space for geese

[Magriet]

My goslings are growing very fast now, now I have a problem with space. I do not want to be cruel to them so I do not know if they can be happy in a relative small space. The space we have is +/- 150 square meter and the 2 adults and the goslings in total are 8. We can feed them and there is a little grass and we feed them some kale and sprouted corn their feed pellets have 20% protein.

 

[_-Captain BRM-_]

They don't get to free range? Can you take pictures of their area?

 

[Magriet]

I will add a few photos. I must just explain how we landed up in this situation. We live on a "plot" as they call a smallholding in South Africa, with three houses on it. When we rented this house there were three geese her 2 belonging to the owner and the other one was someone else's and has since unfortunately disappeared. The owner does not stay on the premises and the geese were just left to their own devices.

One night a dog or something must have entered the premises in spite of the electric fence and killed the one and injured the other one. We took him to the vet (on our cost as the owner would not, and the vet said he had an injury just where his wing join his body. He gave him an injection for pain and gave me the syringes filled with antibiotics to give him for there day, he was completely healed.
Because he was so lonely and kept on searching and screaming for him friend we bought him a "friend"

All was well as the area was wide open and they could range the property freely. Then two things happened. Someone moved into the one house and because he has 6 dogs he fenced of the biggest are to keep his dogs in. Unfortunately the biggest area is in front of his house and that is the reason he could do that.

At that sate it was still ok as there was still quite a big are with a nice pool they could roam. The next problem started when breeding season came. The gander became aggressive and attacked the new people. The started kicking and hitting him so we had no choice but to move them into this smaller area.

When the goose started breeding we really did not expect her to hatch 6 out of the 7 eggs as I understood that the first time you can expect about a 20% hatch so I thought maybe one or two and I wanted to give her the pleasure of at least one hatch. Unfortunately 6 hatched and because she and the gander are such amazing parents they all 6 survived.

Now of course we sit with 8 geese and we cannot find a place to rehome them where they will be fed because of the aggressive gander. We cannot give them to someone where they are not fed as we saw how hungry both were when we got them. I just cannot do that to them. So, there you have my problem.

Everyone says sell 4 and keep two but I understand geese mourn when one disappears and also I cannot get it in my heart to sell them and know they are going to be eaten, they are my babies!

 

[_-Captain BRM-_]

I think the geese have plenty of room from the pictures! WOW you're situation is ttttrriiicckkkyyy!! But you can sell some of the babies if you want. It will not kill the geese to see a few missing. They could be sad for a day or two but I highly doubt it. Just don't split up the pair. Geese mate for life and if the other dies sometimes the remaining goose can get so depressed that they die. It sounds like your doing what's best for them!

 

[Magriet]

Thank You. You put my mind at rest. I will try and get a good home for some of them As I said the pair I cannot split and the gander is too aggressive he will never fit in somewhere else.