Just how noisy are geese?

[la dee da]

In all my research on geese, I cannot find anything from anyone about how noisy they are on a daily basis. I’ve watched videos, but I know they’re only snippets of life. I have seen people warn that geese are really loud, and I’ve seen people say they aren’t. I have also seen people say that chickens are really loud and noisy, but I love my chickens’ noise, and they’re quiet most of the time.

So my question to you goose owners is: Just how noisy are they? If I have six breeder geese and raise, say, 15 geese to eat every year, will I hear them honking all day every day?

I like their sounds, but in moderation. I don’t want to ruin the peace and quiet of my life, but I also really want to try geese and can’t do bigger livestock.

Thank you in advance!

 

[Goosebaby]

In all my research on geese, I cannot find anything from anyone about how noisy they are on a daily basis. I’ve watched videos, but I know they’re only snippets of life. I have seen people warn that geese are really loud, and I’ve seen people say they aren’t. I have also seen people say that chickens are really loud and noisy, but I love my chickens’ noise, and they’re quiet most of the time.

So my question to you goose owners is: Just how noisy are they? If I have six breeder geese and raise, say, 15 geese to eat every year, will I hear them honking all day every day?

I like their sounds, but in moderation. I don’t want to ruin the peace and quiet of my life, but I also really want to try geese and can’t do bigger livestock.

Thank you in advance!

A lot of it depends on personality but breed can also affect their noisiness. I’ve heard Chinese type geese are more vocal than western breeds but again that can depend on individual personality.

For the most part from what I’ve observed geese only make loud honks when they’re excited and they’re more likely to when the whole flock is yelling, otherwise most of their communication is low honks and other quieter sounds.

 

[AnneGirlGG]

I don't have them, but my neighbor does. 4 of them. When they honk, they are, in fact, very loud. Our properties are both pretty big, and I hear them well across the space. That said, I don't hear them but maybe half a dozen times throughout the day. Maybe they only honk when they're alarmed or excited about something? Either way, I love their noises and they don't bother me at all. Hers are Embden mixes.

 

[KathiQuacks]

I was super concerned about noise getting my 2 geese, but the noise has been fairly minimal. They honk the loudest when they’re excited, saying hello, or are upset / stressed about something. I can sometimes hear their loud honks from indoors, but it does not bother me like I thought it would.

Chinese / African geese tend to honk more often, and male geese are louder & screechier. Maybe opt for a Greylag breed, like Embden or Toulouse, and primarily have females.

I’m not sure when you’d butcher geese? But if it’s within a few months of age, you may not have to worry about their voices adding to the noise. My geese’s voices didn’t fully mature until around 3-4 months old.

 

[la dee da]

Thank you, everyone! Your answers are what I was hoping for. It looks like noise level won’t keep me from enjoying geese!

 

[DoodlesDuckies]

I have one male and one female. My female is fairly quiet but when the male HONKS....the neighbor can hear him a literal mile away. He only HONKS when someone pulls in the driveway, when I just go outside and he is excited, when a hawk flies over, when the ducks aren't doing what he wants, when the female wanders off with the ducks, when an airplane flies over and last but not least when he feels like hearing himself HONK. I think he is on the extreme end of noise. I love him anyway. Nobody else does, but I do.

White goose is my male
Gray is his wife.

Renee

 

[AnneGirlGG]

I have one male and one female. My female is fairly quiet but when the male HONKS....the neighbor can hear him a literal mile away. He only HONKS when someone pulls in the driveway, when I just go outside and he is excited, when a hawk flies over, when the ducks aren't doing what he wants, when the female wanders off with the ducks, when an airplane flies over and last but not least when he feels like hearing himself HONK. I think he is on the extreme end of noise. I love him anyway. Nobody else does, but I do.

White goose is my male
Gray is his wife.

Renee

They are so pretty!

 

[jwcarlson]

I know this is a bit older thread, but... We have a female Toulouse and one each male/female Roman Tufted. I've actually found them to be more quiet than I thought they would be. My only other real exposure to domestic geese was that a friend of my dad's a pair of gray African geese that would absolutely flip out when you showed up to his farm.
To be fair, my geese aren't close to our driveway and they're about 150 yards from the house. I can easily hear them, but depending on where they're at (I rotate their pasture) they can't even see the house. They will "talk" to us though. If we holler for them "Hi, Syrup!" (their names are Waffle, Pancake, and Syrup) they will get excited and respond excitedly. But it's fairly short lived and they settle back down. If my kids come down to see them or my wife, they will get a little louder when they're around because they're less involved. If my parents or another guest come down to see them, they'll be more loud, but they still seem to settle down fairly quickly once they observe that they're not a threat. But if someone tries to grab a chicken or something they get louder and more threatening. We live fairly close to a small airport (not commercial flights, more local regional stuff... prop planes mostly) so they see a lot of planes. They seem to know those aren't a concern. But when they see a hawk or other big bird they'll alert the flock. I'm not even sure when they sleep, to be honest. They were sitting down with their heads tucked while I was building my hoophouse this fall and they still alerted if something flew over. And occasionally I'll need to go do something (like lock them up for the night late because I forgot) and they're up milling around at all hours it seems. But they seem quiet at night. They're always first out of the hoop house when I open the doors in the morning. I've really enjoyed them as an addition to our place. They're hilarious and interactive... if I am out working my bees they are as close to me as they can get and still be in their fence. They'll just sit there and watch me making contented noises. They actually seem to enjoy seeing me in the morning. Compared to the chickens who might be happier if I dropped dead because they'd have something meatier to eat.

I'm actually thinking that I might need to separate the geese from the chickens if I want to get chicken eggs to hatch this spring. They don't have much patience for any aggression amongst the chickens, including breeding. But maybe that will change during goose breeding season.

We've only had them since April 1, 2025, so take that for what it's worth.

They do occasionally get the zoomies, they've got space to run and flap their wings, which they like to do. Occasionally one will overshoot and fly over the fence (mostly only if it's very windy as they end up gaining height like a kite). They're always trying to get back with their friends when I find them.