Let's see if ya'll can convince me NOT to get some geese, LOL!

[dreamcatcherarabians]

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I don't think I'll get geese... It seems like the main economical use they are to a farm is meat, but they become pets so easily...

I've been looking into Muscovy Ducks. They look very interesting. Excellent large meat birds (taste like beef apparently

), natural fly control, and they may become feral and hatch their own ducklings. Why don't more hatcheries carry them?

Geese are just IT! You can hand raise them, teach them to swim in your bathtub and then teach them to swim in the 1 acre pond. They love swimming with their surrogate mommy. They'll yell at you, scream, cry and throw fits when you leave or ignore them. When they get big they'll tell the cat to get off your lap, it's THEIR lap and they want to sit in it NOW! and the cat will git. It's the funniest thing I ever saw. They'll poo all over your front porch and you'll step in it and slide farther than you thought was possible. The first time you pick them up, they'll poo all over you, until they figure out that you aren't going to eat them, then they can control their bowels just fine. They like to "box" and you'll walk around looking like an abused wife with all the bruises they'll put on your arms and you'll love every single one, LOL! My arms got so bad I had to wear long sleeves in summer because people STARED at me and my husband. They'll chase the local deputy back to his car when he stops by to say hi, the ups man will throw your packages like he thinks he's a shot putter and the post man will not open your front gate. And if they decide YOU are their human, your friends and family will probably hate the geese but it won't matter because you'll be so in love with them that they have to be tolerated.

And if your parents are at all neat about their yard, you're right, there not going to like having goose poo everywhere they look/step.

 

[Cowgirl71]

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Thank you! If nothing else I'm getting a lot of good laughs!

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

The reason I don't have geese anymore, besides the dogs wanting to eat them, when they molt.....you can legally take a "snow day".

& their poop is the size of a Mack truck,

& EVERYWHERE!

They are cool birds,......but.....

 

[Illia]

Ditto with birdaholic. I'm one of those people who, yes, can make you not want Geese.

I had and still have the beautiful Sebastopols, but ya'know, you can only enjoy that beauty so long, and endure the cons of Geese so long. . . Because otherwise unless you want to specialize in them, or favor them over your other animals, or have a loud yard, or have a lot of huge poops all over the place, or have a yard that looks like someone trashed it with white plastic bits or something. . . .

I'm kind of tired of Geese.

Pretty birds, yes, but not type for me.

 

[Goose and Fig]

The biggest "con" for me is how much they eat iin the winter when there isn't much to forage on. I'm buying greens every day since mine are laying now and it's very pricey.
The poop doesn't bother me though. I love the way it just turns into shredded grass ( looks like lawn patch) when you hit it with the hose. I did not mow my grass all last year- over an acre- they kept it perfectly trimmed. Gotta keep the garden protected though- they can reach farther than you'd think!

 

[chickensioux]

Sorry can't NOT convice you. I love my Sebbie, my Toulouse and my Emden. Got my Sebbie as a baby and that was just way too much fun watching her grow. GET SOME!!!!

 

[floridaquilter]

My favorite pros to owning geese.... I do not have to cut the grass. In Florida you need to cut the grass every week. they are worth every penny for being instant lawnmowers. They love me so much. They stay at the front door. they are free entertainment. It is so relaxing to watch them play in their fresh baths. so much more exciting than chickens to watch. they have personalities!
My favorite cons about geese....... You won't have any grass when you want it. then you purchase greens to feed your geese. They love you so much and stay at the front door so you and everyone else steps in their poop so you MUST take off your shoes to enter the house. It is free entertainment to see people run for fear of being killed violently by an attack goose. why does a goose scare the bajeebers out of everyone? my geese never killed anyone yet! They will be the only ones entertaining you. Everyone else WILL stay away.

 

[RAREROO]

Aww just go ahead and get them and see if you like them and rehome them if you dont lol. I have two now and didnt think I would like geese until I tried them. Here are some Pros and Cons that I've found.

Pros

They are great lawn mowers and in the time of year when there is grass to eat, they stay out in the yard eating grass where my ducks, turkeys, and chickens stay under the oak trees in the dirt crowding me when I'm trying to walk around the pens but the geese stay out of the way.

And since they are such good grass eatters,they dont need much feed during the spring and summer months.

Cons

They do poop a lot BUT unlike Chicken, Turkey, and Duck poop, its is really just digested grass and when it rains it breaks up an refertilizes the lawn and isnt as messy and nasty looking as that of the other birds.

Another thing is when we are going somewhere in the car the they always have to be smart butts and cross the driveway when we are trying to get out and they take their sweet time getting across so you have to stop and wait on them to move and if you honk the horn at them, they just honk back, so I think they do it on purpose just to be difficult but I still like the two I have but I dont think I would want a whole yard full of them.

 

[oesdog]

When my DH was a little boy he got chased by them into a pond at his local park. His Dad then in his No 1 RAF uniform had to go into the pond to rescue him.
Dh was only about 4 or 5 at the time. Now he has a terrible fear of Geese and would NEVER EVER have any, especially around children.

Oesdog