is one goose too lonely?

[Elinor's chicks]

Is it OK to just have one goose, or a small group of just females? Would one goose be OK of you have other fowl - like hens or ducks?

I would like to try geese (I'm thinking Pilgrims), but I don't want to breed them, or end up with more than I can handle. I don't know if there is a market for them here. The farmers I know who have had them didn't have a good experience and got rid of them.

 

[protodon]

It's probably best to have at least 2 although one will bond to ducks if you have any.

I started with two but lost one to a fox when it was still young. The other one ran around with my 2 ducks and also got really attached to me and would follow me and want to be petted like a dog.

I got 4 more the next year as company for her. She no longer wants anything to do with me but I think she is much happier with her own kind.

I don't know if you meant you might want to to get into them to maybe grow them for people to eat but if you get just one, I think you may have a hard time selling it or giving it away. Unless you end up disliking it.

 

[MandyH]

I have one goose and it hangs out with the ducks. It also hangs with me when I am outside. It goes around making LOUD goose noises so I will KNOW that it is there LOL!!! It also always talks back to me when I speak.

 

[luvmychickas]

I had one goose for about a year before I got my 2 toulouse. She had ducks but she was always screaming and super aggressive. Once I got the other 2, she became much more laid back and actually will eat out of my hand now. She doesn't scream at all anymore. Its almost like adding the other two made her feel that protecting the flock was not just her job anymore, they could share LOL. Goosa is a brown china and they aren't known to be friendly, but she has come around so much since I got the others

 

[chickensducks&agoose]

Mr. Goose has 7 lady ducks... He was a 'pekin' from TSC, but somehow turned into a chinese goose... He's a jerk, but does a good job taking care of his 'ladies'. He whistles and yells when anyone comes up our driveway, and if I call 'Goose!", he responds, which lets me know where all the ducks are too...

 

[Ashmeade]

They definitely do better with a friend. I plan to get a couple goslings next year but just females and not sure of breed yet.

 

[banter]

A pair of ducks will pick on a goose. It's very sad to see-been there! That's how I ended up with a bunch of geese! Two geese (even of diff breeds) are better than one. One is the loneliest #

 

[smileysal]

I beg to differ, our Jack's an "only child" and he is absolutely loving it, he gets all the attention, bosses the chickens around, follows us everywhere, talks to us, runs up and down the garden with us and gets to come to the pub and sit and watch tv with us, lonley he ain't!!!!

 

[Cottage Rose]

Jack sounds like he has a wonderful home with lots of attention to keep him side tracked from being lonely.
Realistically speaking ANY creature likes being with their own kind especially geese who are highly intelligent and sociable.
A lone goose could end up being loud and a nuisance.
I would suggest 2 - 3 females since 2 males might still fight with each other during the breeding season even with no females present.
A customer of mine had this happen with 2 ganders she got from me.
If you have a breeding pair you can always remove the eggs so they don't get incubated but ganders tend to be aggressive toward humans during the breeding season
and that can be a problem some people are not willing to deal with.

 

[GooseGirl]

I agree with banter, one is the loneliest #, my granpa had geese before, but he only had 2, when one died the other one did to of a broken heart i think its better to have 3 that way if 1 die the other 2 still have each other