Using geese to protect your flock

[Merrymouse]

Total newbie question so be kind please. I was reading a little about people using a goose to kind of watch out for their chickens. Has anyone done this? I read that keeping one goose like a roman tufted or whatever will help protect your chickens. So, is this true? Do you just keep the goose in with the chickens? Also Ive never raised ducks or geese so what are their requirements? Do they need to wade in water? Do they need to wet their food to eat it? Can they live harmoniously with chickens if raised together? Just how loud and obnoxious are they? What do they eat? Will they go in the coop at night?

I seriously know nothing about this so any insight would be appreciated.

 

[Pyxis]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/reasons-why-you-shouldnt-keep-just-one-goose.1220102/
As someone who has actually kept a single Tufted Roman with chickens, I don't recommend it. You really need to have at least two geese. The thread above is why.

Yes, you can house your geese with chickens. They do need at least water deep enough to dunk their entire heads in, and far more preferably swimming water, like a pool or pond. They are primarily grass eaters, so letting them out to graze is very good for them and they enjoy it. However, they do fine eating regular poultry feed. It doesn't need to be wet, but they do need water to wash it down, of course.

Geese can be noisy, especially some breeds like Chinese. Mostly though, they are loud only when they see something and are alerting about it. Like a predator, or if they see their keeper coming to feed them, or they see a stranger, etc etc.

But that brings me to my next point, which is that geese do not protect chickens. They will alert to danger and warn them, but that's it. They won't go fighting a predator to protect the chickens. Their size and presence may discourage a predator from attacking when it otherwise would if the geese weren't present, but the geese aren't going to go after a predator if it does attack. I've lost chickens to hawks even with my geese around. Goose 'protection' is basically them alerting if they see danger, and their size being a deterrent. For true flock protection, you need to get something like an LGD.

Geese are awesome and I love mine, but if your only reason for getting them would be as flock protectors, you might want to pass on them

 

[Isaac 0]

Geese will do little to no more than a rooster would to protect a flock, Besides a little bit of honking to alert of a predator, they won't chase after any serious predator to defend the flock. Keeping just one goose is a big no-no, they need to have another goose with them at all times as chicken's do not really speak there "Language".My geese free-range with my chickens but have to be separated at night in different coops to avoid serious damage or death to the chickens especially during the breeding season.

Geese should have some sort of water source that they can fully bath their whole body in throughout the year to maintain their feathers. They can eat dry pellets just like chickens and can roam with them during the day ideally in an open area setting. Most of there diet consists of grass so they should ideally have grass to eat during some parts of the year. Ganders and Females can be very loud especially during the breeding season and yes, they can be easily trained to go in a coop at night.

 

[Merrymouse]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/reasons-why-you-shouldnt-keep-just-one-goose.1220102/
As someone who has actually kept a single Tufted Roman with chickens, I don't recommend it. You really need to have at least two geese. The thread above is why.

Yes, you can house your geese with chickens. They do need at least water deep enough to dunk their entire heads in, and far more preferably swimming water, like a pool or pond. They are primarily grass eaters, so letting them out to graze is very good for them and they enjoy it. However, they do fine eating regular poultry feed. It doesn't need to be wet, but they do need water to wash it down, of course.

Geese can be noisy, especially some breeds like Chinese. Mostly though, they are loud only when they see something and are alerting about it. Like a predator, or if they see their keeper coming to feed them, or they see a stranger, etc etc.

But that brings me to my next point, which is that geese do not protect chickens. They will alert to danger and warn them, but that's it. They won't go fighting a predator to protect the chickens. Their size and presence may discourage a predator from attacking when it otherwise would if the geese weren't present, but the geese aren't going to go after a predator if it does attack. I've lost chickens to hawks even with my geese around. Goose 'protection' is basically them alerting if they see danger, and their size being a deterrent. For true flock protection, you need to get something like an LGD.

Geese are awesome and I love mine, but if your only reason for getting them would be as flock protectors, you might want to pass on them

Thank you. A lot of good information here. Helped tremendously.

 

[Merrymouse]

Geese will do little to no more than a rooster would to protect a flock, Besides a little bit of honking to alert of a predator, they won't chase after any serious predator to defend the flock. Keeping just one goose is a big no-no, they need to have another goose with them at all times as chicken's do not really speak there "Language".My geese free-range with my chickens but have to be separated at night in different coops to avoid serious damage or death to the chickens especially during the breeding season.

Geese should have some sort of water source that they can fully bath their whole body in throughout the year to maintain their feathers. They can eat dry pellets just like chickens and can roam with them during the day ideally in an open area setting. Most of there diet consists of grass so they should ideally have grass to eat during some parts of the year. Ganders and Females can be very loud especially during the breeding season and yes, they can be easily trained to go in a coop at night.

Thank you. Probably won't work for my needs right now but I will keep all this in mind.

 

[TheRockLady]

I had a guard goose with my chickens previously. She did not seem to notice hawks, however the hawks never attacked, so perhaps she was good deterrent.
On multiple occasions I saw her attack neighbor dogs that attacked my chickens. Idk if it was her breed (Toulousa), but she definitely fought for them or at least her territory that the dogs came in.
She did try to attack my horse once to no avail.
I gave her a kiddie pool so she (& the 3 ducks), could bathe in it & she would spend much of the day there.
Geese make a lot more mess than chickens. I gave the goose (& ducks), a dog house on the ground & the chickens stayed up on their roosts. I did find that a lazy chicken trying to sleep on the ground, would get pecked by her, but the rest of the time she never pecked them.
She/he was a great protector: However, we never were sure if she was male or female- female style feathers, never laid eggs, but tried to breed the female ducks in the spring...

 

[cscarney]

I have a Toulouse that has bonded with my ducks and guards them, but the rest of the gaggle ignores the poultry beyond alerting when something out of the ordinary shows up.

I have talked with other people who have Toulouse and they seem to have a reputation for being a breed that will bond with and guard birds of other species.

 

[Isaac 0]

I have a Toulouse that has bonded with my ducks and guards them, but the rest of the gaggle ignores the poultry beyond alerting when something out of the ordinary shows up.

I have talked with other people who have Toulouse and they seem to have a reputation for being a breed that will bond with and guard birds of other species.

Good to know!

 

[hayley3]

That's what i have too, is a Toulouse. She had a sister but her sister died at 12 yrs of age. She is now 14. They can live to 25 or so I've heard, so it's a long term commitment. She was happy when she could hang with the goats..so I plan to get her more goats to hang with.

Forgot to say...she will pick on the chickens if they get near her food and water...well any water or food, she guards, so have to separate the food somehow. But I'm sure she must tell them when a hawk is around because they sometimes run and hide under the tree.

 

[Mtnboomer]

Curiosity question: yall say the goose is no more effective than a rooster at guarding the flock. Does that include times when the goose has eggs or goslings? Im sure im not the only one who has been surprised on a river bank by a hissing Canadian goose with wings spread snd charging at you. Do domestic geese no longer possess such protective instincts?