pigmy geese?

[GoatMilker20]

I have alot of call ducks and want to know if I can keep pigmy geese with them? The call ducks are show type and are really small if that helps. My wife just got a job again and I think we could offord a pair or two (I know they are $$$). I raise rabbits too.

Chris

 

[toejam]

Don't do it. Oranmental and domestics dont mix well at all. Dieseases will kill em. You will end up with a dead pygmy geese. At $3000+ a pair I wouldn't keep them with calls.
Any other questions just ask,
Justin

 

[GoatMilker20]

Hi Justin,
Thanks for youre advise! I guess I need to build a new pen next to the call ducks for the pigmy geese. Do u know if I keep green ones and cotton ones together if they will mix? Do u have pigmy geese Justin? I went to the zoo and asked a zookeeper if I could get pigmy eggs from the zoo or trade, he wasnt very nice it seemed to me?

I am also thinkin about buick swans and brant geese bc we have a big pond where the goats live. Do u know anyone who has them for sale? I have been checking craigslist but nothing?

Chris

 

[toejam]

No I don't have any, as a teen I need a car first. I wouldn't put the pen near the calls to be safe. You can't get them from a zoo from what I know, and sylvan heights is the only non importation route I know. You need to have the pen built and everything made to perfection. Some zoos haven't even got them. You need to read a lot on them. Boggy bottom bantams and destinduck can give you info on raising em. I think the greens and cottons will interbreed but not sure.

I don't know much bout Buick swans. As foe Brant geese I wouldn't put them o n a ponds. Too much money for me to risk every night to predators. I would pen them with a decent size concrete pond. I dont know anyone but could find out. But craigslist Definatly isn't the place to look for em.
Justin

 

[philter4]

Quote:
Chris,
most specialty geese are found from breeders, I don't think you would be able to find something like that on Craig's list. There are several breeders here, check the for sale forums or put a request on the "wanted" forum.

As far as zoo keepers go I deal with them a lot and there are basically three types. There are the really good ones, who have people skills and enjoy their work and the visitors, there are the ones that are easily annoyed and who think the visitors are a distraction and don't like to deal with them and there are the High and Mighty ones that think they are the only ones capable of keeping such animals and no one else should be allowed to own them. You ran into # 2 or 3, doesn't matter which personality he was, the interaction with either is not very good. One thing they don't seem to remember is that there are more hobbyiests who breed and care for exotics than zoos that do and many of the zoos don't even keep a display animal if it has no monetary value or draw. I have been keeping and breeding exotics for most of my life and know people who have much rarer species than most zoos, but because it isn't a good display, or not a popular animal like a tiger or panda, zoos don't even try to obtain them.

What I can tell you is do your research and when you are ready and have the money start to find a breeder or supplier. Most zoos can't sell to people who are not AZA members (I have been a member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums for about 20 years and have sold, bought, and traded animals with zoos many times in the past) but there are several wildlife parks and sanctuaries that sell to the public but if you call them with questions about how to house them what to feed them or what they cost they will put you on their "don't talk to them " list and when you are finally ready you have burned a bridge that would have opened up many avenues for you. Silvan Heights waterfowl park is one such place, if you call and start asking questions as an unprepared novice they will not be very helpful and their time is very valuable. Contact other people who have them and get the caging and diet information, find out what can and will live with them, the minimum requirements and estimate the costs before contacting someplace like Sylvan Heights. Also don't call them if you are not serious and don't have the money, they don't have the time or resources to waste if you are not informed and ready to be serious about getting animals of this quality.

I am not trying to sound mean or to talk you out of keeping any animal you feel you can care for, just trying to give you information that will get you to the right people without turning them away. When you get to the level of a specialty or rare ornamental bird the breeders expect you to have this information and know what it will take to care for them as well as what you can expect to spend.

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

very well said philter

I was going to pretty much say the same thing.
Nothing personal, and do set your goals for these birds. BUT everything you listed is NOT for beginners. Comparing care levels for these species of duck geese and swan to proper care for calls will get the phone hung up on you when talking to these breeders.

No, do not keep these together with each other, near any form of domestics, or on open ponds.
Very few brant geese are kept in captivity, they are a northern species and a salt water species, so they will need to be kept in pristine high flow crystal clear water in pens, the $1500 + the pair cost will be nothing in comparison to the money spent to properly house them.

Pygmys depending on the species can range from $3000- $5000. There are even fewer of them, pretty much you're going threw the Lubbocks if you do ever get any. They are contracted out with a lot of the zoos that have them to get their excess stock back, pretty much AZA breeding loans from Sylvan. THEY WILL NOT SELL to anyone who is not 100% seasoned keepers of high end specialty species of waterfowl, period.
when paying this much for a single pair of birds, yes a private pen per pair is well pretty much mandatory.
Bewick's swans will be about the cheapest of the species you mentioned, but finding them will be a nightmare as very very few breeders keep them as well. Start with black or white mutes, then if that goes well, I'd suggest going to Trumpeter's or maybe whoppers

The only place you are going to learn about these species is on the GBWF site
The Gamebird Breeder's and Conservationist Gazette
and The American Pheasant and Waterfowl Society (A.P.W.S.) magazines.

look up that site, read a lot first before you ask, they will black ball you pretty quick if they feel you are asking in over your head questions.
Subscribe to those magazines
and most importantly, and pretty much mandatorily, buy you a lot of the common waterfowl and get some hands on experience with keeping them first. There is a massive difference in keeping this stuff compared to livestock and domestic waterfowl. If you cant keep and successfully breed these, than for the birds sake and your wallet, pass on these super specialty species. There's a reason only 3-4 people in the country have them privately