Topic of the Week - Managing Brooding Geese

[sumi]

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This week I would like to hear how you all handle and manage broody geese. Specifically:

- What do you do when you have a broody goose and what are the signs that she is broody?
- Housing and feeding for brooding geese and new families.
- Do you separate new mothers and goslings, or let them raise their young with the flock?
- At what age do mothers wean their young?

Anything you'd like to add.

Pic by @Kimsie
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https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/topic-of-the-week-thread-archive

 

[Jetblack2004]

What a brilliant topic! I'd really like to get some geese one day and I'm excited to see peoples' responses

 

[Jennifer Cappi Williams]

My goose is about to lay eggs and her new mate was a gosling last year and I don't know yet if its a boy or girl. Leaning towards gander. I am on the fence as to let her have some babies or take the all the eggs. I would have to find homes for the babies eventually and fear that would break Puddles heart. She is 8 and I know she has wanted a baby in forever though.... ugh... What to do????

 

[MillersFarm]

Following Getting a pair of Africans May the 21st and would love for them to brood their own clutches~!

 

[Pyxis]

Broody Lacie last year Willow, the buff cross, wasn't broody, just keeping Lacie company.

The signs of a broody goose are the same as a broody chicken or duck. She will be sitting on the nest all day aside from getting up briefly to eat, drink, poop, and swim.

For feeding, I just feed them the all flock feed that I feed the adults - it's good for all ages. They also will eat a lot of grass, so it's good to let them out to graze if you can.

Geese are excellent parents. There is no need to separate a broody goose and her babies from the flock or her mate. Ganders help raise the goslings.

Of course during this time they are testier and more aggressive than usual because they are protecting their mate and babies.

 

[N F C]

What a brilliant topic! I'd really like to get some geese one day and I'm excited to see peoples' responses

Same for me!

 

[Henrik Petersson]

The signs of a broody goose are the same as a broody chicken or duck. She will be sitting on the nest all day aside from getting up briefly to eat, drink, poop, and swim.

That's not the only sign of broodiness for a chicken. A chicken will, usually, walk around with puffed-up feathers and "grunt" for some time before she sits on eggs.

 

[Pyxis]

That's not the only sign of broodiness for a chicken. A chicken will, usually, walk around with puffed-up feathers and "grunt" for some time before she sits on eggs.

True, but geese don't do those things, so I didn't include them

 

[N F C]

Broody Lacie last year Willow, the buff cross, wasn't broody, just keeping Lacie company.

The signs of a broody goose are the same as a broody chicken or duck. She will be sitting on the nest all day aside from getting up briefly to eat, drink, poop, and swim.

For feeding, I just feed them the all flock feed that I feed the adults - it's good for all ages. They also will eat a lot of grass, so it's good to let them out to graze if you can.

Geese are excellent parents. There is no need to separate a broody goose and her babies from the flock or her mate. Ganders help raise the goslings.

Of course during this time they are testier and more aggressive than usual because they are protecting their mate and babies.

Pyxis, do you have any photos of your goslings from last year? (If Lacie hatched some, that is.)

 

[Pyxis]

Pyxis, do you have any photos of your goslings from last year? (If Lacie hatched some, that is.)

Lacie unfortunately has not successfully hatched goslings. Last year she had a mate and was determined to do it, but her eggs disappeared right around when they were due. I don't know what happened there, though I suspect they were stolen by my neighbor's children.

Her daughter is broody right now though so I might have some cute pictures of goslings with their parents soon

And if you don't mind pictures of just goslings, I definitely have a lot of those. Lacie didn't successfully hatch last year but I sure did, lol.