Topic of the Week - Getting Started, Keeping Geese

[Miss Lydia]

I started out with Embden and I can truthfully say that isn't the best breed to start out with of course I can't speak for the female of this breed because I only had one egg and my Muscovy duck hatched it and turned out to be a gander. Other than during breeding season he is pretty easy to live with but during breeding season he will keep you on your toes.

My geese live fine with my ducks and chickens most of the year but right now with breeding season starting they are grumpy and can grab a chicken or pick on a duck pretty quick. They have their own house they are not housed with the others. They haven't injured any one but when I had 4 geese they would gang up on the other birds and could easily killed them so I had to make the very hard decision to rehome the 2 youngest and kept my older pair. My gander will be 11 yrs old in April and my Toulouse goose will be 6 in April, So when thinking of getting geese you have to keep in mind they can live a long time up to 20 yrs some even 40 so it is a long commitment.
They are pretty easy to keep and even during breeding season with all the grumpiness I still could not imagine life with out them.

I feel very strongly that all poultry should have a safe secure place to sleep to protect them from predators and give them a place to get in out of the worst of the weather. JMO.

 

[Suzi18]

I started out with Embden and I can truthfully say that isn't the best breed to start out with of course I can speak for the female of this breed because I only had one egg and my Muscovy duck hatched it and turned out to be a gander. Other than during breeding season he is pretty easy to live with but during breeding season he will keep you on your toes.

My geese live fine with my ducks and chickens most of the year but right now with breeding season starting they are grumpy and can grab a chicken or pick on a duck pretty quick. They have their own house they are not housed with the others. They haven't injured any one but when I had 4 geese they would gang up on the other birds and could easily killed them so I had to make the very hard decision to rehome the 2 youngest and kept my older pair. My gander will be 11 yrs old in April and my Toulouse goose will be 6 in April, So when thinking of getting geese you have to keep in mind they can live a long time up to 20 yrs some even 40 so it is a long commitment.
They are pretty easy to keep and even during breeding season with all the grumpiness I still could not imagine life with out them.

I feel very strongly that all poultry should have a safe secure place to sleep to protect them from predators and give them a place to get in out of the worst of the weather. JMO.

Very useful information.

 

[Henrik Petersson]

Disregarding predators, how high a fence do they need if they are a breed that can fly?

 

[Eagle Flight Farm]

What feed do you start your goslings on and what do you feed when grown? I'm researching the best feeds for goslings and geese now and trying to be fully prepared when our ducks and goslings arrive the week of April 2nd. I am really enjoying researching and learning. I truly appreciate everyone freely sharing their knowledge and experience here.

 

[chickencheeper]

Wow! So much useful info! I was thinking of a pair of geese, male buff and female grey saddleback Pomeranian, are these docile breeds in your experience? Also, if I were to just give them a nice coop and a run with grass in it would that be enough food for them or would I need to give them other feed and how much? Do they honk persistently throughout the day or do they only have short segments of honking(I live in a suburban area but have a woodsy backyard)?

 

[Pyxis]

What feed do you start your goslings on and what do you feed when grown? I'm researching the best feeds for goslings and geese now and trying to be fully prepared when our ducks and goslings arrive the week of April 2nd. I am really enjoying researching and learning. I truly appreciate everyone freely sharing their knowledge and experience here.

Flock Raiser feed for goslings, since it has enough niacin for them. They can also eat it as adults if you wanted to continue feeding it to them Mine, I start with Flock Raiser and then when they're grown they get switched the to the chick starter/grower that I feed all my other birds.

Wow! So much useful info! I was thinking of a pair of geese, male buff and female grey saddleback Pomeranian, are these docile breeds in your experience? Also, if I were to just give them a nice coop and a run with grass in it would that be enough food for them or would I need to give them other feed and how much? Do they honk persistently throughout the day or do they only have short segments of honking(I live in a suburban area but have a woodsy backyard)?

My female american buff/canada goose crosses were docile but skittish. I had one purebred american buff female for awhile and she was calm and friendly. I have not had experience with pomeranians personally, so I can't give any recommendation there.

I would still offer them feed. They will take it if the need it. My geese prefer grass when it is available and really only get into the feed when they need to. During the winter of course their diet is entirely feed aside from the heads of cabbage etc that I give them because there is no grass for them to eat.

 

[chickencheeper]

Flock Raiser feed for goslings, since it has enough niacin for them. They can also eat it as adults if you wanted to continue feeding it to them Mine, I start with Flock Raiser and then when they're grown they get switched the to the chick starter/grower that I feed all my other birds.



My female american buff/canada goose crosses were docile but skittish. I had one purebred american buff female for awhile and she was calm and friendly. I have not had experience with pomeranians personally, so I can't give any recommendation there.

I would still offer them feed. They will take it if the need it. My geese prefer grass when it is available and really only get into the feed when they need to. During the winter of course their diet is entirely feed aside from the heads of cabbage etc that I give them because there is no grass for them to eat.

Thank you

 

[jvls1942]

geese do not need a very tall fence.
even the ones that can fly .
they do not just go straight up on their take off.
they fly low for quite a way. so if you have just a small yard, usually a two foot high fence would be enough.
if you plan on having them fenced in a small space, they would soon eat all the grass. so don't plan on sustaining them on grass ..
my geese love to eat the dog food..I keep finely ground oats and corn out for them, they walk right past that to eat the dog's food.

 

[Henrik Petersson]

We live in the woods and have a path running along our entire yard, for some 50 yards. Every few minutes, people walk or ride their bike there. Would that be a problem if we had geese? Would they sound the alarm every time a stranger went by? If free ranging, would they chase them?

 

[Miss Lydia]

My geese are inside 4'no climb horse fence with barb wire over top of that.

mine will sound the alarm for anything out of norm. Never saw my geese chase anyone but no one runs from them either. They can be very protective of their mate and goslings.