Pilgrim Geese thread

[familyfarm1]

Thank you so much SilkieSensation

Do you have mostly woods or is your land clear?

 

[SilkieSensation]

Thank you so much SilkieSensation   Do you have mostly woods or is your land clear?

I'm on a couple acres surrounded on 2 sides by about 50 acres of hay & then woods and on the other 2 sides by about 100 acres of cattle field that is full of woods & thickets. Plenty of places for predators. We have hawks living all around us, hear coyotes occasionally across the hay field, wild turkeys that wander into the yard & a gorgeous piebald white tail doe & her twin fawns who graze in the hay field next to the cattle field. We also have a family of wood ducks raising their babies on the pond between my coops & the cattle field. We have plenty of predators, but we also have an abundance of rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, rats & mice to keep the predators satisfied & away from my birds. This winter the wild pickings will be more slim, which is another reason to pen them this winter & spring.

 

[familyfarm1]

How big is your shelter?

 

[SilkieSensation]

How big is your shelter?

Right now they really don't have a shelter of their own. They just snuggle into the 55gal plastic barrel with my pygmy goat or huddle under the foot bridge next to the creek. Usually they sleep next to the turkey pen in the grass. When I pen them they will either have a small section of the coop for themselves or a dog box style shelter with a lift door in the roof for easy access to eggs & goslings during breeding season. I'm still building coops & pens, so that will be decided when I actually get to them.

 

[loneskywolf]

I want to build nesting boxes for my geese, but haven't been able to find and designs or one for multiple hens any one
got ideas or know how to do this?

 

[SilkieSensation]

I want to build nesting boxes for my geese, but haven't been able to find and designs or one for multiple hens any one
got ideas or know how to do this?

Geese actually rather like to just nest in a pile of hay against a wall or in a corner. They like to be able to put their tail to the wall & see what's coming at them from the front. An old tire sitting on the floor in a corner filled with hay works great. Or lean a pallet against a wall & put hay behind it. She will pick where she likes. The lower to the ground the better. They don't usually care for raised boxes like chickens & turkeys do.

 

[loneskywolf]

That is a good idea, but i don't have a barn for that and to many preditors that enjoy goose eggs because two of them took over the dog house
unfortunalty the black and king snakes liked the eggs more. My girls all fight over the very sought after spot of an old vanity table and the bottom drawer out of an old fridge under the table. Since i'm saving for a new shed for them i want to 4 equal spot for them to nest, that are kinds small
stalls for each female to use.

 

[Miss Lydia]

That is a good idea, but i don't have a barn for that and to many preditors that enjoy goose eggs because two of them took over the dog house
unfortunalty the black and king snakes liked the eggs more. My girls all fight over the very sought after spot of an old vanity table and the bottom drawer out of an old fridge under the table. Since i'm saving for a new shed for them i want to 4 equal spot for them to nest, that are kinds small
stalls for each female to use.

Blk and king snakes will eat ducklings chicks and goslings too.

 

[familyfarm1]

Has anyone had snakes attack their full grown geese? I have a mix of Copperheads, Black Snakes, and Gardeners, as well as Cottonmouths. This is a silly question, but how tall are your geese? I want the Coop I am building is going to be big enough for them to walk into with them having to put down their heads. Thank you! I cant wait to get them!

 

[loneskywolf]

Most geese depending on breed are anywhere from 3 to 4 foot tall anything bigger that swan territory in height. Just make sure the coop is big enough for
you, being bent over in a coop with little head room and a angry or nesting goose after you leaves you with no escape.

not a fun experience