Questions regarding preparing for geese to lay for the first time.

[Jenbirdee]

@Goosebaby

 

[Jenbirdee]

They sleep on the ground and make their nests in corners and private areas of their coop, shelter or yard. A goose house should provide protection from the elements and be full of clean, thick bedding. It should offer at least 8 square feet per bird, more if your geese will be inside frequently due to weather.Feb 28, 2023
https://www.mofga.org/resources/livestock/raising-geese-on-the-homestead/

(this one says 6-8)https://backyardpoultry.iamcountrys...sing-geese-choosing-a-breed-and-preparations/

(minimum of six but more is better) https://opensanctuary.org/building-a-good-home-for-geese/

(4 for ducks at least 8 for geese) https://www.hobbyfarms.com/making-a-waterfowl-coop/

(this one is in metric )
You can keep a single pair of medium or large geese comfortably in a shed that has an area of around 2m2. The most common small garden shed size is 6 x 4ft (1.8 x 1.2m) and provides an area of 2.2m2 and would make a good size, with a little extra space if they end up hatching some goslings. The next most popular size shed is 8 x 6ft (1.8 x 2.4m), giving an area of 4.3m2 and would be big enough to keep 4-5 medium or large-sized geese in.
https://poultrykeeper.com/keeping-geese/beginners-guide-keeping-geese/

(this one says 1 sq meter per goose which is 10.7639 sq feet, and a little extra if they are going to nest) https://poultrykeeper.com/keeping-geese/housing-geese/

(heres one that says 10 feet per bird

Have a simple shelter for your goose pair You should also consider having a 4×5 shed for the geese to go into at night.) https://familyfarmlivestock.com/how-much-space-do-you-need-to-raise-geese/​

(one sq meter per goose for indoor again - remember thats 10.7639) https://vetmed.tamu.edu/news/pet-talk/geese-as-pets/

I also saw one that said 3 sq feet per goose at night sorry but that one is the odd man out

there are many more but i have to go to work now

 

[Jenbirdee]

this is my book from majestic waterfowl sanctuary saying 16 square feet is ideal for 2 geese

 

[Jenbirdee]

a post from here

Minimum Space Requirements
Type of Bird

Sq ft/bird inside

Sq ft/bird outside runs
Bantam Chickens
Laying Hens
Large Chickens
Quail
Pheasant
Ducks
Geese

1
1.5
2
1
5
3
6

4
8
10
4
25
15
18​

*These are MINS, I recommend adding 3 FT extra. to each the bird inside and outside runs.



Hope this helps you!

 

[AGeese]

The other thing to consider is if the source is giving that figure for meat birds and so might be less than what we're doing because they won't be kept long term nor for eggs.

The Storey Country Wisdom Bulletin "Raising Ducks & Geese" which is highly dated from 1973, stated "at least 4 square feet of floor space per bird", and carried on about ducks, but does not mention Geese at all the same page 10 for Shelters. I've found geese tend to get glossed over a lot in the information I've found as if just knowing what you need to know about ducks is enough.

I didn't really pay attention to the math when I started out, but rather how they acted. I started with 6 birds (now 5) having the two ganders and laying hens adds dynamics I had to account for. Just running the math it seems I'm giving them access to 12.5 sq ft per bird. I think what I have would be enough even with all 6, but I personally wouldn't push it and it doesn't sounds like you're doing meat birds, so just thinking long term how they will remain adjusted or not, adding a little space if you can surely won't hurt.

 

[MMelton67]

I've never seen that low a number before, either, but I never dug deep into researching it. If you do a quick search with an online search engine, every source that pops up says eight feet, with a six feet and a few ten feets sprinkled in, which is why it's interesting to see you stumbled onto something different.

ok, but, Google searches aside...which, c'mon; your recent searches dictate your subsequent results...the data I present is from a 'live' post here (in that the mods haven't taken it down) and one of the most well regarded series of books about all things 'farming'.

I'm not trying to be antagonistic. But, I've have cited the sources for my data and so far, I have gotten no citations from anyone about the 8 foot rule. Just 'pretty much everywhere' and 'I've never seen that low a number before'. That's not data. I'm just asking for sources of the given rule for 8'. I'm not in disagreement: I understand more space is better. Just back up your assertations with citations.

I'm doing my best to get this right and do the best by my birds. The most confounding thing about this journey has been the absolute lack of consistent data. To me, that's really interesting given how long humans have been domesticating fowl.

 

[Jenbirdee]

if you use common sense and forget about data
geese are big
would you be comfortable spending up to 14 hours a night in a space, that’s barely bigger than your body and you could hardly turn around you’d be sitting in your own poop all that time( in the winter here my birds are locked up for 14 hours as the days are short in the summer it’s more like 10 or 11)
where does data even come from , from experience?
i guess it all depends on how you feel about your geese if you want them to be happy and comfortable or not that’s up to you.
if all you want is data you can do your own internet searches and collect it all day but you asked here to get the opinions of people with experience so there you have it. i’m very glad that your goose house is actually going to be bigger than you think it needs to be everybody should build buildings for their birds that are bigger than they think they need to be.
I have seen in some cases where people have those igloo dog houses for their geese inside of a predator proof pen so the geese can go in and out at night if they don’t want to sit in their poop lol but they have the igloo as a shelter from the wind and rain snow hail, whatever I think those would be easy to clean too, because you can just move them to a different spot perhaps? Not sure if they have flooring in them.? if they do, that would be hard to clean.

 

[Jenbirdee]

i also have an idea - we can do a poll on here of all the people who have geese and ask the question about how many square feet per bird shoulda goose house be- to create our own data -

 

[NatJ]

what about mixing the oyster (I have a bag of crushed for my chickens) in the same dish as the alfalfa? or, should it be separate?

With chickens, it is best to have the oyster shell in a separate dish, not mixed with anything else.

I would expect the same to be true for the geese.

You want them to be free to eat as much or as little oyster shell as they need. Mixing two things will make it harder for the birds to pick what they need out of the mix. Since the females need much more calcium than the males, it is impossible to make a mix that is correct for both of them to eat, so at least one sex would have to be picking carefully to get the right balance.

I have seen in some cases where people have those igloo dog houses for their geese inside of a predator proof pen so the geese can go in and out at night if they don’t want to sit in their poop lol but they have the igloo as a shelter from the wind and rain snow hail, whatever I think those would be easy to clean too, because you can just move them to a different spot perhaps? Not sure if they have flooring in them.? if they do, that would be hard to clean.

About the space, did you notice this bit?

ftr, my geese are not 'locked' into their hutch. the can move outside at night, which they do.

That would be about the same as your igloo dog house example: the geese are free to go OUT if they want more space. The smaller space is big enough for them to all fit if the weather is bad.

@Jenbirdee so far, the sources I have, including an approved post here on this forum don't come close to that. I would love to see a source for the 8' rule, please. I'm all for trying to do the right thing but I haven't run across that number yet. Thank you.

ftr, my geese are not 'locked' into their hutch. the can move outside at night, which they do.

ok, but, Google searches aside...which, c'mon; your recent searches dictate your subsequent results...the data I present is from a 'live' post here (in that the mods haven't taken it down) and one of the most well regarded series of books about all things 'farming'.

I'm not trying to be antagonistic. But, I've have cited the sources for my data and so far, I have gotten no citations from anyone about the 8 foot rule. Just 'pretty much everywhere' and 'I've never seen that low a number before'. That's not data. I'm just asking for sources of the given rule for 8'. I'm not in disagreement: I understand more space is better. Just back up your assertations with citations.

Like several other people, I tried doing a search, but I added "cooperative extension" to bias what kind of results I would see. Here are some of the sources I found:

https://www.pubs.ext.vt.edu/2902/2902-1092/2902-1092.html
A publication from Virginia Co-operative Extension, titled "Small Scale Poultry Housing." It has a chart of recommended space for various kinds of poultry. The "geese" line says 15 square feet per bird inside, >30 square feet per bird outside.
It says "small scale," but then has drawings for chicken coops that are 8x8 or 20x20 feet, so not what many backyard keepers would consider "small."
(But when I follow the link for THEIR source, I land on a page that mentions ducks at 5 square feet, then says geese should have "about three times" as much space as ducks. I was not able to find what they consider their source to be.)



“Raising Waterfowl,” by Philip J. Clauer and John L. Skinner, Univ. of Wisconsin, www.healthybirds.umd.edu/files/raising-waterfowl.pdf

This one is says, "Allow ½ square foot per bird for the first 2 weeks. Double the space provided every 2 weeks until 4 square feet per duck and 6 square feet per goose are available, or birds are placed outside." (in the "brooding section")
It also says "Provide 4 to 5 square feet of floor space for each breeding duck and 5 to 6 square feet for each goose" (in the section on "Managing breeding stock," right after saying that you need provide "convenient access to the outside yard.")



https://ucanr.edu/sites/smacreage/Livestock/Poultry/
University of California, Small Acreage Landowners, Poultry page.
There is a chart of many kinds of birds (ranging from quail to ostriches), and the column "minimum area" says 8 square feet per bird for geese.


https://www.hobbyfarms.com/making-a-waterfowl-coop/
This article has a blurb at the bottom, saying the author lives in Maine and has been keeping waterfowl for years.
"Ideally, ducks require 4 square feet per bird, and geese should have about 8 square feet. A smaller space is acceptable if the birds can spend most of their time in a larger run or free ranging, using the shelter only to sleep or lay eggs."
(This one was already cited by someone else, who said it was 8 square feet but skipped the qualifier about smaller shelter with outdoor access.)

And by way of variety:
https://digital.library.cornell.edu/catalog/chla2908366
Online scan of a book from 1922, readable online, that does not give any square foot recommendations at all. It recommends just keeping them outdoors, with access to a "shelter," but no suggestions on the size of that shelter. The book does talk about how many geese per acre outdoors, which of course varies according to local conditions.


Personally, I don't have any goose experience, so I have no idea how much space geese really need. But you asked for citations, so I tried to turn up a few in case they are helpful.


Edit to add another book from 1924:
https://digital.library.cornell.edu/catalog/chla3070316
"The growing of ducks and geese for profit and pleasure: a complete account of the origin and development of all breeds and varieties of domesticated waterfowl, and of the methods of breeding, feeding and caring for them, whether grown in tens, hundreds, thousands or hundreds of thousands"

page number 368 (book page number, not page of the file)
After talking about when geese do need shelter (much less than chickens), it says "As to the dimensions in any particular case, the minimum should be two to three times the floor space the geese will occupy sitting quite close together."

That at least gives a way to figure out the space, although it is still resting on the assertions of someone (but someone at a different time than many of the current internet sources.)

 

[MMelton67]

Thank you all. After starting this journey last year, I was confounded by all the contradictory data/recommendations for chickens, geese and poultry in general (including responses to some of my questions here in other threads about chickens that varied wildly) and gave up on internet searching for the 'right' answer.

I looked for well regarded books and publications and collected the three newer Storey's guides on chickens and poultry plus the 1973 pamphlet by Storey's. Along the way I discovered who Dave Holderead is and contacted him (via Wanita, who handles his electronic correspondence) and purchased his pamphlet on Pilgrims and they also sent me his pamphlet on Wing Disorders. I'm eagerly awaiting a new edition of his book on geese. I also asked about purchasing a copy of the older book as a pdf...used versions of his book are pricey.

as a side note, I prefer to have a hard copy library of (hopefully) useful information. This internet thing is not necessarily going to around forever. Look at today's AT&T outage.

It's disappointing that a well regarding publisher (Storey's) appears to have outmoded data in it's books.