Topic of the Week - Getting Started, Keeping Geese

[poultry person]

I have two embden geese male and female I love them both so much, but the girl (sparrow) is a little aggressive towards younger kids.

 

[jvls1942]

If you are planning on hatching goslings.
more than one nest at a time.
the first ones to hatch will go with the flock with the goose.. the later hatched ones will try to go with the flock, but the juveniles of the earlier hatch will not allow it. they will attack the younger goslings and kill them ..

geese have to be socialized , just as you would do with a dog.. the more exposure to strangers, the less problems..

peoples's reaction to the geese is what triggers the chase or bite impulse ..

 

[Suzi18]

I have two embden geese male and female I love them both so much, but the girl (sparrow) is a little aggressive towards younger kids.View attachment 1262908

Oh my gosh....Soooo cute

 

[Suzi18]

I don't plan on breeding so would I be better off with 2 males or 2 females?

 

[jvls1942]

I bought a "pair" of geese at auction.
kept them for two years. never got one egg.
finally we butchered them, both males.
the one acted like a goose and the other acted like a gander all the time..
it must have been a dominancy thing.
.
I have never had just two females.
do they still lay eggs ? I would guess , yes.

my wife made an angle food cake from goose eggs. it was a huge flop.. very heavy and dense..

 

[wcbpolish]

To start with, we have an old pair of Toulouse (came with the house when we bought it from my in-laws) and 10 young Africans

housing requirements?
goose/gander ratio?
do they play well with others? flock size? compatibility with other types of fowl?

Housing: Ours can go into a calf hut or 3 side pig hut (metal hoop with plywood on back) or an old insulated dog house. They ALL prefer to sleep outside in the light of the dusk-to-dawn lamp. They only go into the huts to avoid hawks or to lay eggs (if we are lucky)
Mixed species: Our old pair live with 20 ducks and 2 roosters. I also put juvenile birds (ducks, geese, and chickens) in the pen with them last summer with no problems. Our young 10 live with two bachelor ducks.

Don't overlook that they do require water to bathe several times a week, and a fresh bucket of water to drink, daily. They must flush out their bills which do get packed with mud and grass.....we use a 5 gallon bucket so they do not get in it and soil it.
They do not absolutely have to have a pond, although they love it !

Also do not overlook the fact that they make noise.
Especially if they are raised by yourself, as ours were, they LOVE us and squeal and honk up a storm that can be heard for quite a way away.
They are happy to see us each time we are out in the yard or return home from town.

Water: I have heard that they need a pool/pond to mate appropriately... can anyone comment on that?

Noise: YES! Especially the Africans. At night as well as during the day.

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

Fence: We have 4 ft fence around ours. Our 10 Africans live in a pen made out of hog/cattle panels. The smaller ones CAN fit through the fence (as can the ducks) but they always go back in with the flock.

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.

Food: We started ours with our ducklings. They ate the "normal" starter that I used for the ducks. Now that they are adults, they get a constant supply of corn, stale bread a couple of times a week, and the rest of their food is what they harvest in the pen (greens, etc). They don't like the pelleted food that my ducks and chickens eat.

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)?

Noise: All day and at night.
Food: My adults get their pasture and corn. They don't like chicken food, but I offer it a couple of times a week. I hope they eat enough to get protein and vitamins that they need.

If you are planning on hatching goslings.
more than one nest at a time.
the first ones to hatch will go with the flock with the goose.. the later hatched ones will try to go with the flock, but the juveniles of the earlier hatch will not allow it. they will attack the younger goslings and kill them ..

Socializing: good to know. I plan to hatch some in the incubator this spring, thanks for the heads up about different ages and mixing. If they can see each other for a few weeks without being able to fight (one section of fence separating) will this be enough socialization?

 

[jvls1942]

IDK about the separation for socializing them with each other. I never got a chance to find that out. the 3 week ones had all 6 of the new guys killed before I knew what was happening. and it took only a few seconds..

when I said socializing, I meant with people..

introducing incubated hatched goslings to a flock of adults works fairly well, the adults accept the newbies, however, the newbies are sometimes unaware that they should stay with the adults..

....

 

[Widlast]

I have 3 African Geese (purebred) 2 buff, 1 white. They are very easy to keep, friendly, a bit noisy. Here's Max (the gander) in front, with Mocha and Marshmallow behind. This was about 6 months ago, they're a bit bigger now. They do have tender feet so you need to keep their environment free of anything they can injure their feet on.

 

[Chickielady]

What I am thinking is raising them together when they are small and then having a pen for the geese right next to the chicken run. My hope is that they can all free range together and when they can't free range they can have their separate space. I'm hoping to find mini Sebastopol geese.

Mini Sebastapols ? Is there such a thing ?? WOW you have my interest now ! I did want to comment on the goose & chicken thing though.my geese HATE my chickens, they chase them and heaven forbid they get the chicken cornered.
Thankfully most of the chickens are aware of this and they can all fly up quite well, but I keep the geese and chickens apart in breeding & gosling rearing seasons.
Mini Sebbies sounds awesome !

 

[Chickielady]

Mine DO like to "Do it in the pool" which DH refers to as their "Spa", and very early in the morning, so as we go out by 8 a.m. we get to flush the "Spa" and add clean water.

The other issue we have with these Toulouse, is their constant nibbling..they nibble on EVERYTHING !
They ADORE nibbling wires, the trailer wires hanging off the trailer hitch, the engine wires in the lawn tractor, and bungee cords are especially beloved by them, and they will nibble these until they are shredded.
Garbage can handles, 5 gallon bucket handles, drip irrigation sprinkler hoses, plexiglass green house plastic, plant ID tags, Car/Truck tire valve stems ! Engine wires, electric fence wires, extension cords, low branches on fruit trees, roses and other woody plants, and they are very fond of spray foam insulation (as are chickens !) once that stuff is hard, it is a favorite of them to nibble it until there is no insulation left, same with the foam rubber tubing-type insulation on the pipes. ! anything and everything they can nibble.
Bummer when you go to get the trailer hitched up and the wires are all gnawed off ! Bigger bummer on the lawn tractor , its funny now but wasn't then....fair warning !