New to geese...school me please.

[bearz]

We just brought home 2 cute baby Toulouse. The smaller one we are assuming is the girl. She crawls right into my son's lap and snuggles. Is that normal?

Anyway, they are the size of a fullgrown bantam chicken already and where we got them they didn't know how old they were. Can you give me a guess on age?

Also, they said they could eat chick starter and they seem to like it. How long do we continue with that?

Right now we have them in the chicken coop in a separate cage, walled off from the chickens because our nastiest chicken tried to bite their feet. Will we be able to let them out with the chickens when they get bigger?

We put a heat lamp in there and a nesting box thinking they would want to curl up in the shavings and snuggle. Is this OK?

What are we missing? All suggestions welcome. My DS is just in love with them.

 

[Wifezilla]

I don't know anything about geese...sorry. Hopefully one of the experts will pop in. Do you have pics? That will really help with the age thing.

 

[bearz]

Nobody can help me?

 

[Wifezilla]

Ok,

I am going to venture some guesses based on what I have read. Remember, I am NOT an expert on geese.

Chick starter is what I use for my ducks. I ALSO have to give them extra niacin because chick starter doesn't have enough in it for waterfowl. I crush brewer's yeast tablets and sprinkle it on their feed. Seems to be working. No leg problems with my ducks. When they are fully feathered (8 weeks) I start adding game bird feed to the chick starter.

Size...wild guess here, but I am going to say around 3 weeks. Like I said before, a picture would help.

You should be able to put them with the chickens when they are grown. I was at a small farm yesterday and the geese (a pair of Africans) were roaming the yard with a bunch of chickens and a pair of ducks. All were adults and everyone got along fine.

The heat lamp sounds about right. Just check the temperature and remember to lower it a little each week by raising the lamp until they don't need it anymore.

 

[toletiquesbysam]

My geese are Sebastapols and they are 4weeks old, and I don't have bantam chickens so I'm not sure if they are the same size of them but I've put a picture of them on here so maybe you can judge by that. I feed them non medicated chick starter to begin with and now we're feeding grower. I give them water daily and with that some grass clippings in it as well. Daily I let them outside to follow me around the yard and eat more grass, but otherwise I have given them some treats as well but mostly lettuce/grass. I have the heat lamp in with them as well and they cuddle together to sleep, soo cute!!

 

[Cottage Rose]

Congrats on your new goslings!
You will love them.
You might want to read my websites "raising waterfowl tip" page for some helpful info plus if you do an online search you will find alot of info on "how to."
Good luck!

 

[mominoz]

I used to have bantaam chickens and geese and I currently have 4 tufted buff geese at 6 weeks.
If they are the size of battam chickens, I'd estimate they are 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 weeks old.
Geese grow like an inch a day , well almost ! Mine doubled their size every week for the first 3 weeks or so!
At 6 weeks my geese are as tall as their 28" tall fence (the ganders) and 70-75% feathered!
Geese can be very affectionate, mine will sit next to me outside and follow me if I am in their yard. I'd liken them more to parrots , can't talk human words , but they can bond and learn alot. I have already taught mine"dinnertime!" every time I feed, so they can be called (works with my horses too!) when I bring them it I tell them "bedtime"!, eventually they will be conditoned to the word to do follow the same pattern.

 

[jimmoose]

The chickens may be picking on the geese because they are young and
don't defend themselves. Chickens can be ruthless with their own kind
and with other birds. Keep them separated for the time being and watch
the chickens. This won't last long. The geese will be 5 times the size of
the chickens fairly quickly and all that pecking will stop. Those Toulouse
will be large geese, very large. The chickens will learn quickly that
those geese can inflict a nasty bite and can quickly dispatch a chicken.
Given time everyone should get along with the geese at the top of
the pecking order.
We had a big Barred Rock Rooster that picked on our Chinese geese
unmercifully. It took about 2 months and that rooster won't come
near the geese anymore. One of the females about broke his neck.

Tractor Supply has duck and goose starter in stock, at least in South
Carolina anyway. Look for niacin on the label and it will work just
fine. Sounds like you are doing everything right.
jim

 

[jimmoose]

double post, sorry.
jim

 

[red46]

Um....um.....let's see how I'll say this....

You are owned.
I don't know what it is about geese but they get the idea that your bed is their bed, your couch is their couch and you better not tell them 'no'. ha
Well, anyway, that's the attitude. Right now, I have a couple that are only about 8 weeks old and the hardest thing, is getting them to act like geese instead of puppies, or something.

I happen to work long hours, in the garage and I like keeping a side door open, for the cross ventilation. Just after dark, I have to fight to keep the geese outside and when I do win, they settle down, right next to the door, where they can see me. As long as I'm sitting still and working, they sleep but the second I get up, for anything, they are up and wandering in the door again.

These guys are so nutty that when I got around to providing them with a little wading pool, as long as I sat right there, it was heaven on earth but then when I needed to go do something else, they lost interest in the water. Go figure.

As they grow, the chickens will lose the battle. I guarantee, those geese will remember and pay them back. ha They are very territorial and very possessive of YOU. Defend your chickens.

Mixing geese with chickens doesn't really work out for 2 reasons. Not only are they defensive and territorial, they are also super messy with their water and food. Your chickens can't tolerate the filth, the geese will provide, if you try to mix the watering system. It's best to separate the two with separate feeding and watering and territory.

judy