lazy goose?

[Kim65]

Adult geese with good forage don't need much feed, but they need some. Goslings on the other hand need a lot more while they are growing. They go from tiny fluffs to huge geese in 12 weeks. Ain't gonna happen on grass and a few grains, not with domesticated goose breeds. I have an adult goose who had plenty of green grass, and scratch grains, and she was a wreck. She'd been broody, and the broodiness took out all her reserves and she couldn't even walk for a while. A wild goose is habituated better to a more "natural" diet but domestics are bred for meat and fatness. All those genes screaming for calories and richer nutrition ain't gonna hang with a wild goose diet.

I know people do this, and do it successfully, but how many geese do they lose to mysterious illness? Probably a lot more than those who feed at least some concentrated feed.

I was speaking to the fact the OP's geese are goslings. A return to a more "natural" diet when they are adults, with once a day concentrates would probably be fine. But they need concentrates now, in more abundance than an adult.

 

[SkyWarrior]

I allow my young geese (almost 3 months) to free feed as much as they want of either meat bird feeder or flock raiser. I often give them grass and dandelions and other assorted weeds. I don't have any problems with my geese, so I'm thinking that you need to feed them more. Believe it or not, they really don't eat that much for their size.

 

[josmardavtom]

Sounds like all good advice. I will start giving them more of the feed then and see. This is the first time so everything is somewhat new to me, they are definitly different than chickens.
I can't believe how fast they are growing!! When would you introduce them to a group of chickens in an open pen area. and with them pooping all of the time do they really make a mess of a barn yard. Actually do they really even need to be penned in an area when they are adults?

 

[Kim65]

They should be penned to keep predators away, especially at night. They stay awake all night, unlike chickens and turkeys, too.

I'd start introducing them now. Goslings are snooty and need time to get used to other poultry. They will probably shake their necks and do some chasing and biting feathers on the chickens, but as long as they have plenty of room to themselves, they should get along.

My geese share a large pen with chickens and ducks. Once the geese established themselves as Flock Bosses, the other birds give way to them and the geese don't harass them at all. It's about getting them familiar with the chickens and letting them all put themselves in order. The younger the geese are when introduced, the better so I'd get right on that one