Inheriting Geese and clueless to care and keeping of Geese

[write2caroline]

My elderly neighbor is moving to an assisted living place and cannot take her geese or turkeys. (posted similar questions regarding turkeys on turkey page)

She asked my husband to take them.

What I know about Geese - NADA

My Mom whose nick name is Little goosey because when she was 4 or 5 (in the 1940's) someone gave her a goose and she road home from town in the little town of Ketchikan with the goose on her lap and upon getting home she thought the goose would like a little swim so she walked it down to the beach at Knudson Cove and away swam the goose forever and my mother was bereft with grief and hence force forever called little goosey especially by her aunt.

My experiences with geese mostly involve..... being chased by.... as a small child, They kind of scare me.

There is one big white Gander. I know he is a gander because A) that big bulb over his beak. B) he is aggressive and the rest follow him.

I think there is one goose but they all have tan like feathers and black feet and beaks but the rest all seem to also be ganders but one of them is the mother of the rest so at least one is a goose.

I will post pictures.

They roam her property so I am hoping I can pen them in for a while. What do they sleep on? Should I use a shed with hay or pine shavings

What do they eat?

Caroline

 

[SummerChick]

My elderly neighbor is moving to an assisted living place and cannot take her geese or turkeys. (posted similar questions regarding turkeys on turkey page)

She asked my husband to take them.  

What I know about Geese - NADA

My Mom whose nick name is Little goosey because when she was 4 or 5 (in the 1940's) someone gave her a goose and she road home from town in the little town of Ketchikan with the goose on her lap and upon getting home she thought the goose would like a little swim so she walked it down to the beach at Knudson Cove and away swam the goose forever and my mother was bereft with grief and hence force forever called little goosey especially by her aunt.

My experiences with geese mostly involve..... being chased by.... as a small child,  They kind of scare me.

There is one big white Gander.  I know he is a gander because A) that big bulb over his beak. B) he is aggressive and the rest follow him.

I think there is one goose but they all have tan like feathers and black feet and beaks but the rest all seem to also be ganders but one of them is the mother of the rest so at least one is a goose.

I will post pictures.  

They roam her property so I am hoping I can pen them in for a while.  What do they sleep on?  Should I use a shed with hay or pine shavings

What do they eat?

Caroline

You will need a shed for a goose house to lock them in at night. I use hat for bedding. Depending where you get your feed and what they have available for geese, I mix mine with oats and black oil sunflower seeds plus lots of grass and greens. Do you gave a pond? Or any kind of kiddie swimming pool, you might need a few, they love water! Make sure when you let them roam you can watch them or have predator proof fencing.

 

[SummerChick]

Hay not hat ^

 

[write2caroline]

I know it sounds stupid but I need remedial goose rearing 101
I feed the chickens purina chicken feed is there a goose feed mix in a bag. The property has tons of greens and I have a kiddie pool for them. I think they are used to roaming the yard and she did have a pen to lock them in but it didn't have any kind of bedding.
My Neighbor told me that the foxes took out all of her chickens but left the geese alone. I lock up my chickens at night like fort knox. So I would do likewise with the geese.
Do they prefer to be up a bit on some kind of platform or on the ground.

I hope I can keep them penned in so that when I let them roam they will stay in my yard and not cross over to their former home. I don't even know if they fly.

Caroline

 

[dwink2]

I keep my geese in a 12x16 shed with my chickens at night. The chickens roost above and the geese sleep on the floor that is coved with pine shavings. I feed them all "all flock" with oyster shell offered on the side for my laying hens. I used to feed them game bird feed and the hens layer food but they would all eat each other's food anyway so this is just a happy medium.

The main thing for success is to establish your alpha status from the beginning. There are some very good threads on this site for advice on that if you just search. They can be really ornery and quite intimidating if you let them buffalo you. Best of luck to you.

 

[dwink2]

Just to clarify, they are only all in the shed at night. They love to graze so are eagerly waiting to get out of there by morning. I only wish they would not make such a mess of my back patio and step. Lol

 

[SummerChick]

You can go to the thread called "raising geese 101" on here, you will find lots of information.

Best of luck... Post a picture when you can.

 

[Yetti]

well if its any help my geese don't like stairs. if you have and old ladder or some type of barrier to put around where you don't like them to go. I use a ladder when the barns open to keep them out. they look in but won't go through the rungs even though they would fit.
I have a 8 x 6 shed I can walk in and out of for the 6 of them. they don't go in much at all in the day time and would rather lounge outside regardless of weather. given your not going to get much snow there they shouldn't have issues finding grass to eat. if you feed them during the day I would suggest in the morning. mine sit all night for 12 hour-18 hours and I feed them when I put them to bed also. they come out hungry as heck in the morning. this time of year grass is scarce up here. we plow the lawn so they have access under the snow. sounds odd but it works.

one huge tip I can't stress enough for bedding. DO NOT use lawn clippings. they mold very quickly and become toxic to the birds. My son gave one of my nesting bird some clipping to chew on and I didn't think twice about it. she got sick a few days later walked off the nest and died a couple days later. turns out the mold took her out. nothing I could do to save her.

 

[write2caroline]

You guys are awesome!

I will check out the Goose 101.

So far they are terrified of me and I have had no luck getting them into their own shed. they just run off. Today is freezing but most of the time the weather is good and there is tons of green grasses and food for them to graze upon. I think they are feral. I am not sure what I am going to do with them as I can't get near them and I will keep trying. I heard them fussing at 0500 this am but by the time I got up and dressed and out the door they had quieted down.

I will not give up and hopefully things will turn around!
Caroline

 

[RURU]

Remember you are as new to them as they are to you. So it will take time for them to start trusting you. When they figure out that you are food momma things will start changing.

You ask about feed a good food for geese is waterfowl feed or all flock feed. Which I mix with oats. 50/50. I also give romaine lettuce in the winter because it gets so cold and when we have snow they do not have access to the grass. There are many things geese like, carrots, tomatoes, watermelon, honeydew melon, apples, kale, turnip greens, peas and many more things.... I also feed a brand of wild bird feed in the winter and breeding season.
It is called Patio, Porch and Deck mix it is shelled nuts, peanuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin and pastcio and boy do they like it like goose candy. I mix it in as needed daily. Also give oyster shells free access and grit.