Toulouse Geese Thread

[livininbrazil]

Hi loghousemom. What a beautiful photo of your geese with all that clean snow. Very pretty.

Yes, it would be good to put a pool for them when possible, whether they´re a pair or not, as they just love water and you´ll love watching them in it, I´m sure.
As regards the eggs..obviously, one is newly laid, hence it´s whiter. But the different shape could indicate a different layer ....or not. Just try to keep your eyes open. If you find 2 eggs are laid the same day, you´ll know you have 2 gals. And they will bury their eggs under the straw, too.
The photo does look very much as if it´s a male, because of its carriage, etc, but I have a goose here, I know she´s agoose, but she behaves like a gander (I thought it was a male from tiny, until she laid eggs)...just not quite so much. She shoos off other birds, takes the lead with her flock, etc..and the gander of her flock (his mate´s another goose) just follows along, so funny!
Just keep an eye...even if you should see them 'mating' it doesn´t mean they´re a pair, as females will mount other females..just count those eggs. They lay eggs nearly every day, then they jump a day, as it takes over a day to develop the egg.
Actually, unless you specifically want to rear goslings, two females together will be quite happy...but for now you know you have at least one, so that´s agood thing!

Have fun!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Thank you Miss Lydia for your response. and all the info. I think the geese are pretty too! I was sure i would hate having them, especially after their owner just dumped and ran.( I think she has been back 3 times to check on them) but I actually prefer them to the ducks. It seems ducks are way more smelly to me.

I have raised chickens for 3 or 4 years now, and we rescued two half grown ducks last spring. The goslings were bought and dropped in May I believe. I have a large chicken coop where we house 16 hens, 2 roosters 3 adult cats and 3 kittens. When we got the water birds, I cleaned out a small shed (8x10 maybe) That was used for some sort of birds before since it had a roost. I housed my overflow roosters and the goslings and ducklings out there till we sold and butchered the extras. now its just the 3 water birds, but the shed has a heat lamp for added warmth. Our winter has been ridiculous with cold temps. (Last week we had temps of -30 and 60-70 mph winds bringing temps down to the -60's! Tonight it is forecasted to in the -20s. just yesterday it was a gorgeous 40 above. Bipolar weather around these parts!

I have been feeding a fermented feed of a local milled pellet style feed mixed with wheat, cracked corn, rolled oats, alfalfa and mixed screenings. (I have a friend who's husband works at a nearby elevator so I get mixed spills and overflow for cheap!) When they were new babies though I believe I used a store bought game bird feed. They have a bucket (3 gallon) for drinking, but they also have a 24x18 tray that is about 10 inches deep for extra water. I have caught them standing in it a few times and always find the frozen water all over the walls of the shed.

I know picture of the geese doesn't show them well, and it was way too cold today to get a good photo, and this was the most recent that I had. But one is larger and has the higher pitched squack than the other. He is also the one who hisses most often at the cats and dogs if they move into his space. so I always assumed he was the gander.

So my next question is, do those large eggs above look as though they maybe came from two different geese? After looking more closely, now I wonder? for comparison, I added my blue egg from my superblue layers and one from my welsummer who lays a large egg. I was quite certain the Pekin is a male as he had the curly tail feathers. But I wonder now if maybe it is 2 geese and no gander.... though to be honest, when I noticed the nest, I didn't think to dig in it and see if there was something under that top layer of straw.

Looks like 2 different colored eggs in the goose eggs, Missy who is Production Toulouse lays one the color of the far right in your carton. Never seen a goose egg the creamy beige of the other 2. But they must all be goose eggs, I was actually thinking duck egg till you said your Welsummer lays a large egg. It does sound like you have a gander by what you are describing though so maybe the one goose is laying all 3 eggs? open one and see if there is the bulls eye then you'll know, but I also have read on here that usually 1st eggs aren't fertile. I feed ff also as far as feeding them a balanced diet your sounds good, other than offering them greens on the side till spring gets here so they can find some on their own. Were the eggs you found in the 8X10 building? and do your geese get along with your Pekin? asking because usually Ganders won't tolerate another male whether duck or goose. you say you have 2 ducks? I remember when you posted about finding the 2 ducklings that was sweet of you to take them in. and the geese too.

 

[kukupecpec]

It must be that time of year! So fun to see the big goose eggs next to the chicken eggs!


We watched Trina build a nest through the back door, and today when I went out to put everyone to bed I found 5 eggs in her nest! Trina was very adamantly guarding them, with Pom standing guard!
Unfortunately, she did NOT choose the house! Can I move the nest? Or has she picked her spot for good?

(Pictures aren't great, poor night lighting)

 

[Loghousemom]

Yes. Miss Lydia. I did have two ducklings. They were both male, one was a roen (I know I spelled that wrong). The other was this Peking. They both had the two Curley tail feathers, and a duck fella out in these parts told me they were male, so I believed him. We lost the Roene and a bunch of chickens when our new puppy escaped her pen this summer. It was her second go at the birds and so she was re-homed the very next day to a young kid who was looking for a bird hunting partner. *sigh*

The Peking is housed with the two geese and 3 roosters that I have not gotten around to butchering. The geese and chickens were all hatched the beginning of May and so grew up together. The ducks were a bit older since I just took them in from the police department, but that Peking just follows those geese everywhere! Even if the snow is too deep, and especially now that his Roene buddy is gone. The only time he doesn't follow is if the geese get up on the roof or over the fence because his stubby little wings do not let him off the ground.

I have read the Storey's book of ducks and geese back when I first got them, but I am most definately still learning!

Today there was a new egg and none yesterday so maybe there really is a pair and I just didn't realize there were eggs in there earlier when I first saw the nest. She has them down a pretty good sized hole. I guess geese cover their nests?

We did bust one open to check if they were fertile. I thought maybe I saw a bullseye, But sometimes I have a hard time seeing those properly with my old lady eyes. . I've been weighing the eggs. The first three were 126, 125, 125 grams. today was 123 grams. I've never seen a duck egg so I don't know the size. Will the eggs get larger every year like a chicken?

I went out today and messed around (a whopping high of 9F today here) and neither one of the geese ( well none of the birds really) were worked up about me messing out there. I also went and picked up a few fresh straw bales to try and make it a bit more cozy for the nesting. I am a bit cheep and try to get by with what I have on hand which is usually Field grass bales, and leaves I store to add to the floor mulch. I hated to see those eggs so dirty. So hopefully some fresh new straw will help. My first thought was they were all one goose, but looking back at the pic it almost seems like maybe the eggs are from two different birds. I will take a picture in the morning of the three we've got left and see what I see.


So is incubating these eggs this year most likely a bad idea? I really miss having babies around, but love the look of all the buff ones you all have! Maybe I will have to do some checking to see if I can get a couple of those.

I guess I forgot to mention the geese do get whatever greens I can pick up cheap at the store. I grow a huge garden through the summer months and Then I rotate different things I try storing through the winter. Things like apples, pumpkins, squash, zucchini. Potatoes. Mine seem to love cucumbers and apples.

So here is another question... How far will geese travel to water? My property is 15 acres. The geese and chickens have 2 fenced with a large cattle trough at the end opposite their coop that I thought I might try filling in the spring. I bet I could run a way to heat it during winter too! The far edge of our property has a small pond but it's maybe a quarter mile away. It's frozen in the winter anyway if there's water left in it. This past summer we had 3 five foot baby pools out right near the coops. But I can't carry enough water to fill them from the house so pails and plastic bins it is.

I have some pictures of the egg today and some others of the geese I will try to post in the morning. I've got to hit the hay myself since I have a very early PTA meeting.

Thanks ya'll for the advice. I know I need it!

Ps... I went back to edit this since I had typed it while watching my daughter cheer at BBall tonight. Sorry for anyone who read it with those terrible spelling errors. Lesson learned. Do not type from a phone to a message board at a game. It will sound stupid.



KuKu, your Trina's nest is just beautiful. What part of Tucson are you in? I went there once on vacation and stayed for 8 years before returning back home here to the bitter cold north! I miss those mountains so much! Do you live outside the city? Because if not how on earth do you keep your menagerie quiet? My geese are squawking at me the very second they hear the back door of the house open. I can even hear them if they are in their little coop. They are crazy loud!

 

[kukupecpec]

KuKu, your Trina's nest is just beautiful. What part of Tucson are you in? I went there once on vacation and stayed for 8 years before returning back home here to the bitter cold north! I miss those mountains so much! Do you live outside the city? Because if not how on earth do you keep your menagerie quiet? My geese are squawking at me the very second they hear the back door of the house open. I can even hear them if they are in their little coop. They are crazy loud!

I wish i could answer some of your other questions but Pom and Trina are my first geese so you will have too wait for our thread resident experts =)

I technically live in the city, no male birds of any kind are allowed. And I'm prey sure geese aren't allowed at all. But I also live on the south side (for now, finally looking at buying a place out in vail) where "snitches get stitches" as the adage around here goes. I put up with a LOT from my neighbors, much of which is illegal lol. We all just kind of do our own thing and no one reports it. The only neighbors we talk to love the geese. They can watch them from their front porch so get a kick out of their antics. Everyone else has herds of loud dogs, Pom and Trina can squak their heads off and never compare to the neighborhood dogs lol.
I did decide to make a meal of all my large roosters though, only the serama leader remains. The geese really only have a fit when someone walks down the road or we disturb them, but I don't worry about it, its faint unless you are right in their face.
We've been in the 80s the last few days, hitting record breaking heat for this time of year. Its been nice for egg production but its too hot for me, so I haven't been able to get much done. Winter is usually my productive time! Maybe one say we will get a house closer to the mountains. I grew up right at the base of lemmon and it truly is beautiful! I really miss all the rural beauty, can't wait to move back out there and away from the boring city haha. I was taking to DH about Trinas safety on her nest since its not in her goose house and my mother overheard and was instantly worried about bobcats coyotes and the occasional mountain lion, so I guess I'm glad that for now all I've got to deal with are neighborhood house cats!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I wish i could answer some of your other questions but Pom and Trina are my first geese so you will have too wait for our thread resident experts =)

I technically live in the city, no male birds of any kind are allowed. And I'm prey sure geese aren't allowed at all. But I also live on the south side (for now, finally looking at buying a place out in vail) where "snitches get stitches" as the adage around here goes. I put up with a LOT from my neighbors, much of which is illegal lol. We all just kind of do our own thing and no one reports it. The only neighbors we talk to love the geese. They can watch them from their front porch so get a kick out of their antics. Everyone else has herds of loud dogs, Pom and Trina can squak their heads off and never compare to the neighborhood dogs lol.
I did decide to make a meal of all my large roosters though, only the serama leader remains. The geese really only have a fit when someone walks down the road or we disturb them, but I don't worry about it, its faint unless you are right in their face.
We've been in the 80s the last few days, hitting record breaking heat for this time of year. Its been nice for egg production but its too hot for me, so I haven't been able to get much done. Winter is usually my productive time! Maybe one say we will get a house closer to the mountains. I grew up right at the base of lemmon and it truly is beautiful! I really miss all the rural beauty, can't wait to move back out there and away from the boring city haha. I was taking to DH about Trinas safety on her nest since its not in her goose house and my mother overheard and was instantly worried about bobcats coyotes and the occasional mountain lion, so I guess I'm glad that for now all I've got to deal with are neighborhood house cats!

This is just my 2 cents for which may not amount to much, but where we live if Missy nested outside of her secure building she'd be dead in no time, yes living in the city has it's advantages but that said foxes, raccoons which are #1 killer of water fowl, skunks and minks weasels all make their homes in the city limits too, I'd move her nest try to take as much of it along with her eggs and put them inside her house then go and mess up the original nest to encourage her to continue laying inside.

 

[Loghousemom]

Wow KuKu! Your yard must be pretty secure that all the dogs don't get in. I know exactly what you are talking about with the packs of dogs out there. I had never seen anything like that until I moved out there. I did animal rescue and foster care down there for many years while I lived there. My in-laws had a house up north near orange grove and Ina blvd. when I met my hubs their yard was the last one and then it was dessert. When we left there was about 15 miles of city up there behind them I swear! That city has grown so much. I still have friends down that way, and some of them have chickens, but you were the first I heard of someone with a goose!

Those geese we've got have really grown on me even though they aren't mine. I had told their owner that I would take them with me if we ever move. Heck. I've paid for everything aside from the purchase of the birds. I really thought I would hate them, and of wasn't above getting rid of them, but maybe it helps that our kids handled them so much when they were little. They really didn't seem too upset when I was out looking for that egg yesterday. Maybe because she has no want to sit? Will they only sit if they have a large clutch of eggs?

I agree with miss Lydia that I would still probably try to move the nest just so Trina is a bit more safe. I would be heartbroken for you if something happened. One thing I heard to deter hawks is to string fishing line up above. I guess you can't notice it from below, but those birds will see it from the sky and not chance flying down through it to get to their prey.

I know you make the diapers your birds wear, but have you ever made on of those apront hints for their backs? I've got a couple girls with missing feathers from an over active rooster. We just butchered one a couple weeks ago that I thought was doing the damage, but it seems it's my little NN frizzle roo "alien" that is the culprit. I feel bad for these ladies because I thought for sure their feathers would grow back after I rid them of the terrorizing giant who was also out there... BUT they are still looking rough, and I am not noticing too many new feathers coming in yet. :/ I am going to have to make a weekend project and see if i can sew up a few of those deals I think.

AND YES MISS LYDIA, I found the eggs inside the "goose house" as we call it. (I need a better name for it)


Well, I am off to head out for PTA. I hope The roads are good since it's windy as all get out again. Good think I am only going 10 miles I guess, later all!

 

[kukupecpec]

This is just my 2 cents for which may not amount to much, but where we live if Missy nested outside of her secure building she'd be dead in no time, yes living in the city has it's advantages but that said foxes, raccoons which are #1 killer of water fowl, skunks and minks weasels all make their homes in the city limits too, I'd move her nest try to take as much of it along with her eggs and put them inside her house then go and mess up the original nest to encourage her to continue laying inside.

I'm happy to move her nest to the house. I want her to get used to laying in there even if only for future safety when we get out to the rural desert. I just wasn't sure if I'm supposed to haha. I don't want to mess up her laying since it's her very first year. Is there are better time to do it? I know with the chickens I make all the big changes at night, but the geese don't ever seem to sleep at night! Pom pretty much hates me ALL the time too, so that makes anything in "their yard" difficult, although we fought it out big a couple times (thanks to you guys and the threads you directed me to I was able to do it without hurting the poor guy) and now he will charge me but most of the time I just have to get big and talk loud and stern and he will turn around and waddle away pouting. Usually something along the lines of "Back off Pom!" and "Don't even think about it!" I'm definitely the crazy lady on my block now haha.
I know we have raccoons and skunks but that's only a problem in the burbs. We've got coyotes and bobcats instead of foxes minks or weasels but those are only out in the boonies. I'm in the heart of the city where honestly the ONLY animals you ever see roaming are pigeons. I did see a hawk for the first time a few months ago, that was cool! Haven't seen those since they tried to carry off my childhood cat! But he never came back.

Wow KuKu! Your yard must be pretty secure that all the dogs don't get in. I know exactly what you are talking about with the packs of dogs out there. I had never seen anything like that until I moved out there. I did animal rescue and foster care down there for many years while I lived there. My in-laws had a house up north near orange grove and Ina blvd. when I met my hubs their yard was the last one and then it was dessert. When we left there was about 15 miles of city up there behind them I swear! That city has grown so much. I still have friends down that way, and some of them have chickens, but you were the first I heard of someone with a goose!

Those geese we've got have really grown on me even though they aren't mine. I had told their owner that I would take them with me if we ever move. Heck. I've paid for everything aside from the purchase of the birds. I really thought I would hate them, and of wasn't above getting rid of them, but maybe it helps that our kids handled them so much when they were little. They really didn't seem too upset when I was out looking for that egg yesterday. Maybe because she has no want to sit? Will they only sit if they have a large clutch of eggs?

I agree with miss Lydia that I would still probably try to move the nest just so Trina is a bit more safe. I would be heartbroken for you if something happened. One thing I heard to deter hawks is to string fishing line up above. I guess you can't notice it from below, but those birds will see it from the sky and not chance flying down through it to get to their prey.

I know you make the diapers your birds wear, but have you ever made on of those apront hints for their backs? I've got a couple girls with missing feathers from an over active rooster. We just butchered one a couple weeks ago that I thought was doing the damage, but it seems it's my little NN frizzle roo "alien" that is the culprit. I feel bad for these ladies because I thought for sure their feathers would grow back after I rid them of the terrorizing giant who was also out there... BUT they are still looking rough, and I am not noticing too many new feathers coming in yet.

I am going to have to make a weekend project and see if i can sew up a few of those deals I think.

AND YES MISS LYDIA, I found the eggs inside the "goose house" as we call it. (I need a better name for it)


Well, I am off to head out for PTA. I hope The roads are good since it's windy as all get out again. Good think I am only going 10 miles I guess, later all!

It's not really that secure, we just don't seem to have a problem with anything getting in our yard. Our front fence is only about 4 ft tall, a big dog could jump it in a heart beat. But I've never seen a dog bother to come up to our fence, they tend to walk right down the middle of the road. Way too many dogs on either side of the street (our poultry area shares a fence with the neighbors dog, she pretty well scares off anything that gets close to our yard) I would guess so they just stay in the middle to avoid them all.
I can't think of a single person in Tucson I know with geese... I guess I never really thought about it! I wonder if it's just the "Water fowl" part that deters them since water is scarce down here. We didn't even get floods this last monsoon!
All that Ina and orange grove area is PACKED these days. I used to nanny out there in Marana. the whole place really has just oozed outwards, it's fun to watch! We will be moving out the opposite direction at the end of houghton past the 10. That's the "new" area to be in, and much closer to my family. Marana is pretty well full up as far as little ranches and homesteads go, but they are on the other side of the I10.

I would absolutely be heartbroken if anything happened to Trina. She's our first little baby! I'm so glad Pom takes such great care of her.

I don't make saddles/aprons, I thought about it last spring when my rooster had torn up the backs of all 8 of my LF, but they just didn't appeal to me. The LF chickens always hated wearing diapers or leash harnesses so I couldn't imagine making them wear saddles. I just got rid of the rooster, which was a perfect excuse because his crowing was getting on my nerves lol. None of my girls really got their feathers back until their big molts, and even then, they few feathers they got before that took months. I felt so bad! My very first pair of chickens were breeder retires, someone who obviously didn't know anything about the breed to begin with because they are horrible quality as far as breed standards, they had HUGE completely bald spots on their backs that were scabbed and sunburned. It was horrible! It took them each about 8 months before any growth started and a year to hard molt and completely correct the problem. I gave one of those hens away, but I plan to keep the other until she croaks on her own for her sentimental value. She's my "big mama" giant and fluffy haha but she looks fantastic now except for the broken feathers from finding the tiniest places possible to squeeze in and explore LOL. Your little guy may not be doing the damage at all. You might have to wait until after their feathers all grow back to really find the culprit. My little serama roo is pretty aggressive about mating but he hasn't caused any harm to the backs of his hens thank goodness.

 

[livininbrazil]

What a lot of interesting reading! MLyd put in 2 cents, here´s my 2 centavos!

Hi Kuku, Moving a goose isn´t the same as moving a chicken or turkey. Geese get a real attachment to their chosen place and it can be almost impossible to move them. However, as she´s not started to sit yet, you could have a go if you think it´s necessary, but you´ll need to make it impossible for her to go back to her chosen spot...i.e. put those bricks/blocks all over it, something like that.
I had one goose this year that chose a spot together with her 2 sisters. They all 3 laid eggs, none of which came to anything, of course, silly birds. OK, second batch and the other 2 sisters chose other nest-sites and did ok...but this one goose was determined to stay put, even though there were no eggs under her by now, in the heat of the day, I kept destroying any vestige of a nest that she´d made up again...still without an egg, just determined that this was her spot...it took about 2 months for her to give up, and that was only when the first one of her sisters had a successful hatch so she went to be auntie to the little ones, she couldn´t resist! So, it probably won´t be easy to move her.

Congrats on getting Pom respectful, too.

My hens sometimes wear little fleece jackets that I cut out of fleece material for them if needed. It´s light, dries fast and they don´t mind it a bit. No sewing needed, either.

Loghousemom, look at Kuku´s pic of the eggs. You´ll see that the newer ones are whiter than the first laid, and that the goose has made a dish in the soil. This is quite normal. They like to roll the eggs about to get them filthy. Of course, you can put in a lot a hay, and she´ll be quite happy with that, too. Then the eggs won´t look so different, maybe. And just because you only got one egg on one day, doesn´t mean they´re not both gals, as they could both be having a rest!

Count the eggs over the next 3 days, then you´ll know. I have a feeling you have a pair, though. And it can look like there´s nothing in the nest, but they´re all there buried under the straw, then they´ll get more protective of the eggs once she starts to sit. And different geese behave differently. I have one that sat on 10 eggs, and one that sat on just 3. And letting her incubate the eggs isn´t necessarily a bad idea, it´s just that if it´s her first year they´ll be smaller and probably not all fertile, whereas next year it´d be better. It doesn´t mean you can´t do it. It´s fun.

 

[livininbrazil]

p.s. cattle-trough sounds good, do you have tapped water that goes to it? That´d be great, you could make a ramp for them to get up, or pile up dirt on one side.... It would help them have a greater chance of fertile eggs. As she´s laying now, and if you want goslings this year, the sooner you get it going the better.

It doesn´t mean that you don´t have fertile eggs already, just that it´s much better if they have water deep enough to swim in, it helps them with their mating.