank you again :)
If you just want geese as pets and have no interest in eggs, hatching or selling (you get 1.50 to 3.00 each for blown goose eggs at craft stores) then you don't really have to have a male and a female. What they want is companionship and if you have two males of the same breed and possibly the same hatch you should have a couple of nice birds that are best buddies. In that case you want to go for temperament. Check around and see if you can find either Pilgrims or American Buffs. Both are calm and attractive. I am partial to my Toulouse and think two males would be great if they did not have to compete for a ladies attention. If you go this route be sure you have a good hatchery or breeder to deal with so that you have a pretty good chance that their sexing is true. Best luck.
 
My mom mentioned Pilgrims. She thought they were smaller than most. Is that true?
Sebastopols are beautiful and I thought about those before, but we have some pretty muddy springs lol. I don't think those feathers would stand a chance!
They aren´t large. I have a small flock of them, and a small flock of mixed-breeds(no idea what they are, other than greylag descendants). the pilgrims are a little smaller than my others, and far calmer. I got my pilgrims when they were already adult, never handled, left to roam on a farm, and by the second breeding season I was able to go in and pick up their youngsters! They´re so nice.

Similar to pilgrims are Cottonpatch (US), West of England (UK), then smaller are Shetlands, (available in US and GB) and Normandy, all auto-sexing and calm by nature.
Personally, I´d avoid having two males together, even if they´re bros: My Pilgrims rarely fight between themselves, but my cross-breeds will, even though they´re just 7 months old.
 
Does anyone know anything about Roman Geese? I read they're small (10-12lbs), less aggressive than Chinese and very talkative. Loud isn't an issue, we live in the middle of no where. One of the things I love about our guinea foul is they alarm call if anything is wrong (or if it rains..they seem to think acid is falling from the sky!)
Would help if someone knew more. Thanks!!
 
Do you have Dewlaps?
Well I ordered a Roman pair and 4 "assorted fancy" ... They sent me the two roman and 4 Super Dewlap African ...not very assorted lol.
My sister came to see them after work at 5am and I am now down to the Romans (which I'm keeping) and 2 Super African. :)
I read a lot about Romans before buying them but know nothing about the Africans except they are supposed to be good guard geese and they are big lol.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom