Who Uses Weeder Geese?

[jvls1942]

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first off, you did say geese..
I don't know where ducks came from..

and I think the geese will eat your peas.. If you are planning to plow the peas under, hen it wouldn't matter if the geese did eat it..they will each give you about 3 pounds of fertilizer each day..

buckwheat is a good cover crop to plant for improving your soil also..

My geese seemed to leave the buckwheat alone..

excuse me..i was the one that asked about the ducks...because her original heading said "ducks"...not geese...

..

The heading must have been changed before I found this thread.
I have geese and I use them for weeding once in awhile and that is why the heading caught my eye..
No biggie.. happy new year..

 

[ksacres]

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Sorry, this caught my attention, though I'm sure that's not how you meant it...

 

[jvls1942]

Quote:
Sorry, this caught my attention, though I'm sure that's not how you meant it...

that should make weed growers very happy..

 

[TerriLaChicks]

When I raised white Chinese, I didn't use them for weeder geese, but I can say I never ever had problems selling the offspring and the entire flock when I got out of it. I had people calling me 2 months later wanting to know if I still had any.
I'm getting brown Chinese from Holderread's this spring. I love the grace & beauty of the Chinese, & I like their nosy, noisy selves - we live far enough out they don't bother any neighbors & they are most excellent watchdogs.
Interesting information & thanks for posting it, & I think i will try to train mine to weed the corn plot!

 

[jvls1942]

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I used mine in the sweet corn. just wait until the corn is well on it's way so when they take a few bites of the corn it will not damage the plant..and it should not accidently
get stepped on.. I would say a good 18 inches tall..

My garden does not have a fence around it, so the weeding was hit or miss.. the geese are just like us, they go where the pickin's are easiest, like the lawn..

 

[Omniskies]

There's probably stuff missing, but this is the general gist for weeder geese. Some of it is from our own experience, some from people we have talked to, and some from books and websites.

Enjoy

http://omniskies.com/gooseweed.shtml

 

[Beekissed]

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I think this link is expired...it won't work.

Have another?

 

[Omniskies]

Ah, whoops . The link should be http://omniskies.com/gooseweed.shtml not "geese" weed. I changed it

 

[greyfields]

I like your comments on the Pilgrim geese. They are my recommendation as well for people getting into geese. I've also noticed that the sex link continues even when crossed with an Embden.... that or I've just been lucky with my 4 grey crosses all being females. They're very good parents and very gentle geese, who take very quickly to imprinting on humans.

My Embdens are perhaps more fun and gregarious, but they also have a destructive streak in them.

 

[Omniskies]

I'm experimenting with the autosex gene a lot this year. I've been tempted to set aside a couple Pilgrims to pair up with other white and grey geese to see what happens. I'd love to be able to introduce new blood to the breed and maybe increase their egg production without losing any of the autosexing (it already took forever to find goslings that were actually yellow and dark grey rather than two different shades of dully grey).

What cross did you use with your Embdens? A Pilgrim gander and Embden geese? What color did the males end up being? Do you remember how dark the females were as goslings?

Now you've got me all curious. Any information would be great