New to the goose thing - what to feed the little guys???????

[TarHeelBlue]

I have 3 pilgrim eggs in the bator just about ready for their coming out party (one is rockin and rollin) YEAH

I hope they all make it, I started with 5 eggs and 2 weren't fertile, so down to 3 with one of them questionable. this is my first time with geese - what do I feed the goslings?? I have plenty of baby chick food, just not sure if this will work for them?? HELP please

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
That should work as long as it isn't too old. Chick Starter goes down hill fast in heat. Since you are TARHEELBLUE i will assume it is hot where you are. Check that chick starter BEFORE you need it I have had it go moldy overnight in hot humid weather. Game bird feed makes a good starter for waterfowl too and the sooner you get them humting for their own grass the better off they will be too.

 

[scratch'n'peck]

It is also generally recommended that they NOT have medicated starter, like many chick starters can be. If you get a starter that is not enriched with niacin you should supplement the feed with either nutritional or brewer's yeast or ground up niacin pills from the drug store (But people say not the slow niacin). Waterfowl who are deficient in niacin can develop leg problems. If you live near a Tractor Supply store they have a starter that is appropriate for chicks and waterfowl. And yes they love grass.

Goslings are so cute and Pilgrims are great!

 

[TarHeelBlue]

I live only a few miles from TSC. which feed do I buy?? (and even though I am a TarHeel through and through, I now live in Oklahoma. And NO NO NO I am not a "Sooner" nor an "Okie" which many have told me I have to be since I have lived here so long. I will always be a true blue TarHeel!!! Go HEELS!!!

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
If they have a waterfowl ration that is the one to buy. Chick starter can be low in niacin. Game bird is better than chick starter. The thing is that it is only a starter and and should not be fed forever 2-3 weeks swith to Flock Raiser or other all fowl ration. In the wild they live on tender green plants that they eat a lot of.

 

[Denninmi]

Be prepared to have a LOT of green matter on hand for them. I have 3 pilgrim goslings that are now about 4, 3, and 2 1/2 weeks old, and its amazing how much plant matter they can eat at this small size. I gave them 5 or 6 large heads of romaine lettuce today, and they cleaned each one up in a matter of minutes. I didn't get all that many salad greens planted this spring, because the weather here in April and May was just terrible, and I'm going to be out this week. I guess that will motivate me to do a lot of weeding in the garden and borders, since there are a lot of edible weeds out there like dock, dandelions, various kinds of cresses and wild mustards, etc.

 

[TarHeelBlue]

We live on 20 acres, what can I feed them that grows wild???

 

[scratch'n'peck]

Okay the confusing thing about forums is that folks are going to be saying different things or in this case similar things in a different way. I that the posters here agree that your geese need Niacin and love greens (including grass and dandelions

)

I mentioned the TSC starter in particular because they formulated it for chickens and ducks and geese and they say they have extra Niacin in it with directions on the back for how long to feed it for the various types of birds.

Flock raiser (18% protein about as high as starter) would be ok but it comes in the big bags and really to prevent angel wing you want to drop their protein level down earlier than for chickens to around 15 %. If the had specifically water fowl starter that would be great, but I never saw that at my TSC.

Oh and if this is your first time with geese you may be amazed at how much they poop so it is good that you are not raising too many at once. Good luck with the hatch and have fun with the cuties.

 

[Denninmi]

Quote:
Any EDIBLE wild foliage. I don't know what , might grow in your area. Basically, the things that you could gather as wild edible greens, or those that could be used as livestock forage. Off the top of my head, this would include:

dandelions, clovers, alfalfa, wild mustards (Brassica), cresses (Lepidium), Dock (Rumex), amaranth, goosefoot (Chenopodium), violet foliage, daylily foliage, comfrey (my chickens LOVE comfrey), chickweed, chicory, burdock foliage.

If you want to grow something quick, get some wheat or oats from a farm supply store, and sow them in some moist soil. They can get 4" tall in about a week if kept wet and very warm, and 6" or more in a couple of weeks. Sunflowers seeds would be another good sprout for them.

Best of all is probably if you have an area of lawn where they could just graze. They will pick out what they like.