some goose questions

[soccerguy17]

well my dad wanted to get goats but we only have a third of an acre so i looked at some other livestock poultry and came up with geese if you could coud you include some basic info on them and anything i need to know about certain breeds ie agressiveness a local guy has a trio of Sebastopol geese and he is selling them for 125 bucks is this alot? are Sebastopols unusually loud or agresssive? thanks for reading

 

[Chickenlover88]

Geese make terrific pets as well as watchdogs. If raised from goslings geese can be very tame and sweet. Some of the more aggressive breeds are chinese and africans. I beleive Sebastopols have pretty good temperments. That price is pretty steep for three geese though. I'm not sure I would pay that much.

 

[4H kids and mom]

Thats an AWESOME price for three Sebastopols considering they go for around $45 per gosling! I believe they are the most, or at least one of the most, expensive geese. And if the trio is a breeding trio (one male, two females) then you are very lucky! I would go for it! Emdens and other more common breeds are far less, if you dont want to spend so much. You can get an adult Embden for $10 or sometimes even free.

And about goats, they dont need a huge amount of room if you get smaller goats. I have two small kids running the yard with my ducklings, goslings, chicks, and chickens andwe have only about 3/4 of an acre. Only some of that is available to them because its fenced. I'd get a goat or two also!

(But then again, I am seriously addicted, so I might not be your best help! lol)

 

[spock78]

I'm not an expert by any means. For that matter I don't have geese, YET, but the White Chinese geese are supposed to be good foragers & weeders, so if you have a lot of weeds, they would be good & much cheaper at about $10.00.

 

[Frozen Feathers]

White Chinese are also the most aggressive IMO. We had some for a while. When they were young they were so sweet and gentle, I used to hold them on my lap and they'd got sleep and always followed us around. Once they hit puberty, though, our property became there's and the neighbors property as well! They didn't just hiss at us, they would run across the yard to bite us!! Over protective of there nesting area, never seen a goose so aggressive. We've had African and Grey Toulouse and they'd hiss, but never right out attack. I mean, I'm not a wimp by no means, but had bite marks!!
W
ant gentle geese? Sebastopols are awesome, I've wanted some for years, but they are $$$$!! I've heard Pilgrims are very friendly and true Giant Delap Toulouse. But if you want to have a goose dinner sometime in the future, get the Chinese weeders....that's what we did.

 

[Frozen Feathers]

You could always get Nigerian dwarf goats as well. They are very little, and don't eat much at all

Mine have been working on the same flake of hay for a week...they also get fresh maple leaves and munch on the lawn but they really don't eat that much. Mine are only 7 weeks old though.

 

[DuckLady]

I have 2 chinese and an embden. They are friendly to us (My chinese girl Bella likes to climb in my lap at 3 years old), yet they warn anyone else off.

One thing to consider is your neighbors. You have only 1/3 acre. That can get noisy. My neighbors a half mile away hear mine when they start honking at something.

 

[4H kids and mom]

They ARE noisey, I can vouge for that! When Barb S and I went to get her pair of adult Embdens, we came back to my place to clip their wings (just in case) and they were momentarily seperated. Man! Imagine standing RIGHT NEXT to a semi and have it blow its horn OVER and OVER and OVER again!

I currently have a White Chinese, a Super African (they get much larger and have the huge dulap), an American Buff, and a Roman Tufted. The African is aggressive and runs after the goats and chickens when they come too close, and will bite at them! The White Chinese is still small, but hisses and chases, though it backs down to the roos! Of my 4, the friendliest and most tolerant is the American Buff who is VERY laid back and mellow. He will lay with the chicks or goats, and just kinda waddles around and takes whatever life throws at him (or her?) with stride. He's also our favorite because of his gentle nature and mellow attitude. I have had chance to work with an adult American Buff gander (boy) when Barb S came to get him with me when I picked up my babies. Even though he'd never been handled, he was calm and didnt try to bite or even hiss at us. When he got down, he ran off, but he was very gentle. I recommend them. Oh, and the Buffs this farmer had were the quietest of all his geese too.

 

[Barb Schuetz]

I was worried about aggressiveness as well and in my research I found that the American Buff and Embden are the most mild mannered. I now have 2 embden and 1 Buff and they rock! No hissing or biting or chasing.
I've also been looking for Sebatsapol geese and $125 for a trio is not at all a bad price, IF you want to spend it. You could spend a lot more if you wanted show quality stock or to be guaranteed of age, sex, fertility and brooding. If you don't care much about that kind of stuff and didn't want to spend that much, just keep your eyes and ears open.
Try contacting your local animal shelter and if they don't know of anyone currently trying to find a new home for their geese, give them your info so that they can call you when someone calls them.
Good luck!

 

[cgjsmith]

You might also try your local creigs list or sometimes even freecycle. I got my pilgrim geese from creigs list. they are adults and as a result they are skittish and don't come near me. I plan on raiding their nests next year and try to make some more people friendly. They area ahoot to watch though. As for goats my pygmies don't eat much either. but are a heard orinted animal and need more then one to be happy 9or you get to listen to then all night long:/ Crystal