The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Lauravonsmurf]

A couple things about the Geese:

Our last 2 geese where one male & female, that is just how it worked out when we picked them out, they where very consistent show winners btw. I had no problems having a male.

We had a kiddie pool for them to splash about in (and the ducks we had too). The pool had to be cleaned regularly, but the dirty water from it did wonders in the garden. One advantage to the cheapy kiddie pool was it could be moved around the yard after being emptied to make fertilizing different areas easier. One of the hens help raise the baby goslings, you should have seen her freak the first day her adopted chicks went swimming in the kiddie pool... lol.

My climate is very nice, so our coop was not a proper coop but a heavily modified chain link dog run that was covered with a make shift roof and with some solid sides added, little add hock perches, and an additional big Igloo dog house for critters that wanted a hiddy hole, all the live stock at night slept together in the coop/dog run. So Geese, Ducks, Chickens, & Goats.... very hippy dippy, but it worked. The rabbits had individual hutches.

During the day the birds where allowed to free range within the confines of the back yard.

Feed for the Birds: Was a combination of scratch, laying feed, Wild Bird Seed, oyster shell, alfalfa, cooked rice and snails, slugs, bugs and lots and lots of figs (when in season). Veggie & Fruit table/prep scraps. Neighbors would bring by stale bread and feed the birds too, seemed to make some of our older neighbors really happy to feed the ducks and geese. All birds where fed together though.

The geese we kept where Pilgrim. We did have an African Grey 1st but we had raised him so tame that a neighbor's kid killed him

(those parents actively encouraged their children to harm animals) before my kids or I could reach the child (that had run into our backyard without permission... another thing their parents didn't seem to care about) and intervene (we all ran, screaming at him, but he just smiled, grabbed it by the neck and snapped it's neck)... so the Pilgrims we raised to be more feral... they therefore would bite & run away from strangers while alerting. The Grey had been raised like a house pet, hand fed, taken every where with humans in the yard and had even slept in the kids rooms in a cage when small, it was petted daily and as a result he did not know to run away from any humans, and thought all humans where his friends... we where aware of how big he would get and we had wanted him 100% tame for people safety. We purposefully raised the next 2 geese to be less friendly for their safety, there is no doubt in my mind however that if we had raised the Pilgrims the same as the African Grey they would have been 100% tame too.

Geese can not be bribed as my kids discovered in their teen years

, they will alert, will defend if threatened... but would loose to a good sized predator. It is their ability to alert that helps the other critters seek shelter.

We did have night mammal predator problems over the years, but the dogs stopped the night attacks.

I hopes this helps.

PS: the geese, ducks and RIR where used as 4-H projects and show birds but where all hatchery bred stock.

 

[Turkeytruff]

That's 3 people now that have said that they have more than 1 goose and they act as guard animals for the aerial predators. That's great! I would have 2 and they could be friends, but help with the hawks. I'm not worried about night preds as my birds are locked securely inside at night.

I know one person that sold a flock of geese to a pastured poultry farm and they haven't had aerial predators get any of their chickens since!!!!!!!!


I don't have geese but I do know that they are vegetarian while CHICKENS NEED ANIMAL PROTEIN. So I'd have to feed them a little differently since I have fish meal in my main feed and I give them additional animal protein sources. But I don't think that would be a big deal.

So...I'd like to know the answers to your questions too...FOR GEESE (not turkeys). I'd probably just get a pair of females so..
-Would the roosters get along with them okay?
-And, yes... where do they sleep? Do they sleep on roost or on floor? Could they share the same housing?
-What would be a good breed?

I feed a flock mix (FF with whole grains, and a base) and the geese happily eat that and then lots of grass. The roosters and turkeys co exist but have learned to back off if the geese warn them. In the pecking order, they are the alphas. It was funny when I got the geese, I was so worried they'd be picked on by the turkeys and yet the first morning I let them out of their crate, they came marching on honking and terrified the turkeys, roosters, and all! Hah! Never seen the head rooster and alpha tom turkeys retreat so fast!
Mine sleep in a separate part of the barn, but I know that they can also co exist with the others if I needed them to. Bearing in mind they would choose the spot they want (on the hay on the floor) and everyone else finds another spot

I'm not sure about what is a good breed. My gander is a Buff American and my goose is a Toulouse. He was given a lot of attention as a gosling and loves women, and hisses at men. My DH has a great way of dealing with him. He brings a cane and tickles him on the chest. Geese are 90% bluff, but I would always be careful if you have small children around of course. My gander is an absolute softie with me

and comes up to discuss the weighter issues of the world,such as the length of the grass and the quality of the food I give him. And they LOVE the rain! (which is a bonus around here LOL!) I have a lil tykes swimming pool for them, but they can also manage with a 5 gallon bucket full of water to clean their nares.
Hope this helps!

 

[vpatt]

I feed a flock mix (FF with whole grains, and a base) and the geese happily eat that and then lots of grass. The roosters and turkeys co exist but have learned to back off if the geese warn them. In the pecking order, they are the alphas. It was funny when I got the geese, I was so worried they'd be picked on by the turkeys and yet the first morning I let them out of their crate, they came marching on honking and terrified the turkeys, roosters, and all! Hah! Never seen the head rooster and alpha tom turkeys retreat so fast!
Mine sleep in a separate part of the barn, but I know that they can also co exist with the others if I needed them to. Bearing in mind they would choose the spot they want (on the hay on the floor) and everyone else finds another spot   
I'm not sure about what is a good breed. My gander is a Buff American and my goose is a Toulouse.  He was given a lot of attention as a gosling and loves women, and hisses at men. My DH has a great way of dealing with him. He brings a cane and tickles him on the chest. Geese are 90% bluff, but I would always be careful if you have small children around of course. My gander is an absolute softie with me   and comes up to discuss the weighter issues of the world,such as the length of the grass and the quality of the food I give him. And they LOVE the rain! (which is a bonus around here LOL!)  I have a lil tykes swimming pool for them, but they can also manage with a 5 gallon bucket full of water to clean their nares.
Hope this helps!

Just over our fence is a small pond and I doubt the neighbors would want geese there. Maybe I will give turkeys a try. My mom used to have geese. We actually had turkeys once in a pen near where the chicken coop is. They did not survive for long. I know a dog got in to them once....but also a few eggs hatched and the hens pretty much ran over the little ones and crushed them. I had almost forgotten about them....it was a loooong time ago and they did not survive long. They were my husbands project at the time. I wonder why they didn't make it.

 

[Turkeytruff]

Just over our fence is a small pond and I doubt the neighbors would want geese there. Maybe I will give turkeys a try. My mom used to have geese. We actually had turkeys once in a pen near where the chicken coop is. They did not survive for long. I know a dog got in to them once....but also a few eggs hatched and the hens pretty much ran over the little ones and crushed them. I had almost forgotten about them....it was a loooong time ago and they did not survive long. They were my husbands project at the time. I wonder why they didn't make it.

As long as you have a fence of about 2 foot high or more, I don't see them bothering to go over to the pond. I have only once in 3 years seen my geese actually take flight - too much effort for them.
And yes, turkeys! Once you get them to 7 weeks, they are pretty resilient; poults like to throw themselves into water and drown, so you need to watch ALL open waterers. Did you mean turkey hens or chicken hens that crushed the little ones?

 

[jtn42248]

As long as you have a fence of about 2 foot high or more, I don't see them bothering to go over to the pond. I have only once in 3 years seen my geese actually take flight - too much effort for them.
And yes, turkeys! Once you get them to 7 weeks, they are pretty resilient; poults like to throw themselves into water and drown, so you need to watch ALL open waterers. Did you mean turkey hens or chicken hens that crushed the little ones?

Just a word of caution. I have three Toulouse geese and boy do they love to fly...

They regularly fly over the 5 foot fence of their run to get into the large field to grace. There is a pond across the highway from us but luckily they have either not noticed it or are just not interested in getting there from here. But, while most domestic geese are either too large or too heavy to fly much, they can and will, especially if they have a good head wind.

 

[vpatt]

As long as you have a fence of about 2 foot high or more, I don't see them bothering to go over to the pond. I have only once in 3 years seen my geese actually take flight - too much effort for them.
And yes, turkeys! Once you get them to 7 weeks, they are pretty resilient; poults like to throw themselves into water and drown, so you need to watch ALL open waterers. Did you mean turkey hens or chicken hens that crushed the little ones?

The turkey hens .....they would just walk over top of the babies ....I don't know what breed they were.

 

[vpatt]

Just a word of caution. I have three Toulouse geese and boy do they love to fly... They regularly fly over the 5 foot fence of their run to get into the large field to grace. There is a pond across the highway from us but luckily they have either not noticed it or are just not interested in getting there from here. But, while most domestic geese are either too large or too heavy to fly much, they can and will, especially if they have a good head wind.

Oh wow...so the breed makes a difference....what about turkeys ....do they fly away?

 

[Leahs Mom]

Thanks everyone!

 

[Turkeytruff]

Just a word of caution. I have three Toulouse geese and boy do they love to fly...

They regularly fly over the 5 foot fence of their run to get into the large field to grace. There is a pond across the highway from us but luckily they have either not noticed it or are just not interested in getting there from here. But, while most domestic geese are either too large or too heavy to fly much, they can and will, especially if they have a good head wind.

yes - i forgot about your wonderful picture above LOL! I guess they are pretty motivated....

The turkey hens .....they would just walk over top of the babies ....I don't know what breed they were.

I had a couple of clueless turkey hens last summer desperately broody but crushed their eggs too
In the end I incubated the eggs and then popped some under one broody - tried to with the other, but she rejected them. Mine are blue slate and Narragansett.

Oh wow...so the breed makes a difference....what about turkeys
....do they fly away?

turkey hens do indeed fly away/ over fences/ up trees/ onto roofs/ into other people's yards.
I have to clip mine as I had one ripped to pieces by the neighbour's dog.

 

[Lauravonsmurf]

Turkeys can fly... I have never seen the big broad breasted fly, but we have huge wild turkey flocks in my area that roam through the cities and neighborhoods of suburbia they run across roofs jump on people's cars, eat the landscaping, mock you around Thanksgiving by strutting in front of your car daring you to make them the dinner bird and they roost in trees... I have seen these birds fly. In comparing these huge birds to the wild ones in the state park area that also runs through several cities in this county I can safely say several of these feral suburbia flocks are mixed domestic breeds with local wild birds based on feather pattern & size. Many of the feral suburbia flocks have their own patterns & color combos that are very unique from the true wild sub-type of the area.