What should I expect with geese?

[Valhalla Acres]

We recently acquired a few buff American geese and they are by far the greatest birds ever! They will follow us around our farm and they are super friendly! I am falling in love with these geese however this is our first time with geese. We did not plan on getting geese, they were just given to us. So I not totally sure about what to expect or what I should prepare for. We've had them for about a week now and they seem to be settling in pretty well. Any advice for our first time with geese?

 

[FortCluck]

@Miss Lydia can help you with your questions

 

[DiYMama540]

Be ready for lots of poo and noise!! As well as sooo much love!

They do well free ranging and eating your grass, plants, flowers...they love it. I feed mine an all flock pellet from Nutrena, though this time of year while things are green they don't eat much of it.

A favorite special treat of mine is corn on the cob!! BB goes crazy for it...cleans it down to cob in no time.

Like ducks, they need constant access to water that is deep enough to dunk their heads and clean their nares. Honestly, I've given up on traditional waterers and use buckets now. They male such a mess of the water it's easiest for me to keep clean.

Geese are actually pretty easy. Very tough and hardy birds, not nearly as prone to illness as chickens.

Best of luck!! Any pics??

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I keep mine in my goat pasture, otherwise I find them up by the house looking in the windows. Every day is a party for a goose. They are loud and love to talk. They come running every time they see me. They run the other way from my husband, so they definitely bond with certain people, and avoid others. They also love exploring new things. Mine will spend hours taking turns at jiggling a latch or hanging chain. They are definitely goofy birds.

 

[bluemerle]

Aren't they great birds? I adore my pair.

My only two tidbits of advice (after only having geese for a couple months): make sure anything they have access to won't hurt them (they get into everything, like toddlers!) and be aware that breeding season is coming, which means some grumpiness! Especially if you have a gander.

Otherwise: enjoy them! They have the biggest personalities and are so fun to watch and interact with.

 

[Leader Bee]

A favorite special treat of mine is corn on the cob!! BB goes crazy for it...cleans it down to cob in no time.

Pardon the crudeness but how well do they do with corn? In my experience I don't digest it particularly well (Ahem!) I know geese will require grit to do so but can't imagine it all gets absorbed particularly well either.

 

[Callender Girl]

Congratulations on adding American Buff geese to your life! I love my pair; they are everything everyone says -- loud, messy, attracted to shiny things they can jiggle, eager to eat everything you don't want them to and much more fond of some folks than others.

They are also extremely easy to care for, and will keep themselves and you amused for hours. While I highly discourage their attraction to my shiny car that they like to "examine" with their bills, I love to watch their sudden "zoomies" where they run down the driveway like little airplanes, take off (just barely) airborne Very Briefly and land. They also like to herd all the runner ducks into an orderly parade with no particular destination. They will nip at a single chicken, but a flock of chickens will scare them away from feed.

Last spring, both laid eggs and vigorously protected their nests. The eggs, which I gingerly gathered while they were out of their shelter, were beautiful and tasty.

Mine live in a small wood and hardware cloth shelter that locks at night. It is surrounded by dog kennel panels for a playpen, but they usually spend their days free ranging. The two-foot wire fence across the front of the property is enough to discourage them from trying to fly their un-aerodynamic bodies onto the roadway. I supplement their free-range diet with Purina all-flock food, and they have their own baby pool in their playpen. But, hey, they're geese -- so they would much rather take over the ducks' pool!