The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: zarzar on February 01, 2013, 09:10:15 pm
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:wave: Hi i know this may sound a funny question but being new to keeping geese do they swim or are ebdem geese likely to sink as they are very heavy and dont think they have ever had much exercise
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They will swim if they have access to water and feel the urge to do so. Our Embdens don't seem to like water much.
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Ours only have a bath and buckets of water but seem very happy with that. BTW dont believe those who say geese can only mate when swimming on water - Goggle the gosling proves that one wrong....:-)))
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youre correct it is a funny question..... sinking fat geese ime just trying to picture it glug glug hiss. :excited: :excited:
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youre correct it is a funny question..... sinking fat geese ime just trying to picture it glug glug hiss. :excited: :excited:
If they did sink they would hiss that they hated you as their owner. Mind you, they do that when you feed them, when you break the ice for them on their water, struggle up a hill with 25l container of water for them.......basically any time you do anything for them they fix you with a beady eye and say 'I really really hate you'. I kind of like that about them, ours arent wing clipped so they stay here by choice and I like their independence! (plus the eggs make great lemon curd and egg mayonnaise!)
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its just we only brought them in last few days but go mad for water bucket all 8 try getting in together so :roflanim: and we where planning to build a pond for our ducks perhaps will will do one thats not to deep just in case lol as they are rather fat, just the weight of them gives the impression they would sink lol they certainly wouldnt move as gracefully as the ducks do on water.
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I've got a big dog bath that mine can climb into and LOVE! They go crazy for it - turning over, whole splashing fun. It's been out of action recently due to the muddy situation caused so they've just had a trug and it's weird how their little legs are trying to climb into it, their wings are flapping but all they can get in is their heads. I noticed they've even got messy feathers where they've been pressed up against the side trying to get in. We had a nice spell last week so I moved their dog bath onto a fresh area and filled it and they've been loving it again. BUT we also have a pond in our field across the road. So every so often I herd them across (fortunately a very minor lane given they have a tendency to get diverted by worms and puddles and refuse to move off the road) to give them a chance to swim for real (it's a seasonal pond so a very decent size now and disappears in summer). They don't care for it at all. It may be just that it's more unfamiliar but I've given them quite a bit of time and they dabble at the edge and then go off grazing the fresher grass over there. Strange.
H
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Years ago after a high wind I found a blue shell childs 'sandpit'. this is tipped slightly and has a constant run of water through. the geese love it.
Where I live previously I would sometimes let them out into a beck, if the water was deep enough they would swim under water as they enjoyed themselves. quite a sight.
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My embden geese like to have a swimming session on our pond a few times a day and they generally prefer to mate on the water (but don't always). They're clumsy when the pond is iced over but they still cross it in these conditions. Fortunately they've got the hang of it - although one of my ganders, when young, used to get stuck on the ice and would just sit there waiting for me to rescue him. :)
Wendy
blueborage.blogspot.com
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:wave: Hi
Our two embden geese, Graham and Grace, love to swim, once they realised that they could!
I have even seen Graham dive under like a duck :thumbsup: .......maybe the ducks taught him?
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youre correct it is a funny question..... sinking fat geese ime just trying to picture it glug glug hiss. :excited: :excited:
If they did sink they would hiss that they hated you as their owner. Mind you, they do that when you feed them, when you break the ice for them on their water, struggle up a hill with 25l container of water for them.......basically any time you do anything for them they fix you with a beady eye and say 'I really really hate you'. I kind of like that about them, ours arent wing clipped so they stay here by choice and I like their independence! (plus the eggs make great lemon curd and egg mayonnaise!)
Liked that lachlanandmarcus, got them to a T, ;D ;D ;D
We have Steinbacher geese (like Greylags) and they LOVE the pond - have only ever seen them mate on water. I wouldn't have geese without some kind of pond, wouldn't think of it. ::)
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It just they are rarther heavy and didnt see any sign of a pond or trough that they could get in so have given them a bucket which they all try getting in, we have just brought some ducks so going to build them a pond the geese can use it if they want too.
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No your geese won't sink - you could have swans & they wouldn't as all waterfowl have oily downs & feathers & skin & if you've ever mixed oil & water for example ship oil spills or washing oil on a frying pan in the washing up the oil & water separates with the oil on the top - because it's boyant - this is essentially why waterfowl float whearas if a chicken falls in the water trough it's game over if no-one is around as the water saturates their coats causing it to become heavy but this doesn't happen with waterfowl. Also if you ever rear any for meat feel the skin & look at the amount of fat that comes off the bodies of geese & ducks that's why you don't need much to cook them with.
Ours are very lucky as we have a river going though our land & they won't go on it when it floods but in general they go for a couple of swims & spend a lot of time grazing often near the ducks or they will go off up the river for most of the day - it just depends on how the mood takes them. I find though they do spend less time on the water than the ducks, but I've seen them diving under often - the youngsters can be a bit nervous of it at 1st before going on the river but they love trays of water as goslings. Every morning though the geese get excited when let out in the morning &the 1st thing they do is run & do what little flight take off they can at the edge of the rivers bank into it honking loudly for a bathe, & hate it if left in unable to bathe for a few days.
As for mating with ours I wouldn't know I've only seen it once in 8yrs & I think it was on water but ours seem to always be very secretive about mating as do our turkeys unlike the hens & ducks ::) ::) but we nearly always have great hatch rates with them.
If I were you I've give them a nice big area around 1-3ft deep which is easy to get out of like the pond your suggesting & they'll love it x
P.S Harry I don't really associate with your following quote:
" Mind you, they do that when you feed them, when you break the ice for them on their water, struggle up a hill with 25l container of water for them.......basically any time you do anything for them they fix you with a beady eye and say 'I really really hate you"
It's just ours seem to be pretty ok &polite but have an answer for everything, but the gander doesn't like you getting too close i.e a few feet (Dad got s love bite once trying to catch him & everyone down the pub thought it was my mum ;D ;D ;D) & you occasionally get pecked by the females if trying to get close when broody but thats it really & we get a nice chatter every morning & when we leave food late at night.
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we are def planning to make one for ducks so will sort something where they can have ago to but will have to devise some sort of fencing as the geese graze with the sheep(and i know sheep dont swim lol)
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Ha ha maybe a fence around it with a 1 foot gap big enough for the geese & ducks to get in & out but not the sheep - just make sure no lambs are around x
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yea it just deciding where to put it as ducks are seperate they wouldnt get any food with those big pigs around lol so would be 2 small ones, will see if geese take notice of duck one first though before making a second one, lambs will go in a seperate paddock.
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we are def planning to make one for ducks so will sort something where they can have ago to but will have to devise some sort of fencing as the geese graze with the sheep(and i know sheep dont swim lol)
'
I struggled a bit with geese and sheep sharing, cos the geese will (ESP with the lazy ram I had) pull bits out their fleece until the skin was sore and they got fly struck on the wound :-(( maybe that's not common but I keep them separate now.
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With ours, our geese free range so will often go where we are keeping sheep & we also keep ours at times including our rams in the field the poultry are in & generally the geese don't bother, unless the sheep get too close & we see them eating stuff together like corns - But I have seen the gander peck, chase & even hang on to tups & calfs tails with the tup or calf running with him still hanging on, & he will randomly peck hard on a tups head until it moves or tries to headbutt him as their pretty docile & the tups will often walk up to you for a stroke or head scratch - more so when the girls are around ;D & when we had our spaniel she deliberately teased the geese & got chased by them, but our dogs at the moment have more sense ;D
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ours see ok at min the gander chases sheep away from girls but otherwise all seem quiet.