Quietest geese?

[alaskaduckgirl]

Hi everyone,

I am looking at getting 2 or 3 goslings this spring and was wondering if there is a goose that is quieter than say a chinese? I have a fenced yard that they could graze on and a portable pond. I have had ducks before, but I really want geese this time. I am pretty sure my neighbors wouldn't mind, we live right next to 2 lagoons, and 3 big ponds, swampland. It's like wild duck and goose heaven.

It gets pretty loud. How much space do they need? What breeds would you recommend? Preferably one that can't fly.

Is it possible to get exotic geese?

Thanks,
Alaskaduckgirl

 

[Bantimna]

I don't have a clue, and I'm not a goosie-lucy.

BUMP

 

[cayuga26]

You might find it hard to have a goose fit all your criteria.

As for quiet you would do best with the Egyptian Goose (an "exotic" species)

Chinese geese are one of the loudest geese so most breeds (except the African) will be relatively quieter, relative being the operative word (all geese will be noisy at times except the Egyptian which is not related directly to most species of geese).

Flying ability varies all of the “exotic” geese or wild species will be able to fly. Most lightweight and medium weight domestic geese (derived from the swan goose or the greylag goose) are unlikely to fly (though many can for short distances) and the heavyweight geese are very unlikely to fly.

There really are a lot of other issues to consider with geese and if noise is potentially an issue of contention between you and your neighbours (don’t know your situation) I would not recommend any geese.

That being said if your leaning towards domestic geese, Pilgrim, American Buff, Pomeranian, Roman, Sebastopol (don’t think I spelled that right) or grey goose (the generic grey barnyard goose often called the production Toulouse goose) would all be good choices (still honk at times especially during the spring and when “visitors” drop by).

If you keep any of the “exotics” such as Canada, Egyptian, Barnacle, etc they will have to be wing clipped or confined with overhead netting/fencing to keep them from flying away.

If you have no experience with geese I would probably suggest one of the medium weight breeds (stick to one breed though as cross breeding is detrimental to geese due to the low numbers of each breed) would be best. They will be reasonably affordable hardy and reasonably quiet. But remember everything is relative with geese and a lot of other factors come into play.

Also geese eat a lot and poop a lot so how large of lawn do you have?

 

[ultasol]

I have sebastopols, buff americans, and dewlap toulouse. I have been around production toulouse and chinese.

The quietest by far are the dewlap toulouse. Large and relatively docile for a goose. Too heavy to fly once mature.

 

[alaskaduckgirl]

The geese would have about 2718 sq feet of fenced yard. The grass is constantly growing and we are constantly mowing.

Do you thing that would be enough for 2 or 3 geese?

 

[jojo@rolling acres farm]

Roman Tufted and Sebbies I have 8 and they are VERY quiet and peaceful. I highly recommend both breeds...good luck in your search.

Geese are the best!

Joni

 

[ultasol]

You are lucky. My sebbies are quick to 'let me know' when "danger" is near (malevolent mailman!! devious cat!! raunchy robins!! Sniveling starlings!! Dangerous dogs!!) or when they would like their feeder refilled. It doesn't bother me int eh least bit, but if my neighbors lived closer it might be an issue.
The reason I say the dewlap toulouse are quiet is because they are amazingly quiet for geese. Even when the other geese are merrily honking away they make little peep peep noises instead. It takes a good bit more to get them riled up.

When I bring food, they make quiet chattering noises instead of honking.

Now, in terms of volume, yes, the sebastopols I have, and have been around, are quieter than an african or chinese goose- however they still honk and that is not a quiet noise. The plus side of having a honking goose is that they let you know when trouble is near. If a coyote were out there attempting to get through the fence, my geese would be honking their little heads off and the extended alarm would give me a heads up. If a stray dog were to wander on my property- the sebbies and buff americans would go nuts. To me, that's a distinct positive.

 

[alaskaduckgirl]

That sounds nice. Do you think a gander and 2 geese would be too much for 2700 sq feet of space? It would all be fenced in, though they would only be able to have a kitty pool, can't build a pond

. I don't think my neighbors would really mind, since in the Summer all we here are geese and ducks honking, what's two or three more? lol

 

[tokies]

Hi everyone,

I am looking at getting 2 or 3 goslings this spring and was wondering if there is a goose that is quieter than say a chinese? I have a fenced yard that they could graze on and a portable pond. I have had ducks before, but I really want geese this time. I am pretty sure my neighbors wouldn't mind, we live right next to 2 lagoons, and 3 big ponds, swampland. It's like wild duck and goose heaven.

It gets pretty loud. How much space do they need? What breeds would you recommend? Preferably one that can't fly.

Is it possible to get exotic geese?

Thanks,
Alaskaduckgirl

the best thing to do is a muscovy duck. it's not a goose but the meat is very gooselike. it has good egg laying production. can take care of its own eggs better than you can incubate them. (this reply is super late but folks find this later on hopefully it can help)

they coo, hiss, but don't honk like a goose. goose were breed so far at least to alert. the way we keep goose right now isn't like the way they were kept. in the past at the end of a season. The farmer would put the goose in the field to pick up any wheat or leftover stuff but they were kept in fields with little overhead protection or with others to alert. things that will eat them. so it's VERY hard to find a goose that doesn't do that task.

the wings on the muscovy duck must be clip but it's a large size bird and if you are worried about owls and what not they leave em alone. they can fight off a lot of things. They do need to be trained though to follow and go in at call. ducks, like goose, are creatures of habit. you have to do the same thing at the same time of day all the time. otherwise, they get pissed off. bit like cows that way. they herd well tho.