The African and Chinese goose thread!!

[Miss Lydia]

How wonderful! Trios work out really well. I think you are doing all the right things for them. Angel wing is pretty rare here, I have had 1 gosling in 3 years with it. My flock of 10 pretty well roam the whole 5 acres during the day in a regular pattern. seems like certain times of day chosen grazing spots are tastier!

And they know where they are. I envy yall who have pasture. I cannot get grass to grow well here at all so much rocky soil I try so hard but I always feel I am letting my geese down. I do buy greens for them but I know it's not the same thing as having grass to graze on.

They seems healthy but I know they'd be happier with some good green grass.

 

[Goosegrrl]

Grass is great... except when it come to mowing 4+ acres every three days for nearly 9 months out of the year! And several of those months in 100+ degree temps.

(Where is the emoticon for me having heat stroke? LOL)

Florida rain and heat = GROWTH!

I changed my mower blades a few days ago, did a quick pass around the edge of the yard to test them out, finished mowing the entire yard two days later, because of storm interruption, and had to go back over the outside pass because it was already noticeably taller.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Grass is great... except when it come to mowing 4+ acres every three days for nearly 9 months out of the year! And several of those months in 100+ degree temps.

(Where is the emoticon for me having heat stroke? LOL)

Florida rain and heat = GROWTH!

I changed my mower blades a few days ago, did a quick pass around the edge of the yard to test them out, finished mowing the entire yard two days later, because of storm interruption, and had to go back over the outside pass because it was already noticeably taller.

You need a herd of geese. Born and raised in Fl. I remember how fast grass grows there. lol

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote: Have you thought about sprouting or fodder, its really easy with burlap. I do it in the winter months to offer greens for the geese especially. Good for the entire flock actually!

Grass is great... except when it come to mowing 4+ acres every three days for nearly 9 months out of the year! And several of those months in 100+ degree temps.

(Where is the emoticon for me having heat stroke? LOL)

Florida rain and heat = GROWTH!

I changed my mower blades a few days ago, did a quick pass around the edge of the yard to test them out, finished mowing the entire yard two days later, because of storm interruption, and had to go back over the outside pass because it was already noticeably taller.

Agreed, we mow about an acre of it around the house and barn.. The other 4 acres is used as grass hay, and bedding for my coops. DH was able to find a bush hog for our tractor that lays the hay in rows about like a sickle mower. He made a hay rake for us out of steel tines, hooks right on the 3 point on the tractor.
All the spring rain we have weeds in the back 10-12 feet high, this area is where my goat buck lives. Bo has a house made out of a 250 gallon tote. Its got a steel frame, can be moved with the tractor. He is rotated around that pasture, taking care that no trees are near to get wrapped up on. He looks great, super glossy and healthy! Bo is also my automatic weed eater LOL! Winter he is housed with his does. (I keep Oberhasli milking goats) I also use my does for weed control when we aren't milking them or they are nursing kids.
Anyways, this makes a great area for new growth and the geese love it, and the chickens find a lot more bugs and snakes. My scovys snatch all the mice that pop up. They are always running around my buck, knowing he is going to stir up treats for them.

 

[Goosegrrl]

I live right on the border of a 600 acre USDA citrus research property... as much as I'd LOVE to have a few goats I just can't take the chance of it with them being notorious for escaping fences. If they were ever to get to the USDA side and munch down any little project trees things would be bad I'm pretty sure.

We are planning to grow out a couple of steers on the back pasture though. (Mmmm, beef!) Chickens to keep the cow pats scratched down, and scovys to eat up bugs.
Our property is also bordered by a small river... so many little frogs for them to snack on in that pasture grass!

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

I live right on the border of a 600 acre USDA citrus research property... as much as I'd LOVE to have a few goats I just can't take the chance of it with them being notorious for escaping fences. If they were ever to get to the USDA side and munch down any little project trees things would be bad I'm pretty sure.

We are planning to grow out a couple of steers on the back pasture though. (Mmmm, beef!) Chickens to keep the cow pats scratched down, and scovys to eat up bugs.
Our property is also bordered by a small river... so many little frogs for them to snack on in that pasture grass!

Oh yikes! That would be bad. I totally agree on steers, we have had bottle calves. Prices went crazy on them last year, used to get them for $60 to 70. Now they are around $225! I would do it again for sure, really enjoyed "baby moos" when they were here. I have 3 neighbor farms that raise meat and dairy calves so waiting to hear from them next spring.
We have a large creek bordering here, one feeder stream runs right through our land. Super good setup for cows and hogs.

 

[Goosegrrl]

We have all the wild hogs we can stand, they are literally a nuisance and super destructive... couldn't ever see actually raising one! LOL

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Oh my, yes wild hogs are dangerous. Feral potbelly pigs are a big issue up north, so many are abandoned because they got too big.
Domestic pigs are pretty easy, I swore I would NEVER raise them. 3 years ago, we got our first feeder pig, his name was (you guessed it) Bacon. I spent several months researching how to keep them. Fermenting the feed is key to a less stinky pig! I treat everything here the same, no matter why they are here, and what the end purpose is for them. So he was raised like a pet. After raising him, and coming to terms with the final "bad day" I felt pretty good about keeping them again. I process all of our food animals here on the farm, I want to know its done humanely and respect them for feeding my family. I also want to know how they were fed, what they ate. My pigs are around my birds and goats, never had any issue with them eating or biting at them.
We have had 10 hogs so far, and now have a breeding pair of Hampshire to start raising our own. I spend a lot of extra time keeping them social so when my sow births, she won't be a problem to handle. Out of the 10, I have yet to have an aggressive pig. I am still very cautious and watch body language but am impressed with how intelligent they are. My "large Black" boar weighed about 450 and acted like an overgrown puppy! He would rub along the fence, and whine to get a back scratch and ear rubs. I wore steel toe boots around him, thats a lotta weight on a foot.
Here is my 25 year old nephew and his favorite hog, BP (Big Pig) giving him a belly rub. Picture was early this spring. BP went to a farm in the northern part of the state to be a herd sire, way too docile a boar to use for a food animal. He flopped over and wanted a rubdown, sometimes on your feet, lol. The new owner is just amazed over how gentle and friendly he is.

 

[Goosegrrl]

On our farm, in Tennessee, when I was growing up we raised pigs. They were smart and nice, except when I was snatching a baby from a sow to cuddle, and I did enjoy them.
We had a full blooded Russian boar that we kept as a pet for years. He was enormous. Around 600lbs the last several years. But really, really, sweet. Loved head rubs, and ear scratches. And, despite his size, would sit up and beg for treats held up over his head. As kids we had to stand on top of the fence to accomplish this. LOL
Because of his huge tusks we weren't allowed on his side of the fence. I saw him completely gut a good sized barrow once in what looked like basically an accident. Just a little nudge to push it out of the way of the feed, and it was sliced completely open.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

On our farm, in Tennessee, when I was growing up we raised pigs. They were smart and nice, except when I was snatching a baby from a sow to cuddle, and I did enjoy them.
We had a full blooded Russian boar that we kept as a pet for years. He was enormous. Around 600lbs the last several years. But really, really, sweet. Loved head rubs, and ear scratches. And, despite his size, would sit up and beg for treats held up over his head. As kids we had to stand on top of the fence to accomplish this. LOL
Because of his huge tusks we weren't allowed on his side of the fence. I saw him completely gut a good sized barrow once in what looked like basically an accident. Just a little nudge to push it out of the way of the feed, and it was sliced completely open.

Wow, thats scary! I do cut the tusks early. Just the size alone is enough for alert but adding tusks in too, eek!