Topic of the Week - Getting Started, Keeping Geese

[Aunt Angus]

aunt angus, I am not familiar with what
a production toulouse is.

They are also referred to as "French Toulouse." They aren't the large dewlap variety. They are smaller and lack the dewlap. Just hatchery-type birds.

Here are mine:

And here's a pic from the web:

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have a Production Toulouse she is 10 yrs old and although she does not want me to touch her and I don't unless needed, she is lovely. She gets along great with the chickens and ducks. She had a mate of 10 yrs but we lost him 2-22 so she has moved in with the Runners and Buffs and chickens and is like a big sister.
Sam and Missy the old married couple.

 

[sarahconnor]

I got rid of all of my birds for the winter except for a pair of gray cross breed geese.
first myth .. all geese are not noisy..
the Africans , to me, are the noisiest.
I have had up to 30 geese in my flock.
they do not bother the other species of birds.
In fact, I have used geese as foster parents for ducklings..
surprisingly, the ganders were the first to protect the ducklings..
they do not require a coop. our winters here are fierce . weeks on end of below zero temps.
a wind break of access into a barn or garage or a lean to will suffice for shelter.
for my pair, I just set out a sack of feed in the shed, keep rolling the sides of the bag down and provide water a couple of times a day..
she will start laying eggs before the snow melts..
If I collect the eggs, she will lay about 18 eggs. fewer if I just let her make her own nest.
I have a shallow mud mixing box about 9 inches deep by two feet by three feet.
If I dare to brave the cold, the geese will take a bath every day. even when it is minus -20F. remember, the water itself is above freezing so it actually feels warm to them.
they don't get wet to the skin anyhow..
their down is well over 2 inches deep.
they can lie down on the snow and pull their feet up off the ground , tuck their head under a wing and melt a spot into the snow..
In the summer, feeding them is easier. I just let mine wander all over the place. no fences needed. the trim the grass and some weeds..
keep them out of the garden.
four geese can polish off an 8 pound head of growing cabbage in just a few minutes..
geese can make fine pets.
I have never had a mean one.
I always told my kids, if you don't run, they have nothing to chase. (to no avail, with my daughters, though) ..
....jiminwisc.....

My one goose eats the poultry layer feed that my hens get plus sunflower seeds. She didn’t lay this past fall though laid the previous spring and fall. We have a lot of predators and her free range has been reduced maybe that is what the problem was. I like her so much and she likes the hens a lot. A raccoon got her best friend when she was few months old. I had raised just a pair. She looked for her days after she was killed. So sad. She LOVES bread and cracked corn. Thanks for your post. I enjoyed it.

 

[sarahconnor]

They are also referred to as "French Toulouse." They aren't the large dewlap variety. They are smaller and lack the dewlap. Just hatchery-type birds.

Here are mine:
View attachment 3376621

And here's a pic from the web:
View attachment 3376622

This is the type of goose I have. I have just one. She fits in good with the hens.

 

[Berd Man]

Lots of great information being discussed here!
I’m relatively new to the art of goose-keeping but I have learned a bit in my short while yet.

I keep geese on a small homestead and they are my pets, grass mowers, and sustenance for my family. It’s a complicated but amazing relationship. I can say there is nothing as cute or soft as a baby gosling and there’s nothing like calling your gaggle of geese off of water and watching them fly to greet you.

They are easy to imprint on and this makes them much easier to manage when compared to say, chickens, if the imprinting is done correctly. A gaggle of geese used to their owner/handler are much easier to move onto to fresh grass, call off the pond during inclement weather (which truly they’re immune to it would seem), herd into trailer, etc…

I keep Chinese, African, and production Tolouse. Of those, the Chinese have the reputation (not necessarily undeservedly) for being most cantankerous and loud. I figured that if I could keep the Chinese goose and enjoy the experience then I’d know for sure if geese would work on my homestead.

If imprinted on early geese are almost dog-like. I had a white Chinese gander I raised from hatch and he would take naps in my lap and honk at me to pick him up. These behaviors he exhibited as a gosling stayed and I rewarded him because I loved my pal. Even as an adult he would nuzzle me like he did as a gosling.

However, later in his life he would also get aggressive with my wife/children when they approached us outside. He began exhibiting male hormonal dominance behavior (which is normal to some degree in all males) and it escalated to many child floggings from goose wings…I had to teach and train my family on how to look big and imposing to a gander so that he would back down and it worked for me but not always for them. I have since learned from this experience and have tried a more “distant” approach with other groups of Chinese Geese. I still call them to me, pet them, feed them, and take them on walks to the pond and about the property. But I haven’t had a gander from this most recent group of 12 brown Chinese act out in dominance aggression towards a person. They still engage in the behavior amongst themselves especially this time of year with breeding going on.

On the other end of the goose personality spectrum, I have a female African goose (in front of the red A-Frame) that had to be triaged for a cut on her foot for a few days. I wrapped her webbing in gauze and vet wrap and gave her a small pen connected to my patio door. This is a main traffic area for my kids and family as we come and go from the house so she got plenty of attention and vegetable scraps. After this experience she was much closer to my family and now when my kids go outside, she will frequently fly over the netting to wander about with them and see what fun they can get into.

My point is, boundaries are crucial. I still feed geese by hand, spend time with them everyday, but a goose that thinks it’s a person can be trouble for small kids or visitors. Just a thought!

Geese are amazing and I wish more people could experience them. Probably the most valuable and underrated homestead fowl in my humble opinion.

 

[JRies]

My point is, boundaries are crucial. I still feed geese by hand, spend time with them everyday, but a goose that thinks it’s a person can be trouble for small kids or visitors. Just a thought!

Geese are amazing and I wish more people could experience them. Probably the most valuable and underrated homestead fowl in my humble opinion.

View attachment 3380616View attachment 3380617

You make great points. Boundaries are so important. Especially when they are young. Imprinting is so fun but just like your raising a child, boundaries of yes no and good job imprint on them... Training is everything. My geese have been locked up due to weather for 2 days. I was working in there barn and they got really loud. Finally I put my hand up then lowered it and said inside voices. Yep everything quieted down immediately. Geese are so trainable its crazy but you have to work with them as the flock leader of respect. However keep in mind geese do seem to miss out on the common sense thing. So they really do love guidance. Your birds are beautiful!

 

[Amer]

I have three friendly geese. I hated domestic geese because my only experience was being chased and hissed at. Turns out this is not all geese! I got white Embdens for market but ended up loving geese and wanted to buy some for pets. So now I have my American Buffs. They love eating cucumbers from my hands (when I have any to offer) but don't like being touched. I don't mind though. What brings me real joy is their joyful greetings when I drive home or their goodbye honks when I drive away. They honk whenever a car goes in or out of the driveway and get excited sometimes. Otherwise, they're not too loud. They spend almost all their time outside (except in the worst weather) and love it when I let them out in the morning. Then they flap their way around in celebration. Also, I really love the noise they make. I guess it might be intimidating to those unfamiliar with geese, but I know they're just making conversation. American Buffs aren't aggressive. Last year, I only had hens (because a fox took the male, yes, a fox can easily take down a goose larger than itself) and the only time I was bitten was if I actually tried to take the eggs out from the bird on the nest, she didn't try to chase me. I know ganders can be worse, though so far my young gander hasn't experienced hormones.
Geese are definitely not for everyone. But if you have a large yard and want some free-range low-maintenance creatures to grace it with their majesty and mischievous antics, then you should definitely consider geese.

The grey "Toulouse" geese were market geese. Look at Cocoa fluff herself up. XD

 

[Aunt Angus]

I have a goose question. I have the three I just adopted, and I'm planning to get a Cotton Patch breeding trio come spring. I know Cotton Patch mate with every goose they can, but I'd like for all of them to cohabitate. Can I keep them together get her until a month or so before breeding season begins? Then I'd separate the Cotton Patch into a breeding pen.

 

[JRies]

I have a goose question. I have the three I just adopted, and I'm planning to get a Cotton Patch breeding trio come spring. I know Cotton Patch mate with every goose they can, but I'd like for all of them to cohabitate. Can I keep them together get her until a month or so before breeding season begins? Then I'd separate the Cotton Patch into a breeding pen.

I can tell you what goes on here I have 19 geese 18 are breeders one is a tiny girl MaMa who runs the show till the babies show up then she spends the summer raising them. They all live together 9 months a year. But starting with the first egg they al slowly get divided into breeder pens. This year it came early with my young whites already laying the first of January. So we are already in our breeder pens. (for 3 months a year they are in there breeder pens).
When they go back into a flock again after they stop laying I do it slowly.. Putting them together in there field and allowing them to go back to there individual pens at night. it takes about 1 month to decide they want to be a full flock again.
As for the babies I keep. King George gets to go into the babies pen with Mama and help raise the babies so when they come out. No one messes with George or Mama so the babies get a free pass.

 

[Aunt Angus]

I can tell you what goes on here I have 19 geese 18 are breeders one is a tiny girl MaMa who runs the show till the babies show up then she spends the summer raising them. They all live together 9 months a year. But starting with the first egg they al slowly get divided into breeder pens. This year it came early with my young whites already laying the first of January. So we are already in our breeder pens. (for 3 months a year they are in there breeder pens).
When they go back into a flock again after they stop laying I do it slowly.. Putting them together in there field and allowing them to go back to there individual pens at night. it takes about 1 month to decide they want to be a full flock again.
As for the babies I keep. King George gets to go into the babies pen with Mama and help raise the babies so when they come out. No one messes with George or Mama so the babies get a free pass.

Super helpful! Thanks!