Reasons Why You Shouldn't Keep Just One Goose

[Pyxis]

Thank you I was assuming they would be happy in the back half of the coop on the hay without chicken roosting over their heads. You are a wealth of information and thank you again for taking the time to share your experience.

Glad to have helped! You'll be hooked on geese once you get them, lol. Now you'll have to decide what breed you want.

 

[AllenK RGV]

Glad to have helped! You'll be hooked on geese once you get them, lol. Now you'll have to decide what breed you want.

Yes I will need to research that as I imagined they just came in big and white! I have no interest in swans and yes I know they aren't geese. I just remember fighting them off in Germany to save my GSD's life.

 

[Pyxis]

Yes I will need to research that as I imagined they just came in big and white! I have no interest in swans and yes I know they aren't geese. I just remember fighting them off in Germany to save my GSD's life.

Yep, lots of choices! I have tufted Romans myself. There are lots of colors and sizes and shapes of geese.

Beautiful sumatras in your avatar, by the way.

 

[Miss Lydia]

@AllenK@new2this

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/geese-breed-focus-project.1082517/

 

[AllenK RGV]

@AllenK@new2this

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/geese-breed-focus-project.1082517/

The egyptians looked the best to my eye of the bunch, thank you for linking this for us.

 

[Pyxis]

The egyptians looked the best to my eye of the bunch, thank you for linking this for us.

Egyptians are very pretty, but I just wanted to let you know that they are not the same as domestic geese - in fact, they are not in the same species, or even genus. So, they'll be fairly different from any domestic geese that you are used to Not a bad thing, just something to be aware of. And, they are fully flighted, unlike domestic breeds that have been bred to not be able to fly.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I understand they are not good with other birds either.

 

[motherhen11]

'The following info wording has been revised @Pyxis
I understand what most are saying about how geese should be kept together and what the first poster was saying about their experience. However, Metzer farms owner told us that it was perfectly fine to get one goose to keep with our chickens. He knew we wanted a single goose to be kept with chickens, as we asked him if getting just one goose would do well kept with chickens. The answer was absolutely. I informed him how I read that a single goose was better than two at alerting chickens and humans of danger. We informed him of what we were were looking to do and asked pertinent questions regarding the topic. He let us know that one goose would be perfectly fine...he explained how the goose would more than likely bond to me/my family and upon much interaction with us and the chickens, the goose would be just fine. As geese 'usually' get along great with chickens. When raised together a goose will bond with chickens, ducks, etc...'Person/people'. The imprint on a person or on the animal. Especially when they know no other way.

No a goose cannot fight off a predator. However, they can see and here them in the air or on the property well before a chicken can and before the predator is too close. Upon seeing or hearing a predator, geese are known for sounding the alarm, to alert their feathered friends and humans of the present danger. And in most cases, well before danger strikes. Having two geese is where this doesn't work out quite the same. Two would bond more together and have been known 'not' to have the same heightened awareness and protective attitude towards the chicken flock. So when we directed our questions and concerns on the matter and the above scenario to the owner of the farm. We were told that it was perfectly ok to have just one goose. We also did much more research on the matter.

Please share:
All constructive/informative input in mannerly fasion on this matter on this post of mine and others I have posted are welcomed and very much appreciated.

 

[R2elk]

I understand what most are saying about how geese should be kept together and what the first poster was saying about their experience. However, Metzer farms owner himself told us that it was perfectly fine to get one goose to keep with our chickens. He knew we wanted a goose with our chickens. We asked if a goose would do well kept with chickens. The answer was absolutely. I info him that I read that a goose was good at alerting chickens and humans danger. He told us that was true. We informed him of what we were were looking to fo and asked pertinent questions regarding the topic. He let us know that one goose would be perfectly fine...he would more than likely bond to me/my family and upon much interaction the goose would be just fine. And said that keeping just one goose with our chickens would be just fine. As geese 'usually' get along great with chickens. When raised together a goose will bond with chickens, ducks, etc...'Person/people'.
No a goose cannot fight off a predator. However, they can see and here them in the air or on the property well before a chicken can and before the predator is too close. Upon seeing or hearing a predator, geese are known for sounding the alarm, to alert their feathered friends and humans of the present danger. And in most cases, well before danger strikes. Having two geese is where this doesn't work out the same. Two would bond together and have been known not to have the same heightened awareness and protective attitude. So when we directed our questions and concerns on the matter/the above scenario. We were told that it was perfectly ok to have just one goose by the owner at Metzer Farms.

Don't believe everything that a vendor tells you. He is in the business of selling and has no problem telling a prospective customer what he believes they want to hear.

 

[Pyxis]

As someone who had one goose with just chickens and ducks for years, I can tell you that what you were told is not correct. And Metzer Farms definitely doesn't keep just one goose with a flock of chickens, so they don't have any experience in this arena. As R2elk said, they're selling something to you. Of course they're going to tell you what they can to make a sale.

And what he said wasn't totally wrong. Can a goose live alone with chickens and be healthy and do 'okay'? Sure. Will it have bonded with those chickens, due to not having an appropriate flock mate to bond with? Again, sure. Will it be as happy as it would be if it was living with another goose? Nope, not even a little.

And they don't just stop alerting to danger because you have two. You don't get two geese together and now they're not going to alert any longer. Even if they were alerting just to tell their companion about the danger, not necessarily to tell the chickens, the chickens are still going to hear it, and so are you.

I have eight geese. They still alert to danger and I and the chickens and ducks still hear them, even if the alert wasn't meant for us.

Did you read the story in the first post on this thread?

Let me ask you this: Do you believe, in all honesty, that a lone goose kept with chickens that don't act the same way it does, that don't speak its 'language', that don't share its behaviors, that don't have the same diet, and that can never be its mate is just as happy as a goose that has another goose to live with? A companion that DOES share its behaviors, language, and, if it's the opposite gender, can be its mate to raise offspring with?

I really don't think the two geese in those scenarios are equally happy.