Author Topic: Keeping Geese (Read 5150 times)

Templelands · « **on:** July 29, 2012, 12:37:00 pm »

Hi all

We are in the process of rescuing four unwanted Geese - two pairs of Emdens. One male is 2 yrs old the rest are just over 1yr old. No ideas if they are related.

Just sorting the spare shed out for their housing. Are they like chickens i.e. lock them in a few days and they will know where to go at night? We have a fox nearby and need to keep them safe. Will I need to provide a nest box for them? If so any suggestions what to use - our chickens like the Asda delivery trays and they should be big enough for Geese!?

Also whats the best food to give them? Do they eat layers pellets that we give to the chickens? They will be free range so will have lots of grass to eat through.

Any other advise much appreciated. It was us or they were going to be culled - Geese were on the agenda anyway - just this way a little earlier than planned and before research completed!

I've heard you should have trio's and not pairs - does that matter - presume these pairs will be ok - they have been together a while...

Thx for the help!

Hermit · « **Reply #1 on:** July 29, 2012, 05:05:43 pm »

Hi, my geese are free range but I dont lock them up as we dont have foxes here. I would treat them like chooks to start with if they are to be locked up and just give them food in their hut at lock up time. I would not just keep them locked in a shed to start with though as they do need a lot of room, a pen around their shed would be ideal and then let them free range when they know the shed is theirs. We only feed ours mixed grain when the grass is frozen or there is a snow covering as they are real grazers . They do need plenty of water , easily accessible to swim and preen in, a pond is ideal . Folk do keep them with baths of water etc but to do geese right they need a pond as they do prefer to mate in water, mine go to sea to mate! Geese to me are a farm bird where streams , ponds etc are available to them, they are very intelligent and walk miles in a day , geese in a chook environment is not ideal as they get bored, territorial and therefor aggressive. I have around twenty five at the moment and they group as they want sometimes trios sometimes duos, mine go into their breeding groups( which are for life ) at breeding time but flock together when the yougsters are grown. Mine nest where they want but I do have a friend that provides boxes and they do use them but dont keep them around each other as a goose will leave its own nest to help take care of a brood that has hatched before hers! We dont fatten but kill when the grass dies in Autumn as this gives sweet good meet and still lean from life on the hill. I think thtas it for now, happy goose owning, they are addictive.

goosepimple · « **Reply #2 on:** July 29, 2012, 07:16:35 pm »

Yup, just read everything hermit said and agree with it all, a pond is pretty much essential, they do need at least a foot of water below them, ours only seem to mate in our pond or river. They only lay around Feb to end of May and not any other time in the year, the ganders get very aggressive at this time and may kill any ducks and possibly hens you have, particularly if they have young before them. They back off once their own are born. It may be worth noting that ours have been particularly clumsy footed this year, injuring 3 of their 6 goslings which all subsequently died, I know some people take their young off them completely. We penned ours this year after they had young for a month until the young grew a bit as we have herons which prowl our pond. And, as with hermit, one of our females left her nest to help bring up the young of her sister. Good luck, geese are a big pest, brilliant entertainment, bossy but very economical to rear - we do have grain available for ours all the time as we have thousands of ducks who share their space. Good luck with your geese, keep your kids away if you have any.

Maggie · « **Reply #3 on:** July 29, 2012, 08:21:45 pm »

I was given a pair of young geese last year, so my knowledge is only limited to the 12 months. I dont feed them anything special as there's plenty of grass but I do throw them a half a scoop of lamb nuts now and again and feed them any leftover bread which they absolutely love. The male was a bit aggressive at first but after about a month settled down and doesn't bother the chickens, sheep or pigs. He might take a sly nip at them and the dogs, now and again but nothing serious. I've grown very very fond of them.

I don't have any particular housing for them as they just find space in the barns.

We have a large pond and like many farms you'll find a discarded bathtub behind a shed. Three times I've had to rescue the gander from it, without knowing if he's been stuck in there all night. He can get in for a swim but he can't get out again keeps slipping on the sides. So I would be careful about that.

goosepimple · « **Reply #4 on:** July 30, 2012, 08:16:58 am »

They are good entertainment, we don't house ours although we have one in their temporary pen once they have young which they appreciate, otherwise they wander around but then we don't have a fox problem as there are 2 gamekeepers who live nearby.

Hermit, you may be able to help me with a scenario:

I have Steinbacher geese (like Greylag geese but paler) a trio, with offspring this year of a gander and two geese - am swaping the gander with same breed but adult one which Jaykay has and was hoping to keep 2 breeding trios - I may be being a bit short sighted here, but wondered if the ganders are likely to fight (Steinbachers were known as fighting geese). I could pen the new gander with the daughters so they are separated around Feb-May time of breeding. How do you do it, you seem to have lots of small groups who sound like they are living happily together?

jaykay · « **Reply #5 on:** July 30, 2012, 09:40:09 am »

You've had good advice from folk here.

I would give the geese the biggest area you can manage. If they can get away from each other I don't think you should have too many problems once they're out and about though I might house the two pairs separately.

They definitely need water, at least deep enough to float in and get their heads under. Large bath if nothing else, but any small 'pond' would need a clean water feed and exit as they are mucky beasts.

I pen new geese for the first few days until they learn where they live and I shut mine up at night. I just shout 'geese, geese, geese' and do a bit of herding with my arms wide (like a big goose

) and in they go.

I feed mine layers pellets, and of course they graze and free-range.

Templelands · « **Reply #6 on:** July 30, 2012, 03:59:09 pm »

Thanks all!

They arrived yesterday and were penned in for the first few hours before getting spooked by the dogs flying over the fence and settling by the stream. Got em back in after a struggle - ended up wetter than they did lol.

They have 30 odd acres to freely roam about and have had a great time today walking around checking the place out!

I have got a 18in deep paddling pool from Argos for them to play in for now - plenty roomy and its sighted right next to a tap so it can be cleaned and topped up nice and easy - we are building a larger pond in the garden and thats where they will end up - I'm told they keep the grass down nice!

So far so good. They seem pretty inseperable as a foursome. I'll look at spliting them up when they have settled and I know which ones are pairs. I'm told its two boys and two girls - they are Emdens 1 and 2 yrs old - how do you sex them? Look the same to me. None of them wear lipstick to give it away

jaykay · « **Reply #7 on:** July 30, 2012, 04:18:58 pm »

If they're hanging around happily together and the ganders are showing no signs of aggression towards each other, then they could probably all stay together for now. You might find this changes in the spring, when the breeding season begins - then again it might not.

I tell birds that age apart mainly by their behaviour - ganders tend to do the 'neck flat out at you and hiss' thing more. Also, my ganders have a slightly different head shape - less full 'cheeks' under the eye and a bigger eye and broader top of the head - but it's a subtle thing.

You could vent sex them but it's no way to make friends with new geese

They're going to love 30 acres and a stream

Hermit · « **Reply #8 on:** July 30, 2012, 07:05:36 pm »

Mine have a good 35 acres with a burn running through it as well, the only way to keep geese.
Goosepimple, I have been told and I dont know if it is true or a wives tale , that if the young off one family are kept on the mother goose wont lay the next year. I take all my young off so I dont know. The new gander will be pushed out for a while but hang around the group till Spring when hopefully he will take on the youngsters as his own. Plans never work out with geese as I have trios of two ganders to one female! I let them get on with it and thats all you can do hoping they will sort it out, they flock in hundreds in the wild so they are not daft. Seperating them but in sight and hearing will only stress them they are very family orientated, the way to me is to leave them to it. The old gander should only mate with his females so the young will be free , it is up to the new gander to make the move. The daughters may not be ready for him for a year or two, they say a good breeder is many years old, they live a long time. Hope I have helped a bit , I can only go by my own geese which are Faroese breed.

goosepimple · « **Reply #9 on:** July 30, 2012, 07:24:19 pm »

Faroese breed - I'll look them up, haven't heard of them. Another question, (apologies Templelands for hyjacking your thread but no doubt you will learn from this too) - you say you 'take all your young off' - so you actually take them away from the parents then - when do you do this, what's the effect on the parents, can they see their goslings but not get to them - more info please. After 3 gosling deaths from careless parents big feet, I may consider it, or at least have incubator back ups (tried that for the first time this year and didn't work).

I'm interested too in the laissez faire mixing of the sexes - will give that a try and see what happens. The gander we are swapping for may be older than the father gosling at the moment so we'll see what happens. They are a law unto themselves the geese, so it will all be entertaining no doubt, and the kids will love 2 ganders to run away from

Hermit · « **Reply #10 on:** July 31, 2012, 08:30:15 am »

Take them off means we kill and eat them, thats what we have them for .. yummy. We find it is best to kill when the grass dies and the meat is sweet and lean from the grass and exercise . Fattened goose is just that , fat. A Faroese is only a good feed for two, like a large duck size, but they are hardy and friendly.
As mine nest out or in shelters we made they take the young out of the nest as soon as they all have hatched, so we dont get tramplings. But then again, we dont have foxes, only otters which will have a go or gulls but that is very rare as goslings are very well protected.

goosepimple · « **Reply #11 on:** July 31, 2012, 08:17:16 pm »

Yes, ours come off the nest too, but they still trampled them when they were free ranging - two of them were quite big at the time! They are so intent on seeing off the Muscovy ducks they trample all over their young. The second one was trampled on when they were devouring grass clippings my OH had put out for them. Maybe they'll get less clumsy with age. I kept them penned for the first while as we have herons (a lot) who get them easy and lots of crows. Otter also claimed our runner ducks and campbell ducks here but the Muscovies roost and survive.

Let you know how we all get along .... thanks for the advice hermit.