Should I take the plunge?

[MyTDogs]

Hi All,

This is my first post to the goose/geese boards. I have an opportunity to get 3 geese this weekend. They are adults (don't know the exact age - forgot to ask). 1 female Toulouse (goose?) and 2 males (gander? ganders?) 1 Toulouse & 1 Embden. They have been living as a group & have been handled by kids (4H). They look like they are in great shape & well cared for.

I am just not sure I should get them. I currently have 12 chickens (some pretty young & will not stay once I find out if they are cockerels) & 9 adult runners. At night they are all penned in an open air type coop (10x10 dog kennel with a roof and some side protection) and they are free ranged over an acre each day.

I have read that geese may provide some protection/alerting for threats to the flock and that can have quite entertaining personalities. So i would love to give these guys a good home. My concerns are:

The males might fight over the female...the current owner says that has never been an issue.

Will they fit into my blended flock? Everyone seems to get along fine right now.

Are they messier than the runners? So far nothing is as messy as my duckies but I am wondering if the geese are the same only with BIGGER messes.

Will I need to provide special foods? Currently my flock all shares a special mix I have done up at the local mill- oats, barley, alfalfa, BOSS, corn & flax along with a dove/pigeon scratch (peas, millet & milo) and all the grass & bugs/critters they can find. Free choice Tuff Shell too.

Will the geese fly out of my yard? My current flock has never shown any inkling of flying over my 4 foot fence.

Will geese be okay with goats? I hope to add a few goats in the next year & i don't want to have problems with them getting along.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer...I am off to read the goose training thread so that I can be sure to avoid my childhood goose memories of being chased by a Toulouse

 

[Kevin565]

Hi All,

This is my first post to the goose/geese boards. I have an opportunity to get 3 geese this weekend. They are adults (don't know the exact age - forgot to ask). 1 female Toulouse (goose?) and 2 males (gander? ganders?) 1 Toulouse & 1 Embden. They have been living as a group & have been handled by kids (4H). They look like they are in great shape & well cared for.

I am just not sure I should get them. I currently have 12 chickens (some pretty young & will not stay once I find out if they are cockerels) & 9 adult runners. At night they are all penned in an open air type coop (10x10 dog kennel with a roof and some side protection) and they are free ranged over an acre each day.

I have read that geese may provide some protection/alerting for threats to the flock and that can have quite entertaining personalities. So i would love to give these guys a good home. My concerns are:

The males might fight over the female...the current owner says that has never been an issue. Behavior can very much change in new surroundings. I personally would never have a 2:1 ratio even if it appeared to be working.

Will they fit into my blended flock? Everyone seems to get along fine right now. They will most likely ignore the birds until spring time. When breeding season is in play they can get very moody.

Are they messier than the runners? So far nothing is as messy as my duckies but I am wondering if the geese are the same only with BIGGER messes. Yes they are messier IMO.

Will I need to provide special foods? Currently my flock all shares a special mix I have done up at the local mill- oats, barley, alfalfa, BOSS, corn & flax along with a dove/pigeon scratch (peas, millet & milo) and all the grass & bugs/critters they can find. Free choice Tuff Shell too. I'd be afraid that that may not be enough Niacin.

Will the geese fly out of my yard? My current flock has never shown any inkling of flying over my 4 foot fence. No.

Will geese be okay with goats? I hope to add a few goats in the next year & i don't want to have problems with them getting along. Yes

Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer...I am off to read the goose training thread so that I can be sure to avoid my childhood goose memories of being chased by a Toulouse

 

[MyTDogs]

Thanks Kevin,

I appreciate the advice. Can you tell me the rule for goose housing? I know chickens need 4sf/bird inside & 10sf outside in a run. What is it for Geese?

I went to see them today & they were really cool. I especially liked the embden. The current owner doesn't want to split them up & I wasn't prepared for how big they were...I didn't even have enuf room in my dog kennel for all 3. So I left without them. I really think a pair will be plenty for me so I guess i will need to look somewhere else. Anybody know if there is a goose rescue in FL?