surprising visit

[Chick-a-dow-dee]

I live on a lake, and yesterday 4 beautiful Chinise White (or snow) Geese graced my yard. They were so sweet and followed me all around. Of course they ate grass but I spoiled them by giving them chicken scratch, four bowls to be exact. It made me realize that I wanted my own geese. I have a couple of questions. 1. I also have chickens, my visters yesterday did not seem to get along well with my chickens, would that be different if I riased some geese with my chickens? 2. these geese, while domesticated, do not seem to have a home, althought I think I know who bought them and let them loose on the lake. I'm concerned about predation, will geese take to being pinned up at night? I'm pretty sure they'd be ok in the day because they could retreat to the lake but will they come home again, and tollerate being put in a coop? 3. do most people coop geese?

Thanks!!

 

[jtn42248]

I live on a lake, and yesterday 4 beautiful Chinise White (or snow) Geese graced my yard. They were so sweet and followed me all around. Of course they ate grass but I spoiled them by giving them chicken scratch, four bowls to be exact. It made me realize that I wanted my own geese. I have a couple of questions. 1. I also have chickens, my visters yesterday did not seem to get along well with my chickens, would that be different if I riased some geese with my chickens? 2. these geese, while domesticated, do not seem to have a home, althought I think I know who bought them and let them loose on the lake. I'm concerned about predation, will geese take to being pinned up at night? I'm pretty sure they'd be ok in the day because they could retreat to the lake but will they come home again, and tollerate being put in a coop? 3. do most people coop geese?

Thanks!!

I can not speak for others but only from my own experience. I started off with three Toulouse geese, a gander and two females. When they were young they were raised with my chickens and ducks and all was right with the world. However, as they got older they became less and less tolerant of the other birds to the point that I had to give them their own space. This season they hatched out 8 goslings so now I have 11 Toulouse geese.

The parent geese adjusted to their "coop" or goose house well enough to establish their nest inside and they go in each evening for the night and I was able to close and lock their door to protect them. Well, they are great parents, and now with them and their 8 offspring all I do is stand at their gate and say "inside" and in they all go for the evening. Did I train them, probably the parents, but the young learned from the adults behavior.

Geese are very intelligent birds and learn what they want to learn very well and fast. Otherwise, forget it, if they do not want to learn it they won't.

 

[EvenLater]

I too can only add from my experiences, and I've had both outdoor farm geese and now an indoor "pet" goose. Combining the knowledge of both, here's the best advice I can give you to answer your questions.

Get them as DAY OLDS. They will imprint on you, trust you, and will learn to tolerate your chickens. As they age, they will need their own space, so don't think they will all happily share one coop their entire lives. IF you get them YOUNG and they imprint on you, getting them to shelter at night will be a breeze. Chasing down more "feral" geese is a chore and no one is happy with it. Spend as much time as you can with them every single day. Talk to them, feed them special treats. They are SOOOO smart. They will learn that you are good and mean them no harm. They'll even learn to come when you call them. And yes, most people coop their geese at night. They are such easy prey for so many predators, and really can't defend themselves.

 

[HeritageGoose13]

I would strongly disagree with the advice to get new, baby geese. I have rescued older geese that were dumped and they do wonderful in their new homes and can tolerate other poultry. Some of them were living feral for months but they adjust happily. Geese are intelligent and they will be very thankful if you give them a home. It sounds like they like you already too. None of mine have become aggressive as they age- in fact I have never heard of this before.

I would take the geese on the lake, but you may need a separate sleeping area for them at night. I coop my geese at night because of predators. One of them I have in his own pen because he does not like being crowded, but the others do fine with other geese and birds. If you put them in the coop at the same time every night they will learn the routine. Give them dinner when you put them in at night and they will be happy to go inside.

Chasing down more "feral" geese is a chore and no one is happy with it.

This is absolutely not true, not true at all.

 

[EvenLater]

I would strongly disagree with the advice to get new, baby geese. I have rescued older geese that were dumped and they do wonderful in their new homes and can tolerate other poultry. Some of them were living feral for months but they adjust happily. Geese are intelligent and they will be very thankful if you give them a home. It sounds like they like you already too. None of mine have become aggressive as they age- in fact I have never heard of this before.

I would take the geese on the lake, but you may need a separate sleeping area for them at night. I coop my geese at night because of predators. One of them I have in his own pen because he does not like being crowded, but the others do fine with other geese and birds. If you put them in the coop at the same time every night they will learn the routine. Give them dinner when you put them in at night and they will be happy to go inside.

This is absolutely not true, not true at all.

I don't disagree with you either. I was suggesting she might want to start with younger ones than adopting older ones. From what she says, it seems she might want more human friendly geese, and that's generally what you get when you raise them from young. But it's like all animals I suppose. I always prefer adopting over buying, all my animals (minus Cas! Lol) are rescues. BUT...they all came with their own issues as a result...(Biscuit, the cockatoo, was TERRIFIED of men, brooms, sticks, vacuums, etc. Bear, the border collie, has severe separation anxiety.) All (with much work and love) are doing much better now, but again, it took work.

When I had "farm geese", they "tolerated" me. They'd come over to see if I had treats and then be on their way. They did their own thing. Corralling them into their house at night was a chore that neither I, nor them, enjoyed. I had 8 geese (and 6 ducks) and they'd split up and run off in all directions. It was a mess. Cas on the other hand, raised by me since Day 1 follows me EVERYWHERE and will approach other humans too. He LOVES people and will go to others and just sit and talk to them and enjoys being touched, handled, petted, etc.

Didn't mean to say my way is the only way. Their are exceptions to every rule, and each animal is unique. I was simply stating MY personal experiences with both, and given the opportunity (and land) to farm again, I would personally only get baby geese and raise them around people and other critters, know what they've been fed, etc. BUT...this is all just my opinion of course. Honestly, I would think the OP will appreciate many facets of opinion to help make their own. We don't always have to agree on everything! That's what makes people great!

Hugs @ Heritage

 

[HeritageGoose13]

Yeah I know what you're saying. It's just I really love all the animals (goose and others) I've rescued over the years.

Sorry if I got a bit defensive sounding, haha.

 

[EvenLater]

No offense taken at all! The great thing about the internet is that you can meet new people, learn new things, and hear opinions that may differ from your own. I love it personally! I enjoy reading your posts and I know you know what you're talking about. I just have the one spoiled rotten indoor living pampered goose right now so I'm a little bias lol but comparing both of my experiences with geese personally I prefer those raised by humans

 

[Miss Lydia]

Makes me very sad to think of all the geese ,well animals that have been dumped that no one wanted. Just think of those 4 geese the OP saw today To me it would be wonderful if some one adopted them and gave them a forever home. Evidently they are use to being around humans.If I had the property I'd would adopt geese that had been dumped and give them a forever home.

Cas is one very blessed goose.

 

[EvenLater]

Man, if I had the property and space and finances, there wouldn't be a homeless animal for miles surrounding me! Lol

 

[Chick-a-dow-dee]

Well, I have interesting news. Yesterday the quartet came by and went off with a, I assume, male that's been hanging around for years, at the neighbor's house. Today, the quartet is now a trio, and that's when I said enough. These babies are so sweet, they seem like they wanted to be pet but have been out enought to not quite tollerate it they follow me everywhere and dive into the scratch I've been giving them. So I gently and methodically coaxed them into the chicken coop, after all the chickens roosted. My roo is super sweet and for tonight anyway, they will be safe. I don't have any other place for them right now and am open to suggestions. I'll post pictures if you'd like...and thanks!!