Would Like To Raise Some Geese - Which Is Best Breed?

[goosemama]

Have chickens & tried ducks this year but would like to try geese. Have a small pond next to henhouse all fenced w/about l/2 acre of grass. Was disappointed the ducks didn't forage more on the grass - they are gobbling the chicken layer like there's no tomorrow.Butchered one of the excess males yesterday and was disappointed how little meat there was (Pekin about l0-l2lbs livewgt). Like to have a breeding pair and hopefully if they raise goslings to put some in the freezer every Fall. What is the best breed to get with this in mind? Broody & good meat birds? And what hatchery would be best to try? I'm a Newbie in this dept. and NEED HELP!!!

 

[Cottage Rose]

The "best breed" is whatever appeals to you the most.
You might want to check out my raising waterfowl tip page on my website.

 

[goosemama]

Thank you Cottage Rose for your input. I have seen your website and it is beautiful and informative but I was hoping for more general info from a Forum member who has kept geese for meat in a homesteader setting. I am not into "showing" poultry so whatever breed of chickens/ducks/geese I buy have to pull their weight with eggs or meat. I can't afford goslings that cost $50 each to be used as pets. I was wondering what breed that is commonly sold by breeders or hatcheries i.e., Embden, Toulouse, Pilgrim etc. would be best for a homestead situation. I am looking into geese because they are better grass foragers than ducks , a type that is good at raising their own young and which reach a decent weight for the freezer in a short amount of time.

 

[Cottage Rose]

I have a couple of links to some Mother Earth News articles on geese on the bottom of one of my geese pages you might mike to read.
I'm thinking Cotton Patch, Americans or Pilgrims for a nice farm goose.

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
Just my opinion but I would rule out Cotton Patch because they are rare(ish) and are more of a collector goose than the others. I like Pilgrims because you can always tell the gender at a glance. I hope you don't take this the wrong way but If I was looking at geese from a homesteader point of view I would look locally for cheap geese. The so called production toulouse (basically any grey goose) is pretty common and should be cheap. Myself I got started with a pair of African X China crosses (Mutts) that were given to me because the owner didn't want to have mutts running around on his place. If you are looking for small geese Chinas are common and cheap but in my opinion don't get big enough to make up for having to put up with their yapping (they are LOUD). The so called Giant or Exibition heavy geese usually take two years to get to those high weights and the starting stock is pricy and they eat a lot of feed to carry them over the winter if you don't have year around forage. The Giants are bred for size so the egg production and brooding ability is usually lost. I would be looking for cheap medium weight class geese as the best answer to what you say you want. "A local mutt is half the cost of anything you have to have shipped in" Good Luck!

 

[AuroraSprings]

I raise both Cotton Patch and American. Cotton Patch were originally bred as all purpose geese and I think it would be wonderful if you bred them for meat. As long as you posted your results and allowed us breeders to use you a reference. They need to prove their productivity if they are going to be saved. They have the added bonus of being sexually dimorphic. They reproduce quickly also (early babies start laying their first year). We won't have anything available until Spring, but I'd be more than happy to put you on the "annoucement list". Just let us know!