Pilgrims?

[matthewschickens]

I am interested in getting Pilgrim Geese and wondered what everyone thought of them?
Are they friendly?(We have 2 Emdens who are not!)
Could they be weeder geese?
Are they good foragers?
Pics?
Will they eat my Berries and Grapes?

Thanks!

Matthew

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
Mine were very friendly, slightly on the wimpy side if anything. very curious birds and once they get to trust you seem to actually enjoy being around Humans. Yes they can be weeder geese if you learn how to train and handle them.
good foragers which means they will eat your grapes and berries as high as they can reach! LOL but a simple fence will keep them away from what you don't want eaten. I used to turn them loose in the berry patch after picking to clean up the drops, helps to keep the insects and disease cleaned up if you remove the waste fruit. Sorry no pics.

 

[Rock Wyandotte]

Hi Matthew,

Our two Pilgrim girls, Ginger and Maryann, are almost 9 months old. I hatched them in a homemade incubator, they imprinted on me and they've been great since day 1. Friends and neighbors all remark on how good, pretty and fun they are to have around and watch. They follow me (and visitors too) around the property if I'm gardening, feeding the chickens, fishing, pretty much anything. They like to be right there and see what's going on - incredibly curious. When they were young they were scared of chickens but at around 4 or 5 months when they were pretty much full grown they found that they were bigger and more powerful and began chasing chickens away. Now all my chickens steer clear of them. They do honk and squawk if someone drives into the yard and they also let me know if someone is walking by on the road but they have never chased after anyone, hissed or bit (or anything close to it).

Yes, they do chew on anything they can reach, little fruit trees, blueberry bushes, lilacs, just about everything. They also come up onto the porch and tap at the door or stand on the bulkhead and tap at one of the bedroom windows if someone is in there. They are very entertaining. I'm going to try to attach a few pics.

Day 1 - mid April, 2009

As adolescents:

As young adults:

You might be able to tell that I'm nuts about them.

 

[farmerlor]

When I decided to get geese it was Pilgrims I was after. The lady down the road has some and they are the friendliest, sweetest geese I'd ever seen. When we were on the farm we had BIG white ones (this was when I was very little so I have no clue what breed they were) and they were the meanest things in the world so I really hadn't planned to ever have geese. I was unable to hatch any of my Pilgrim eggs but I got some Buffs and they too are most wonderful. They sit in my six year old's lap and love to be petted. Someday I'll have Pilgrims but for now I'm happy with my Buffs.

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

Mathew,
I see you have asked this question in about every section, and one question is always the same, your berries and grapes.
Just so you know, any and all fowl are going to eat the heck out of them, they wont "weed" them for you as you also asked, but more less mow them down..
Good luck with your endevours, sounds like you have a ton of pens to build, which is another point, none of these birds honestly need to be mixed in 1 pen, due to possible disease issues. Several folks on here will say it's fine, we never have trouble, eventually they will. Please keep that in mind, especially with the game birds, pheasants, peafowl and turkeys are the worste. No hard to keep, but need to be away from chickens and waterfowl if at all possible.
Good luck,
watch those berries and grapes though, sounds like you are fond of them!
Aubrey

 

[Germaine_11.20]

Hi, When someone has fertile Pilgrim eggs available please pm me and let me know. I would really like some.

 

[Southerngirl]

Pilgrims are awesome. I chose them because they are a smaller breed of geese. Excellent at foraging and yes, they will eat your berries and grapes(need to fence them off). They will accept you as a flock member and know when a stranger is around to alert you. They are also a quieter breed, not real noisy only at feeding time or if something or someone strange is in the yard. I purchased mine from Ideal poultry and have been very pleased.

Feeding time!

 

[oberhaslikid]

This is my first time with geese.I chose Pilgrims and American Buff.The Buff are a little larger but have the same mannerisms as the Pilgrim.I Love the babies they are so darn cute.

 

[sweetshoplady]

OMG! I love all the pictures of the geese. I have pilgrim geese and I am going to tease the 2 males with those gorgeouse shots of those beautiful ladies in the pool. Rock Wyandotte, my gander William says he'd like to come swim with those two ladies, and so the debate continues, who is prettier, Ginger or MaryAnn?

I've got 2 new girl geese on the way.

The nice thing is they eat grass. I don't have to mow my front and side yards around the house because my geese eat the grass as soon as it starts to grown back. They keep it manicured. They munch on weeds too. Any tasty vegetation as high as they can reach. I've fenced in my veggies til they get established. yes, they love grapes and berries. Very tasty treats.

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

Yes, they do eat grass and other plants... but also make GIANT poops!