What to feed my Geese in the Winter

[krazynoklahoma]

I am jus a little south of Norman, in Lexington.

Melissa

 

[Picco]

My friend feeds scratch, layer feed, rabbit pellets and lettuce from the supermarket. She asked the manager about the older produce and now picks up the stuff that is a few days old a couple times a week.

 

[greyfields]

My geese have started doing the mating rituals. The males are dancing with eachother with their necks interlaced. I haven't seen too much breeding, although I did find a broken goose egg near the workshop. So I have to keep my eyes open and start collecting eggs for the incubator. God I love geese. They are by far and away my favorite animals here on the farm.

Also, with the piggies gone, the geese now get the compost/pig bucket. Whatever they don't eat, the chickens will come by later and pick through.

 

[MissPrissy]

Perhaps you could randomly offer them alfalfa cubes soaked in warm water during the coldest days. The alfalfa is expensive here, over $18 a bag. I save them for treats for my goats on really cold days. They are nice and green and smell wonderful.

 

[chickmommar]

Melissa! I'm in Noble OK - we are neighbors! I do duck and goose rescue. Would you be interested in hearing when there are ducks or geese needing homes? If so, please email me, I'd love to add you to my email list of waterfowl people in OK. Thanks.

chickmom at gmail dot com

 

[milkweeds]

I was told by a waterfowl expert that if you get a bale of alfalfa and timothy hay...2dn cutting...get a paper cutter and cut the hay to small bitesize pieces like 1 inch long and put in a bowl and mush it up with water....it will substitute for grass grazing. we bought 2 of those round bales....we are trying for the first time....will sprinkle some oyster grit in for eggs. we give egg layer as well....
would like to hear others advice on giving water at night.......I have done this and wish I didn't have to... the beds would be dryer....I only did it to prevent them from going dry after digging in the hay all nite...

any other words on this?

 

[milkweeds]

again..for geese

..I was told to get a paper cutter and a bale of alfalfa and timothy hay....2nd cutting, and cut fresh hay into 1 inch bites and place in bowl with water.,.,...adding oyster grit....anyone else do this.

 

[gooselove]

Hi Milkweeds

I have geese and they enjoy nibbling at the grass hay bales in the barn. I've never chopped it up and put it in water, as we have grass year round here, but it doesn't sound like a bad idea. I think a paper cutter is a little extreme, but it's important that they don't eat the long strings of hay, as they may get impacted crops.

I give water at night in heavy buckets, but only about half full. They don't seem to splash as much out into their bedding that way.

I feed flock raiser and corn (corn as a treat), adding in oyster shell. They pick at that as needed I guess!

These geese also love romaine lettuce, tomatoes, grapes, and watermelon.

 

[christmas goose]

barley, oats, corn timothy pellets...they dont seem to do well with alfalfa as it is too corse for them to chew, also provide them with grit in the winter, and I add blackoil sunflower and , top dress it with shredded carrots and cabbage and kale during the winter months in maine, I keep the ice on their pond chopped so they can drink and swim, and fresh hay for bedding, wich they do pick the seeds from the chaff. I have two pair of geese and 1 pair of ducks.

 

[Miss Lydia]

barley, oats, corn timothy pellets...they dont seem to do well with alfalfa as it is too corse for them to chew, also provide them with grit in the winter, and I add blackoil sunflower and , top dress it with shredded carrots and cabbage and kale during the winter months in maine, I keep the ice on their pond chopped so they can drink and swim, and fresh hay for bedding, wich they do pick the seeds from the chaff. I have two pair of geese and 1 pair of ducks.