Which Breed is the Best Breed?

[silkie1472]

I'm from Arkansas an plan on getting some geese. However, my dad does not think that it would be a good idea to get them as he believes that they will pull our grass out of the ground and poop on our carport. Still keeping this in mind, I know that there are some breeds that are not so bad about doing these things. Another thing is that if I were to get them, they would have to stay on our pond, oppose to them having a large coop/pen to live in. In yall's opinion, which breeds of geese are least likely to harm our grass, more likely to stay on a pond, and are able to rear their own young? And advice would be appreciated. I would be ordering from our local feed store, and I do not believe that they can order weeder geese. How do embden, buff, or Toulouse sound?

 

[LRH97]

I will say that I loved my Buff pair. I gave them to my friend whose daughter wanted to get into breeding them. Very nice and friendly personalities. Geese love grass. They just do. However, if you only want a few, they won't do significant damage to a yard. I wouldn't let them in my garden or flower beds though... They all poop as well. It's mainly nothing more than digested grass, but the only way to keep them confined or off something for good is to fence it off. If you have a pond, they'll likely stay around there a lot, but they do like to mozy around and graze. Luckily, geese are pretty easy to confine since most breeds are too heavy to get off the ground to jump a fence.

 

[silkie1472]

Thanks, all that I have to do now is try to convince my dad to let me get a pair or a trio.

 

[jarcoo0153]

I enjoy my buff geese they are great and have great personalities. I haven't got any eggs yet but can't wait!

 

[silkie1472]

Well, after about a week of convincing, my dad still says no. He does not care much about them eating grass or anything. He says that geese are mean and that they will just bite people. I told him he was wrong, but he thinks he knows it all (probably like me, except I know I do

), so I guess I will just have to stick with ducks. I meant to ask this sooner, but are runner ducks easy to raise? Do they go broody often?

 

[LRH97]

Well, after about a week of convincing, my dad still says no. He does not care much about them eating grass or anything. He says that geese are mean and that they will just bite people. I told him he was wrong, but he thinks he knows it all (probably like me, except I know I do

), so I guess I will just have to stick with ducks. I meant to ask this sooner, but are runner ducks easy to raise? Do they go broody often?

I personally have never had a Runner to go broody. They're not much different in regards to care as other ducks would be. It's the cool and different appearance that's different. They don't wattle, they run! While it is true that geese can become territorial, mainly in breeding season and especially when they have babies, if you start imprinting with them while they're little they can really be great pets. I know a lot of people immediately think of getting chased around the yard when you say geese, but they are so intelligent, stately and full of personality. They're one of my favorite birds to raise.

 

[silkie1472]

I've had a lot of different birds, and I've came to the conclusion that some of them are going to bite me, so it doesn't bother me anymore. My dad, however, is scared of getting bit. Of all of the birds that I have owned, the one that hurt the most when it bit me was a coot. It wasn't just one bite either, it was multiple bites each second.

 

[TheTwoRoos]

Geese poop quite a bit.

And grass is a Gooses main diet,that goes for all geese,so yes their going to eat and pull grass and weeds.Their more like lawn mowers rather then like a rototiller or something that yanks grass out of the ground,although I do see my geese on occasion shred up grass.

Not all geese are mean,geese can be fun,accept when it comes to breeding season and their babies.When raised right they can be lots of fun.

I just started with geese back in October and have already learn their fun,but are stubborn.

I have raised ducks about as long as I have raised chickens so about 6 years maybe.Runner ducks were our first ducks an our last standing runner duck who was about 5 just got killed a few months ago.She went broody in all the wrong places,so yes they do brood.Ducks eat grass,and are messier then geese,and all birds will poop anywhere.

 

[silkie1472]

My rouens attempt to go broody each year. However, raccoons and other animals do not allow that. They wait until they have 20-30 in a clutch and then go broody, but have only ever hatched 2. The Rouens that are about 8 years old are more clever, but are still not as smart as chickens. I had a chicken hatch a clutch in the middle of our yard, but my ducks still can't be successful even when hiding a nest.