Wanting to get geese, all advice appreciated

[Madrull]

alright, here’s my questions

Do geese REALLY eat everything? What type of fencing do you use for your geese? Shelters? I saw on YouTube a girl said geese don’t need a shelter until they want to sit on eggs? These will probably be the only animals I have that will truly be pets. If handled enough, will they be friendly? I know mating season that they will likely be more aggressive, which I’m ok with. Does anyone have a breed that is more docile around children than others? I never let my son (3yo) around the animals alone anyways, for both the child and animals safety, but curious regardless.

Recommended diet? Another person on YouTube said chicken scratch, but I don’t trust that. Feels like misinformation. Any advice I’d appreciated

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

I have American Buff Geese.
If you have young kids, you could get females. That way you won't have the aggression as much or at all.
What is your purpose for the geese? Breeding, just enjoyment or etc?
I give my Geese a gamebird grower and some treats, but in the summer, they mostly eat grass or what they can reach in the garden. They also steal cat food and they gobble down broken eggs.
@Goosebaby

 

[Madrull]

I have American Buff Geese.
If you have young kids, you could get females. That way you won't have the aggression as much or at all.
What is your purpose for the geese? Breeding, just enjoyment or etc?
I give my Geese a gamebird grower and some treats, but in the summer, they mostly eat grass or what they can reach in the garden. They also steal cat food and they gobble down broken eggs.
@Goosebaby

Mainly for my enjoyment and the opportunity to hatch eggs when in season I plan to keep them in a pasture of their own so they don’t destroy my flower beds

 

[Goosebaby]

Yeah that YouTube advice is just bad advice. Unfortunately there’s faux farmer’s there that like to advertise something they’re not.

Geese need an enclosure unless you’re planning on feeding them to the local wildlife or wandering dogs, unless you have a dedicated livestock guardian dog to keep watch on your flock. Geese are more fragile than the advertise. Their main defense with anything is bluff.

At night mine sleep in 6 x 10 ft dog kennels that have a tarp roof. During the day they’re out and about.

Geese wont survive on scratch. They need a feed that’s formulated for wildfowl or for a mixed flock. Something like all flock, multi flock, or flock raiser.
Mine eat Purina flock raiser year round even as adults.
Goslings and adults need a higher concentration of B vitamins as well as other nutrients than chicks and chickens or health problems arise.
When they aren’t growing or molting or in winter they can be fed something with 17% protein.

Only laying females can have layer feed, but if you have a mix of females, non laying females, males and babies it’s easier and safer to just give oystershell or egg shells for added calcium.


American Buffs tend to be calmer, at least they do to me.

I have Toulouse, Buffs, and one Classic Roman. My Roman is very calm, but besides her I have no more experience with the breed.

If you still have links to those YouTube videos I’d love to leave them a comment.

 

[Goosebaby]

Almost forgot, geese won’t eat anything, they can be weirdly picky.

On the other hand you have to be careful still because just like little kids they’ll go put things in their mouths that they shouldn’t, so beware of poisonous plants and things like wires, metal bits, paint, and so on.

Something I’ve noticed is that if they see you or something else touching a plant they’re more likely to want to try it themselves. If you have to handle something that you don’t want them touching it can help teach them to avoid it by shaking your hands and face and making the gross face, they’ll think it’s something that tastes bad. It doesn’t always work but sometimes it does.

 

[Percheron chick]

Geese will not eat anything and everything. Beyond the all flock or specific duck/goose feed, mine love lettuce, kale, most fruit (grape, papaya, mango and strawberry are favs), corn on the cob, alfalfa and grass hays (good winter substitute for grass and weeds).
My goose pen is made out of 6' chain link panels. For shelter they have a 3 sided metal loafing shed and a few XL dogloos. The shelters are barely used outside of sitting on eggs. Even in a snow storm they prefer to sleep outside but I give them an option.

 

[Goosebaby]

Geese will not eat anything and everything. Beyond the all flock or specific duck/goose feed, mine love lettuce, kale, most fruit (grape, papaya, mango and strawberry are favs), corn on the cob, alfalfa and grass hays (good winter substitute for grass and weeds).
My goose pen is made out of 6' chain link panels. For shelter they have a 3 sided metal loafing shed and a few XL dogloos. The shelters are barely used outside of sitting on eggs. Even in a snow storm they prefer to sleep outside but I give them an option.

Mine have dogloos or dog travel crates as nest boxes.

Dogloos are the best goose caves though!

 

[Percheron chick]

If you get snow, it's important to have straw that you can put on top of snow for them to sleep on to protect their feet.

 

[AGeese]

alright, here’s my questions

Do geese REALLY eat everything? What type of fencing do you use for your geese? Shelters? I saw on YouTube a girl said geese don’t need a shelter until they want to sit on eggs? These will probably be the only animals I have that will truly be pets. If handled enough, will they be friendly? I know mating season that they will likely be more aggressive, which I’m ok with. Does anyone have a breed that is more docile around children than others? I never let my son (3yo) around the animals alone anyways, for both the child and animals safety, but curious regardless.

Recommended diet? Another person on YouTube said chicken scratch, but I don’t trust that. Feels like misinformation. Any advice I’d appreciated

1. Mine eat grass, weeds, roots, bark, and basically try and chew on everything.

2. I have garden fence, but I also free range, they haven't strayed yet and I'm working on fencing in the rest of the property. 5' should be sufficient, I have both 5' and 6' wire rolls.

2. I have a wood framed galvanized wire pen I'm converting to a tractor house, but I am also finishing up an stationary A-frame (just need to get it raised) re-sealed and roofed (prices these days...)

3. Body language is important, communicate with them at a level they can respond to as they are very observant. Mine like to talk back and keep an eye on what I'm doing. I handled mine, when they were in the brooder, now they prefer not to be handled, but if I have to catch one they don't put up much of a fight.

4. As far as kids, I'd pretty much consider it the same with dogs, you wouldn't want a child pulling feathers or doing anything that might harm or cause them to react, and my gander can get protective around his girls, particularly with my dog.

5. As far a feed goes they have Nutrena Flock Shield pellets, before that I was giving them a Kalmbach start to finish pellet (Duck and Goose I believe) bought it out, but they also have access to All Flock crumbles which I give to the chickens. Otherwise they're out on green pasture.

Edit: don't forget the grit, if you don't have access to gravel already. (I add this to their drinkers, otherwise they get it out in the driveway.