Geese are so much fun! I love my chickens, but my geese have my heart -- they are so funny and yet dignified. One of the things I love about them is that they are so easy to raise. You only have to brood them for 6 weeks or so - maybe less depending on the temperatures where you live at the time of year that you have goslings. They eat unmedicated chick starter or waterfowl feed if you can find it. They need LOTS of water, but aren't quite as messy as ducks/ducklings. They need company -- so two geese will do better . . . and a fence to keep the dogs away. When they grow up, they need a safe fenced area, lots of grass or some grass with supplemental food, and water deep enough to get their heads and necks into -- mine love buckets. That is it! If you have predator problems, they might need a low shed that you can put them into at night, but if left to their own devices, the geese prefer to sleep outside - even in midwinter.
One thing that might disappoint you though, is that this is not a great time of year to find goslings -- geese lay mostly from January to May. BUT, if you keep checking craigslist, you may be able to find some half grown goslings near to you, or even a pair. That is nice because then you could look forward to your own goslings next year. I found a pair of Toulouse that way.
Geese don't care about breed -- they know they are geese! The main difference in breeds for people is egg laying, and temperament, but I've heard of friendly geese in almost every breed. I would think that Toulouse need the same kind of care as any goose . . . but possibly the giant toulouse need some special things. I am not familiar with them. My toulouse pair is more wary and suspicious than my Buff geese, but the Buffs are about 11 weeks old and grew up here -- the Toulouse are a year old and I got them as adults. They only hiss, and put their neck all down to the ground like a snake. They have never bitten or rushed people though and they now recognize the people that live here and come up to eat out of peoples hands.
The breeding season from January to May can cause the geese to become more aggressive, especially if you have more than one gander -- but some will display and attack even people that they were friendly to.
I am sure there are lots of other people with Toulouse on here . . . you should be able to find out lots of information!
