Keeping only Ganders

[catahouladog]

Can you keep only ganders as pets? Some guy is selling three ganders. Two are 2 years old and one is1. Will I run into problems with them as far as them being protective or aggressive toward each other or toward people?

 

[Kevin565]

You defiantly can just keep ganders. As long as there are no females it shouldn't be a problem. Just make sure they wouldn't breed your other birds

 

[catahouladog]

Thanks. We have no other birds. Would it be the same too to keeping only female geese?

 

[Kevin565]

Yes it would. Just be aware that ganders or Geese can still form pairs and will most likely breed each other

 

[catahouladog]

We are getting goats in couple weeks and we had to get at least two. Would that be the same for geese also that I need a pair? Sorry about these short questions. I am also reading other posts including your Geese 101. I am wondering if some breed are more docile than other. I really like the Toulouse and Sebastopol.

 

[Kevin565]

For geese I would defiantly suggest a pair for company. Also those are both pretty good docile breeds especially Sebastopool. I'd stay away from Chinese Geese (Brown or White) and some say Embden but this is only for some people. Another good choice is Pilgrim Geese

We are getting goats in couple weeks and we had to get at least two. Would that be the same for geese also that I need a pair? Sorry about these short questions. I am also reading other posts including your Geese 101. I am wondering if some breed are more docile than other. I really like the Toulouse and Sebastopol.

 

[catahouladog]

Thanks again. The guy here is selling three sebastopol ganders. It is very tempting but I must stick to the goats for now. It took me awhile to research on goats and it will take me time to research on geese also. Like goats, I bet if you ask 100 people, you get 100 different answers to their care. I have always wanted goats and geese. I never thought I would actually own them but here I am getting my first goats in couple week! First there were goats...then came geese....

 

[Kevin565]

It's no problem at all! And yes the mighty gateway animal. Mine was ducks....then geese....then guineas...then Wolves...now hopefully peafowl.

 

[catahouladog]

Wow, I spent all night reading on feeds for geese especially during winter time. I have concluded that it is impossible to keep geese! Of course that is not true...Keeping goats is hard enough and geese seems even harder. For one, there doesn't seem to have a straight geese feed (supplement anyway) I can purchase...not in my area anyway. Many people here are feeding them chicken feed for different stages. And for winter time when there are less grass or no grass...especially areas with snow and harsh winter (that's us here), there are even more decision to make for feeding.
So..what do you feed your geese...especially winter time (if you get snow covered too...) What are some fresh veggies/fruits I can feed them? I am not too hung up on the store feeds because as long as I can feed fresh food and with correct minerals/supplement, the geese should be fine, right? After all, they don't have store bought feeds in the wild! Just like my goats, during their growing stage, they'll be getting goat feed but will be on alfalfa/mineral/kelp as an adult. ??

Also, are the sebie and toulouse more quiet breeds? We live up in the mountains but our neighbors are not too far from us.

 

[larkflying]

People with hard winters feed hay to the geese - can't remember if it is alfalfa, or orchard or what. Some geese will eat it, some not - but if there is snow everywhere, my guess is they'd eat it. My geese are always chewing on things, but our climate doesn't involve a lot of snow. They love lettuce too, melon rinds, and bread, but the bread isn't good for them in large quantities.

All geese are noisy -- no quiet breeds. You can't hear someone talk 2 ft away when they are all honking at once. Now, usually, they don't have such a big commotion, but they are awake all through the night at times, so it is completely possible to hear a goose conference at 3 a.m. . . . You'll have to decide if the neighbors will tolerate that or not . .. good to ask the question before getting the geese!

Our neighbors love watching the geese, and so far haven't complained about midnight goose noises . . .