Very new to all this...

[ChickieNikki]

Hi! I'm new to chickens--so new I don't even have 'em yet! The coop is half built, and I expect my 25 chicks to ship mid-May. We may be up against a hawk problem, but I won't know until the girls are here and out of the brooder and in the yard. I live about 500 yards from woods on one side, and about 1/4 mile from woods on the other, and I'm in the middle of a subdivision that's pretty spread out. It's farmland beyond my west and south neighbors, and hawks have good eats in the woods nearby. however, they do fly over daily on their way to and fro. My neighbor breeds chihuahuas and has 20-30 in her dog yard at a time, and hasn't had an issue, but they're more wooded (we have NO trees). So, long story short, my chicken run is way to big to roof or even to net, so I'm considering an animal form of hawk protection. I have heard that geese can be good poultry guards--any suggestions on that? Also, I have no pond--can geese live happily without full time water access? it would be a pet, not food or breeding--male or female for guard/pet purposes?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Brickman House]

Well, I've heard that geese can raise a ruckus if they sense a threat, so they're good poultry "guards" in that sense, but they're certainly not going to successfully fight off hawks or other predators on a regular basis. In that way, they're as vulnerable as your chickens.

Geese can live without a pond, but do need water deep enough to dunk their heads in and clean out their nostrils, plus they're much happier if they can splash in water at least some of the time. Would it be possible to supply at least a kiddie pool or small tub that could be dumped and cleaned periodically?

Finally, like most other animals, geese are happiest with their own kind. It'd be a good idea to get two, as opposed to a singleton.