Questions about Geese and some waterfowl issues?

[nao57]

So...I got ducks about 3 months ago (maybe a little less...)

This life is wonderful! Its exciting to see what they do and how fun they are. They do some interesting things also.

Making me get ducks has me having questions about geese however. Especially since geese are more economical, with a lawn mower diet.

I live in a dry semi-arid state, does anyone have experience raising geese in areas like the Southwest that have less water and more dry, and harder to get things to grow? I'm wondering how this turned out for such people? Can you train them to eat sagebrush? (I know that sounds weird, but people in the Southwest do have stuff like goats, sheep, and cows eating sagebrush and grass...so I had to ask.) Will they endure drier climates as long as I can provide the water?

Slightly more to the point, how do you work this out if its harder to grow grass anyway, which the geese are eating? Do you use a conversion rate on how much land you need for grazing? And are geese ever tempted to run away if it gets too dry? (most geese breeds can fly, so that's why I ask). And what do you do about it?

I'm pretty sure coyotes love geese more than I do.

I have a so many questions about them...

Like also, I heard that waterfowl like ducks and geese are much harder to get the feathers out of, and to do meat preparation being much harder because their feathers are in more and deeper for water adaptation etc. Does this interfere with farming them? And how do you deal with this, to not give in etc?

 

[PatriciafromCO]

I got my first Africans 17 years ago 3 of the original 7 are still with me. Am in Southern Colorado on the front range, flat open pastures, sparse buffalo grass , dry air, and no watering holes for swimming. They have done really well.. Enjoy having fun being spray'd with the hose, and I have gotten them kitty pools here and there to play in. They have thrived all these years without having a watering hole. They love to graze and airate the ground and clean up some of the weed types. Very sweet social gentle breed they are my first choice. Great egg layers, moderate hatchers mainly because we are so dry it's not the best for successful hatching unless its a rainy year with lots of moisture in the air. They do form strong family groups that work well with each. The ganders are so good with goslings it's heart warming.

I've tried other breeds, Emdens were the most violent destructive in a flock very violent to handle and violent to the other geese goslings to the point of drowning them. They were eaten and make excellent meat birds. It could of been how they were bred, may not be who they really are but my group was very violent not to keep them in the flock.

I like the Toluses will fight about their eggs and for their off springs, but they get along in the flock and peaceful to have them. Good egg layers and they can hatch a nest of eggs even in the driest of years,

when I had just barbwire fence and the geese would wonder past it to the ditches at the road. I would walk outside with a bucket of feed to shake it and call them back walking back to the barn and feed them . They learned recall to to my voice, stay close to the house and barn areas even though I have 35 acre area on the homestead. they seem to make a 4 leaf clover pattern through out the day, roam out grazing come back in for water at the barn then back out grazing. They always happy to come in for the night

The Africans and Toluses can't fly, they do love to catch the cross winds to catch
air under their wings and can glide a really far distance, they always want to come back after they back on the ground.

They are beautiful creatures I don't eat the group I have, too much a soft spot for them, They really do form strong family units that are very personal to them,, I try every year to keep up on picking up their eggs and not always successful as they are very sneaky. There is always some unauthorized hatching lol.. I truly feel they know when rain will be coming in how sudden mass stashes of eggs start showing up. You will enjoy having a group around.