[gilesm]

hi, I'm pretty experienced with our hens and guinea-fowl, and now embarking on a new adventure- geese.  We want them to keep a few acres of grass tidy, and be more interesting than sheep.

Initially 4-5 grown-ups, with goslings to follow.

The only problem is foxes.  Our hens range freely, and touch wood they've all survived so far.  But they are locked up each night (auto pop door) so are relatively safe.  We do have foxes, but the local gamekeepers keep the numbers down.

Ideally I'd like the same for the geese, but I understand they can't be trained to go home at night.  Is this really true?

How about if I make a Fort Knox enclosure with their food/water, and close a pop-door to the enclosure at night?  I appreciate goslings need to be kept locked up tight.

Any more ideas?  I don't really want to put big fox-proof fences all around the perimeter.

[Dans]

They can be trained to go in at night but you may have issues with adults you buy.

We were 'gifted' (aka they were abandoned) 3 geese by a neighbour who moved away. The geese had been kept outside with just two boards nailed together to make a triangle shelter. They did fight with each other and I was a bit terrified the dominant female would kill the submissive female if locked up together. The old neighbours had also had chickens but not all of them went into the house at night. Seemed a pretty fox safe area so we didn't worry about the geese (plus the gander was quite a handful) but locked the chickens up. One summers night last year we lost the gander and a week old gosling. We thought it was a badger or dog through the stock fencing (gander's body was found at the fence with a severed neck sticking through). We moved the females closer to home but the next morning the 3 females were dead too, 2 had lost their heads, the other just killed. I still kick myself about it.

We had some unhatched eggs that had been sat on so we hatched them and we have always put these goslings to bed. They are adults now and if we are late putting them to bed we will find them in the house. They don't take themselves to bed until much later than I'd like them to go though so mostly we herd them. If you have them grazing a large area then have a smaller one by the house that is hurdled off. Keep the water buckets there and give them corn in that before bed. The geese come running for the corn at night so when they were in a larger area we penned them up at that point then it was easy to herd them with two bamboo canes into the house.

The house we made was a 8x6 shed for 5 geese. This gave them plenty of room to move away from each other. We now have 3 geese and in the storms last autumn the big shed rolled (all geese ok thankfully) so they are in a much smaller shed which they are more reluctant to go into. I think you might have more trouble getting them into a commercial goose house, I couldn't find a single one available that matched the minimum space requirements in the books!

Dans

[gilesm]

Thanks Dan!

I looked at commercial goose houses, but they all look a bit spindly- I thought a pig ark might be more sturdy and I have some spare materials to hand.  Great point about the space to have their own space.  The geese I'm acquiring seem to come from a loving home so I trust they'll all be happy together.

It seems that if you can train them from goslings, then they can be trained to go to bed, but the older ones can only be encouraged, by keeping their water and feed/corn/treats inside the secure area.

[harmony]

Ours have always gone in just fine and you can herd them in anyway.

[Fleecewife]

Do you have to leave the geese to go to bed on their own, or are you there to herd them in?  We bought a pair of geese and quickly trained them to go in at night.  We used a mix of putting their corn and fresh water in their shed (6x8 garden shed with added pophole) then herding them in using two long canes as Dans does, or brightly coloured fly swatters in the form of hands - different but it worked.  They would happily stay out at night if we didn't put them to bed.
Once they flatly refused to go into the shed but I think there was something in there.  Another time I heard them in the night making a huge kerfuffle in their house, but by the time I got there all was quiet.  We found that we have a weasel so guess it was that and that it would have left pretty promptly on being confronted with, now, four big hissing geese.  When the nine goslings were around, fully grown, they all fitted into the same shed comfortably.
I think a pig ark would be fine, if you can make it fox proof and still be well ventilated - geese like to go to bed wet, so need ventilation overnight.  They also like plenty of clean straw, especially when they are nest building - their nests are wonderful.
Our geese free range but we find that they don't range far, no further than the hens.  Our property is surrounded by tall hedges which discourage them from flying, although they do take off sometimes, but they don't explore the full extent of their possible range.

[Penninehillbilly]

Ours are in 2 separate huts, a pair go in a 5x4 hen hut, 4 go in a garden shed which we made a pop hile in.
I always feed inside in the evening, but no water.
I don't have to herd them in, sometime the odd one will hesitate about going in.
I think you would have to somehow fence them in a small area for a minimum of 4-5 days, .if possible a week, maybe extending the area a bit before final freedom. feeding them a few times a day either in or next to their door, put the fence corner near the door, so you can corner them into their door for a couple of evenings.
They aren't daft, stay calm and all will be well. My OH has no patience, moves fast and probably shouts at them, when i cant be there to bring them in, then complains they wouldn't go in. I talk to them all the time, they stand next to me quite happily.

[DavidandCollette]

Don't try to keep them in an enclosure long term. It will soon get very messy and smelly. Ask me how I know 

[harmony]

Ours go in the barn at night. Move something and they don't like it. Give them as much room as you can as they do make a mess as already said.

[bj_cardiff]

Geese are easy to train to go to bed, just put feed in their house and they'll be keen to go to bed every night. When you get your geese keep them inside their house for a couple of days so they feel secure in there. You could use a few hurdles or similar to make a small run the first time you let them out if your unsure. 

Mine live in a typical garden shed. I think I have 3 living in a 6x8 shed and 3 in a 6x4 shed.

Something to remember is that geese are 'sort of' monogamous and a gander will have a wife, and sometimes a second wife too. So for 5 geese you'd need 3 geese and 2 ganders. The ganders can fight over their wives until they've claimed them, so you could decide which geese you'd like with each gander and keep them in separate groups for some time and at night. Of course if your buying a group that have hatched together they will probably be fine