The African and Chinese goose thread!!

[Mdwfolsom]

I was given an adult African goose and he is the only goose I have. He seems rather sad and is not eating well. Any suggestions of what types of food they really like? I've tried several greens and nothing seems to excite him. I'll probably get him a friend.

 

[MalMom]

I'm waiting on someone else to answer you. Mine are in pen at night with an extra large dog igloo..

Do you know when they stop growing? Mine are ~3 1/2 - 4 months old. I can make the door to their current size, but if they are going to grow a lot more I'll need to make it bigger.

 

[sonshine15]

This is as close as I could find MalMom.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/geese-coop-requirements.244393/page-3

Keep in mind there has to be a way to clean it. These geese poop a lot. I call mine "Turdles" vs geese.

 

[sonshine15]

I was given an adult African goose and he is the only goose I have. He seems rather sad and is not eating well. Any suggestions of what types of food they really like? I've tried several greens and nothing seems to excite him. I'll probably get him a friend.

From what I have heard and read, geese can mourn the loss of a mate or friend for a very long time. IF he's not ill, and you may want to check for that, you may want to get him a lady friend?

 

[sonshine15]

Do you know when they stop growing? Mine are ~3 1/2 - 4 months old. I can make the door to their current size, but if they are going to grow a lot more I'll need to make it bigger.

Here's some cool houses for geese! May help give an idea. Mine are not quiet 3 mos and are already pretty large.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/what-does-your-goose-coop-look-like.586695/

 

[sonshine15]

Do you know when they stop growing? Mine are ~3 1/2 - 4 months old. I can make the door to their current size, but if they are going to grow a lot more I'll need to make it bigger.

AHA!!!!!
This was posted by LightningTFarm:
Your door will need to be 29" wide and about 28" tall to give them plenty of room.

 

[MalMom]

AHA!!!!!
This was posted by LightningTFarm:
Your door will need to be 29" wide and about 28" tall to give them plenty of room.

Thank you so much! I don't know how I missed that! The coop area is easy to clean, and I'm hoping they can be grazing in the yard most of the time. I've read so much about geese not using shelters, but I want somewhere safe for them to be at night so they will just have to deal with it. Here are some pictures of my coop so far. We are converting part of a shed into the coop. It isn't finished yet (a door for the birds, etc.) but I like how it's coming along

 

[sonshine15]

Nice job! I battle mine to go in to their shelter and this weekend we are putting up a new one for them. They love to sleep outside. I have a metal portable dog kennel I put up around them at night.

Our chicken coop is huge but is also a ways from the house. I want the geese up close and more protected from coyotes.

On a side note, my gander attacked our friend and renter that lives on the property.......not sure what that's about either. She cared for them while we went on a fishing trip last week. I had her hold him to show him who was boss.........just very odd. We were sitting on the grass and he threw a fit that she came in and sat also......

 

[MalMom]

Nice job! I battle mine to go in to their shelter and this weekend we are putting up a new one for them. They love to sleep outside. I have a metal portable dog kennel I put up around them at night.

Our chicken coop is huge but is also a ways from the house. I want the geese up close and more protected from coyotes.

On a side note, my gander attacked our friend and renter that lives on the property.......not sure what that's about either. She cared for them while we went on a fishing trip last week. I had her hold him to show him who was boss.........just very odd. We were sitting on the grass and he threw a fit that she came in and sat also......

Thank you! It's a multi purpose coop, so it is for our chickens, ducks, and geese. I hope I can make the door big enough, I have to go measure it.

 

[MalMom]

Ugh, I've run into a problem. I only have a width of 21 inches from stud to stud. Hopefully it will still be big enough.