Sebastopol geese

[Windchyme]

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Theres a stupid feed store for you. You can use start to finish chicken food...that's about 18-20% protien then add in about 20-30% (1 scoop to every 3 of the regular food is 30%) crimped oats. Also they love alfalfa hay if you don't have green stuff for them to graze on.. I am in the same situation, the only foods for reasonable we have around here is regular chicken foods. The ideal protien for geese that are growing is 16% on most breeds- the giant dewlap breeds are fed 20% for the first two weeks and 18% after per a small very high quality breeder. By cutting the start to finish with the crimped oats you are lowering the protien levels. Niacin is also a good idea as most foods don't have enough Niacin in them and that contributes to leg problems. During breeding I have read to feed them the 18-20% as they need it to breed properly and make good eggs. Just don't feed them medicated chick starter- it's not good for them and can kill ducks. Waterfowl should be dosed at 1/2 the rate chickens are for meds in the water as they drink more water. No meds in the food.

Fake goose eggs can be bought online look for wooden eggs or dummy eggs. I have seen them but don't have a link offhand, but you have time...they won't breed till next spring.

 

[Shanay235]

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Well, this is my first year with Sebbies, I have seven total. The three oldest (11 wks. old) are all males and they are pretty darn loud when they want to be. I also have brown chinese geese and although the Sebbies don't honk, talk, etc., nearly as often as the chinese, they are just as loud when they get on a roll. Usually, the only time(s) they get that loud are first thing in the morning when letting them out of the house, if we don't let them out of the pond enclosure when we are outside, an unfamiliar person or animal shows up, or they see the treat bowl in my hands. After a minute or so, everything is quiet again.

Two geese on that amount of acerage will be fine. They don't need a pond to be happy, a kiddie pool works very well. As for the garden, I can't help with that. I made sure mine was totally fenced in before the little stinkers even had a chance to check out what the big, funny looking, goose was planting in the fresh dirt.

 

[Shanay235]

I've also seen the wooden, fake eggs in arts & craft stores.

 

[waibel zoo]

So if I get chicken feed and cut it with crimped (is that important, would rolled be acceptable?) oats, what texture should I get; pellets or crumbles?

Really I can only get layer feed unless I want mash. Is layer feed too high in calcium? I have grass, but will probably buy greens in the winter. They will like that right?

What about Turkey feed? Would that be better? What is the texture of turkey feed anyway?

What about adding other grains like barley or?

 

[Cottage Rose]

I always encourage prospective geese buyers to consider the reality's before they buy.
Any breed of geese can be noisy, especially during the breeding season and the ganders can get aggressive as well.
They do nibble on everything and will eat your flowers and ruin other shredable things...anything from bark on trees to air valve covers on your tires and anything else they can get into.
With such a small place your grass would quickly become over grazed. Geese are grazers and if they don't have grass to graze on they will nibble on everything else. They also poop alot.
I would not recommend geese for small places but to each his own.
Maybe Call Ducks would be a better choice.

 

[Windchyme]

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Rolled would be fine, as long as they can eat it, other grains are good too. Layer feed is too high in calcium. You could feed half turkey feed and half other stuff if that is all you have. Turkey feed comes in crumbles and pellets, depends what they have their. If they have graze that's what they will choose in my experience and only eat a little of the prepared food. They love greens fruits and veggies of all types. If you don't have graze you could get leafy alfalfa hay, mine seem to like it. Gesse can eat pelleted or crumble food.

I would think though about the noise. Even my loudest goose is quiet most of the time until she gets on a rip and they all do that. Are you sure your neighbors will put up with it? What happens if you have one of those nosy, nasty neighbors that calls animal control on you? Where will the geese go?

They do poop absolutely everywhere. If they are tame and like you they want to be on the patio's and porches with you and will poop all over them. Then if you get too much of a buildup of poop that can't dry you get a farmy smell and flies. they can and do chew on everything. I had to pull hay baling rope from out of one of my gooses crops- he had chewed it, swallowed part of it and I had to carefully pull it out. I live on a piece of property where nice landscaping is about impossible at this point anyway geese or no geese (can't hardly get good grass to grow) but planting anything is difficult as they want to eat and chew everything- my new trees are protected by cages so they won't chew on and kill them before they get big enough. Such things are easier to deal with on a larger property but on such a tiny piece it could be alot of trouble. If you are particular at all about your plants, landscaping, porches or patios, any furniture that is there....you may not want geese.

 

[goosedragon]

My geese used to get under my old pickup and disconnect the wires going to the tail and break lights! when I bought a new shiny one I checked before I bought it that the wires were protected but it was shiny and they could see themselves in it so they used to beat it up until I finally just left it dirty. With geese it is always something!

 

[Windchyme]

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Hahahahahaha, I could SO picture that...that's geese for you.