Questions about noise level/quiet breeds?

[DaisyBird26]

My boyfriend and I are getting more serious and talking about marriage/kids/buying a house in the next year or so. It has been a life long dream of mine to have pet geese. I've had chickens for several years, and he is on board with getting our own flock of chickens together, however he has concerns about the noise level of geese.

He works remotely and said he is concerned about frequent honking disrupting him. He is also a musician and watches lots of movies, and using noise canceling headphones all the time isn't a viable option. He doesn't mind chickens clucking, but something about goose honking in particular puts him off. He said he would like to be able to relax in the house without hearing frequent random honking all day.

In general, how far does the noise from geese travel? How big of a yard should we be looking for so there is ample space to keep them in a penned area away from the house? Are there any breeds that are quieter than others? Aesthetically, I like the dewlap/African breeds but will settle on a different breed if they are known for being more quiet.

 

[KathiQuacks]

Based on your preferences, I’d look into the Large Dewlap Toulouse goose. Gorgeous, calm, and quieter. From what I’ve read, and from personal experience, Chinese / African geese honk the most frequently.

Your boyfriend may not find it to be the biggest deal, actually.. I was concerned about the noise as well, but I’ve ended up not minding it at all, in fact, I really enjoy hearing them. I probably hear my African honking 5-10 times a day and my Buff just 2-3 times. I never hear either of them at night.

Noise traveling seems to depend.. Outside, I can just barely hear my neighbor’s Chinese geese from half a mile away, but inside, I can barely hear my geese on the other side of the house

 

[HuertaFarm]

I will just put my two cents in and recommend Sebastopol geese. Very quiet and generally calm compared to other breeds. When you first get them they will make more sound until they are comfortable with you. Their "honks" are fairly quiet and only used when they are worked up about something. Their coop is only about 60 feet away from the house and we can't hear them with the windows shut (even when free ranging). We also put a siding panel on the open side of the coop that faces our house and we rarely hear them at all anymore. The level of calmness/quietness also depends on how they are raised so you might ask your breeder if they were hands on, unless you plan on getting goslings.

 

[Berd Man]

Geese really aren’t so bad, the sound of geese happily honking and chattering to each other is far better than hearing noise from neighbors or nearby roadways. The rare occasion geese go berserk with the noise is usually an indicator that you should check in and make sure there’s not a problem like a dog/coyote eating one of your animals. Sometimes during breeding season they’re a bit louder than normal. Mine also get pretty excited when they see the food bucket.

It’s only momentary, it’s not like they are a constant source of disturbing sound

 

[Goosebaby]

If he’s fine with the egg song I don’t think he’ll mind the honk. Chinese type breeds have a higher pitch than others and tend to be more vocal.

 

[Beckys Birds]

I have 2 American Buff geese, and they rarely honked obnoxiously. They were talkative, but not annoyingly so. A chicken's egg song is about 100x more annoying than a Buff's honking. Both my geese were female, so I can't speak for Buff ganders.
My husband is the main care giver, doing the daily chores, I am the snacks lady they adore. They honk happily when they see me to alert the flock of chicken's and ducks that I more than likely have treats. They honk when the neighbor's dogs are out, even th6they are fenced in. They honk at hawks, but not the vultures that love the air currants around our property.
Otherwise, they are quiet. My husband has noise sensitivities, and he doesn't wear his ear plugs around the geese. The chicken egg song does get to him if it's more than one hen singing.
Long story short, the American Buff goose is wonderful. Though they are less of a cuddle bird than other breeds, they are docile and don't attack strangers unless provoked.

 

[Moments]

My boyfriend and I are getting more serious and talking about marriage/kids/buying a house in the next year or so. It has been a life long dream of mine to have pet geese. I've had chickens for several years, and he is on board with getting our own flock of chickens together, however he has concerns about the noise level of geese.

He works remotely and said he is concerned about frequent honking disrupting him. He is also a musician and watches lots of movies, and using noise canceling headphones all the time isn't a viable option. He doesn't mind chickens clucking, but something about goose honking in particular puts him off. He said he would like to be able to relax in the house without hearing frequent random honking all day.

In general, how far does the noise from geese travel? How big of a yard should we be looking for so there is ample space to keep them in a penned area away from the house? Are there any breeds that are quieter than others? Aesthetically, I like the dewlap/African breeds but will settle on a different breed if they are known for being more quiet.

I have a standard African goose named Lucy. We love her and she's a single goose among a flock of ducks. We got an African for their well-known guard dog capabilities and noisy alarm. We SUPER socialized her from day one when we received her as a newborn gosling. She's really not too bad though. She mainly only honks when she panics from getting separated from her ducks and will carry on until she finds them. She sometimes will do this if she loses track of me when she's feeling particularly attached. The only other time she honks is when she's happy to see me and will come over to say hi. Not sure if the honking would be more frequent if she had another goose (goose conversation) vs. being among a bunch of ducks