[graham-j]

Hi,my grass has totally gone due to the weather,so I penned my geese up and have been feeding them wheat,but seeing that they are laying I have switched them to chicken layers pellets.
Are chicken layers pellets OK for geese.


Graham.

[hughesy]

Ours eat them if they get the chance to raid the chicken pens. They've never come to any harm. They're made basically from wheat, barley etc so should be fine I would think. Our grass is just starting to grow after the recent rain but the geese have managed ok over the winter on what they could forage plus some mixed corn in the evenings which I feed them in a bucket of water. They seem to love fishing for it.

[lachlanandmarcus]

I'm not sure, I know chick crumbs can poison goslings cos of the medication in non organic ones but don't know about layers pellets.


I'm not sure they are needed tho, mine lay very tough shelled eggs quite happily on a diet of whole wheat, water and when it grows, grass.

[hughesy]

That's the anti coccidiostat they put in some, but not all chick crumbs which is poisonous to waterfowl. They don't put it in layers pellets.

[goosepimple]

It's difficult when they're penned isn't it, they go through the grass so speedily.  I don't give anything pellets, always pure grain, what's the point in taking even the smallest risk, it could just result in problems later on.  At least you know what you're getting with straight grain.  And they get a slice of wholemeal bread a few times a week, that means the gander is happy to see me 

[HesterF]

Yes, layers is fine - I phone Marriages to check at some point (clearly they would say it but I'm sure they'd say if it was going to do any harm). Or you could put them onto Waterfowl breeders - must be formulated to support laying too.

H

[Beeducked]

Mine get waterfowl breeders pellets or layers pellets depending what's about at the feed shop. They run with the ducks so hard to keep them away and never came to any harm. 


Glad that the grass is growing now!

[Bodger]

Stockfeed carrots are OK, if you can get some of course. Its what traditionally fed to geese to get that nice skin colour.

[goosepimple]

That's a new one on me, I'm going to try them on that with the pony carrots just to see....

[Bodger]

Going ever so slightly off topic, I once worked with a woman who went on a diet where she ate cooked rice and carrots almost exclusively. She'd come to work and munch through whole bags of carrots. After a while, the whites of her eyes and the palms of her hands turned orange. I think she went a bit OTT.

[goosepimple]

brilliant    did she actually turn in to a carrot then? 

[Bodger]

Funnily enough, she was a bit of a ginn- ger to start with.

[oor wullie]

Stockfeed carrots are OK, if you can get some of course. Its what traditionally fed to geese to get that nice skin colour.

That sounds worth trying.

Do you feed carrots whole or do they have to be chopped?

[goosepimple]

There was an article on a programme years ago that wild geese were being fed on potatoes (not cooked) and they didn't chop them.

[AndrewMBaines]

brilliant    did she actually turn in to a carrot then? 

When I first met my wife's cousin, he was an odd colour, like he had kidney problems. Turned out his mother had been told that carrot juice was very good for children. He'd been drinking it by the pint!