The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: Dans on January 23, 2016, 04:57:35 pm
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I may have started my smallholding with a rookie mistake.
Neighbour across the way just moved but kept his half acre field. He took his chickens and cockerel but left a young cockerel and 3 geese. He popped by today and said if we want the geese we can have them. If we want the cockerel take him too or else leave him for the foxes. :(
My heart bled, and we had thought of geese to keep the grass down, and sheep aren't on the horizon. So after some comical herding/catching we have 3 geese and a cockerel. We have a very small shelter and water in the field but nothing else.
What do I need? I imagine I need to get some form of overnight shelter for the cockerel soon. I would think that they need worming as his husbandry didn't look great.
Such a rookie mistake I know. :-[
Dans
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The geese will probably be fine. Fox proof housing, plenty of grass and a scoop of grain or layer's pellets and they pretty much look after themselves. Ours have an old grp shower tray (quite deep) that gets fresh water daily.
Oh, and give them some sheltered places to lay, as they'll soon be starting to think about it.
I reckon your only rookie mistake was the cockerel (and to say 'leave him for the foxes', or I suppose starve to death is just inexcusable). Personally I would feel no guilt about giving him several hours in a low oven with a covering of vegetables and cider, but of course your mileage may vary!
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Well done for stepping in.
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Thanks guys.
They had no housing in that field and it was starting to get fairly muddy and was covered in geese poop. Looked like a very sorry state.
The grass is quite long in the field as it was cut last July by the previous owners but has been ungrazed since then. Do I need to worm them?
Also just checked on the mixed corn I bought and it's riddled with black bugs :-/ think I won't be buying from there again.
Oh and we figured a trip to the pot was a better fate than what his previous owner had for him. Might see about getting him some female friends but if not then he will be pot bound.
Dans
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I like mine to be in and safe at nights, there have been a couple of close calls with daylight fox attacks,
I like my geese, i don't think you've made a mistake, as long as they aren't all ganders :-).
Mine get fed at night in their hut, wheat, mixed flake or bread, sometimes + veg peelings, cooked potato skins etc. they wait near the hut for their supper, in snow they get breakfast as well.
How big is their field? You've obviously noticed they can be messy, once read somewhere they poop every 4 minutes! Good nitrogen for garden compost though :)
Don't know what to suggest for the Cockerell apart from the obvious, unless there is a high perch in the goose hut.
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As a short term and cheap solution you could get a rabbit hutch for the cockerel. At least he will be safer at night and there are usually quite a few going cheap on gumtree type sites.
No idea about geese.
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Looks like they are all girls if I've got the breed right. Think they are pilgrims, will post a pic tomorrow.
They are all in a 1 acre field. The shelter the previous owner was just two bits of plywood nailed together into a triangle. Will look at getting them something better asap.
Would geese be ok with a shed?
Dans
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I would think anything that you can safely shut at night and is not accessible to foxes/badgers. So a small garden shed with some ventilation holes cut in high will do, that's what ours have. A daily big bucket of fresh water until you get some kind of pond arrangement (like a children's play pit for example), so they can at least dunk their heads under. Mine get flaked maize, just a handful twice a day, in the evenings it gets them into their shed. Other than that geese are pretty easy. Some straw/hay in their shed will encourage them to build a nest to start laying, sometime in February/March - if they are females. BUt if you have no gander the eggs will of course not be of any use...
Well cockerel maybe would be best in coq-au-vin...
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BUt if you have no gander the eggs will of course not be of any use...
Apart from eating! :hungry: :yum:
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If they are pilgrims I'm envious :), I'd love something different than my whites, i have one smaller fawn girl,
I have a 10x6 garden shed, with a third sectioned off inside, and a pop hole in the end, 4 live in there, 2 in another 4x5 hen hut. They do need cleaning out a lot, esp in winter, I'd like a smaller hut with a mesh floor, that I could move round the field, yet to design that .
For water I use a plastic bucket that had sheep lick in, nice and deep, wide and stable, like ducks they need to be able to get their eyes under water, i also sometimes throw whole wheat in there, they enjoy dabbling for it. On the big shed I have a piece of guttering, which runs into another tub, saves having to keep filling it.
There is a hut design which is 'A' shaped, but has front and back so safer. (That's an idea for my moveable portable manuring system ?.
Eggs are great for baking, i find them a bit strong in omelette and scrambled egg, but still good and quick meal :hungry:
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Dans, I love my geese, though no-one else does! You will become so fond of them. I remember my Mother telling me that in the last war the village veg and produce show had a class for the best sponge cake using one egg.
My Auntie Maggie entered one that had risen up like a dream and was rounded upon--Maggie that was never one egg you used---Oh, yes it was said Maggie, it was a goose egg!!
Enjoy your geese!
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I kept geese last year with no prior experience and it went quite well- I did lose one early on (suspected worms) and another later (suspected fox). I made them a house from old palettes and a bit of scrap tin, but they would only ever go into it if I herded them in. They also had use of a mobile shelter made from an old pickup canopy, with some extra walls and a floor added.
Mine were all ganders and whilst they never attacked me, I wasn't too sorry when the time came to get rid of them, they had outstayed their welcome!
I'm sure you'll be fine as they seem quite hardy and pretty much look after themselves.
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BUt if you have no gander the eggs will of course not be of any use...
Apart from eating! :hungry: :yum:
We don't like goose eggs for direct eating, the fried version just really didn't appeal to me...
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BUt if you have no gander the eggs will of course not be of any use...
Apart from eating! :hungry: :yum:
We don't like goose eggs for direct eating, the fried version just really didn't appeal to me...
Well, I made a frittata with a goose egg I was given by a friend, and we loved it :yum:
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Pubs used to sell pickled goose eggs.
I used to do some and they made a nice sandwich later in the year.
If you can time the boiled egg bit right there is an amazing amount of yolk to dunk into :-)
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These are the Geese. Would be interested if anyone can tell me what breed they are.
Looking forward to working out if we like goose eggs. If not our #1 helper loves them
Dans
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They look the part, surprised they were left behind though, but my fawn one looks like them, and I know she isn't a pilgrim, though there may be some in her breeding? Toulouse have the same colouring, so i thought there may be a cross somewhere.
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I think they are Toulouse, Dans.
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oooo yes Toulouse makes more sense. Hubby was a bit concerned about how big geese get if these were the smallest ones!
Any ideas on sexing them then? We are getting to the stage where they don't try to bite me for bringing them food or changing water, so I'm not quite ready to get hold of them again and turn them over :-/
Starting to think 'June' (the previous owners kids named them April, May and June when they hatched), might be a John. Always up front, always leading May and April around and always the one that bites and hisses.
Also wondering what exactly we are doing with them now as I think we may have missed the age for having roasted goose :-\
Dans
Dans
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A gander is more upright and "blokish", the geese creep behind like cringing wives. To get the gander (if it is) to respect you grab him gently by the neck, just under his head, give him a very gentle shake and a kiss on his head as he comes out of the house in the morning.
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Wait and see who lays eggs, if there isn't a gander a goose will take over as boss
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May be a silly question but how will we know who has laid the eggs?
Either June is head girl or a gander. 'She' is the one on the left in this photo.
If we get to say March and there are no eggs would that indicate all ganders? And if so are they too old to go to the pot?
They seemed a bit happier with me when I changed their water today. Hoping they get used to me and our neighbours!
Dans
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It certainly looks to have a different attitude.
Laying depends on breed and where you are, some people get eggs in February, i don't expect anything until March, sometimes a bit earlier.
Mine take ages to lay an egg, they can be 'missing' for 2-3 hours, last year I sprayed their backs with stock marker as I caught one on a nest.
When you see the size of the egg I'm not surprised they need to rest after :o
Never too old to go in a pot, will just take longer slower cooking, or better still minced :)
Sounds like you are already sharpening the knife :-).
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Not quite sharpening the knives, just wanting to make sure we know the options.
Ok will give until end of March for the appearance of eggs.
Now just to get a shelter for them and work out feeding. My book should arrive soon though.
Dans
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Just wanted to update to say the goose eggs started coming in early Feb. So far we have tried scrambled egg, omelette and eggy bread (french toast). Omelette and eggy bread win for me, hubby is all for scrambled egg or eggy bread.
Dans
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Ooh, never thought of eggs bread.
I have a feeling mine are laying down the field, I'd better have as out round tomorrow.
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We just had a big haul of eggs at the weekend as we discovered one was sitting on 5 and the other on 3! We didn't know they hid them so when the nest looked empty we thought they just weren't laying regularly yet. Lesson learnt!
Dans
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Ooh, never thought of eggs bread.
I have a feeling mine are laying down the field, I'd better have as out round tomorrow.
pesky predictive text keep altering my words on tablet
obviously eggY bread
and
I'd better have a scout round tomorrow.