New Geese Mom

[Britt417]

I am new to raising geese and I have two Toulouse geese. I got them as guardians for chickens and ducks. Any advice, pointers, guidance, recomendations?

 

[Goosebaby]

I am new to raising geese and I have two Toulouse geese. I got them as guardians for chickens and ducks. Any advice, pointers, guidance, recomendations?

Well the good news is that you won’t be disappointed with them as they‘re full of personality and their shenanigans are always amusing.

The downside is they will never be guardians of your chickens and ducks. The whole “guard goose“ thing is an urban legend.
Geese will intimidate most hawks because of their size but they have no instinct or ability to defend your flock let alone themselves from even smaller predators like foxes, raccoons, and mink. They’ll be protective of their mate, and goslings but that’s as far as it goes because they’re far more fragile than they look and they know it.
If they bond with you they’ll also fend off unwanted “suitors” from you as they will for the rest of their chosen ones.

Keep in mind also that geese don’t necessarily get along well with other bird species. They can form strong bonds with individuals regardless of species, but from my experience the best thing you can hope for is tolerant neutrality between the geese and the ducks and chickens.
Typically geese can coexist but they don’t always like the other birds disrespecting their personal space. Something about ducks and chickens darting around puts them on edge.
During breeding season hormones make geese nutty and they can react to the other‘s infractions with all out rage. If the other bird isn’t able to get away it can end very sadly for them.
Unfortunately geese can’t control their behavior to an extent in breeding season so it’s important that there is plenty of space in the coop for the ducks and chickens to get out of their way because they really can’t control it.

Toulouse are a medium to heavy breed so they’ll need to be on a 20% feed while growing, laying, molting, and if it’s cold. A flock raiser or all flock type feed that has extra B vitamins is good choice. During summer months when none of that interesting stuff is going on they can be on a 16/ 17% maintenance feed.

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

Congrats on the new family members
I’m fairly new as of early may to owning a goose she was 4 weeks old
I only took one gosling along with some ancona ducks to add to my flock
I agree when things get hectic my Stella gets on edge and will chase the younger ducks
But they are very smart and she knows the word NO. I say stella no and she immediately stops chasing them
It’s only when everyone is running out in the morning gets her excited
I did a see no touch for a bit with my older flock
She has really bonded to my oldest duck daisy but has now branched out to hang out with any of them
I don’t allow her ti nibble on my clothes or nibble me
It’s a no and if she continues then I set her back down
Usually 99-% she stops doing it
I have purchased toys for her. I find they like to be chewing not just to eat
In the duck pen she has her own area and at night puts herself to bed In her section
Next spring we will get her a mate as they should have a mate but Stella was not planned and just happened
I didn’t want a sibling as a mate so decided to wait