[cowpat]

As above. I would like a few geese but don't have a pond.what can I use.do they need loads of water?

[goosepimple]

You can give them a kids sandpit used as a bath but you'll get fed up changing the water - it's best to clean it every few days but keep a bucket full to the brim of clean water that you can pour out and fill with clean every day so it's not a hassle.  They will want to have a good wash by dousing and non-contaminated water to drink.  You should have lots of grass for them - if you don't have lots of grazing for them don't get them, they eat grass more than anything else and that's what's good for them.


Geese are economical to keep and the ganders only get obnoxious around this time of year when their ladies are laying, they calm down after that.


Why not think about rare breed geese - if you go on the RBST website I think they are highlighting geese this year and may be able to help find some in your area.

[HesterF]

Nope, domestic geese are fine without big ponds although I'm sure they'd love it (not as much as ducks though). I have big dog baths for mine and they love to get in and splash around - they can just about fit two in together. I've also looked at the big cattle troughs (you can get big round ones) but they're tall and take a load of water so would be harder to clean out. I've also seen them use the cut off bottoms of big liquid vats (not sure what was in them to begin with but guess farm chemicals). Mine also have a bucket that I change daily. Mostly they need a lot of grass so that's the priority - water is important to have enough clean water to keep their eyes clean but more than that is a nice to have.

Just seen goosepimple's reply - yep, what she said 

H

[cowpat]

Thanks for the advice.i have about half an acre of good grass they can have.this is well drained good growing grass.any ideas how many I would need to just stay on top of the grass but not wreck it?

[goosepimple]

It wasn't until I confined ours to an area with their young that I saw how much grass they ate.  I would think you should just start with a trio (assuming you want to breed) but wouldn't go for more than 5 or you may find you'll start to run out of grass if they're on it all year round.


I think (but not 100% sure on this) I read that some geese can only mate on water?  I may be wrong about that but I see no reason I would have made it up 

[clydesdaleclopper]

You could always make one of these Goose Wagon Tour I want one 

[goosepimple]

yea you could    and you could always live in it with them. 


It's a bit Wallace and Grommit actually, slide into your bath, have a dry in the sun and then slip into your clothes, lay an egg for breakfast, there you go.


Just what you need I'd say cowpat 

[HesterF]

Re.breeding on water, I think it depends on the breed. I believe it's essential for the heavier breeds. Mine are medium and I don't think it is as essential although the only time I've seen them 'at it' is in their dog bath (but think I may have yet another batch of infertile eggs in the incubator now  ). The breeders I bought from don't have more than buckets and yet have managed to be successful.

Goose wagon looks like a project and a half!

[hughesy]

We have Embdens which are a heavy breed and they don't mate on water. In fact they are not really bothered about water other than having a quick wash. Lots of grass is the essential ingredient for geese. We only feed ours a handful of corn each in the evening to encourage them into their pen, otherwise they're self sufficient. Very economical birds to keep.

[Legs]

Yeah, we've got 2 Embdens on a quarter-acre paddock sans pond, and I've seen them mating in the past (though not this year).


Following on from cowpat's OP, originally we had two ganders and a goose, the dominant gander died last summer and I'm not sure the younger gander knows quite what to do!  I put out two large buckets of clean water for them and have a shallow tray of water that they enjoy splashing about in.  Is there anything else I can do to encourage treading (romantic mood lighting, Teddy Pendergrass CD...)?

[simone]

Hello,

I'm also thinking about getting a small number of geese, and as much as i love the house in the photo above it's probably out of my price range :-(  can anyone suggest an inexpensive way of housing a few?

Also, I'm a bit worried about letting them free-range when they are small -  should i keep them in the chicken run to start with? it's 50m enclosed by electric and there's only half a dozen hens in there.

Many thanks
Simone

[HesterF]

Mine are just in a shed. Lots don't bring them in at night and they never go in voluntarily by day (except mine lay inside) - they don't need shelter like hens do.

I'm not sure how old they'll be when you get them but mine were never small! I got them in September time and by then they're big - skinnier than fully gown adults but just as tall. They would be fine with you chickens though and actually geese are not predator proof so it is useful to have them protected in some way. If 50ft is the total distance round it won't be big enough for long though unless you can move it onto fresh grass. My pairs have 20m by 20m each - so 400m2 - which they're just about keeping cropped at the moment. I think the minimum recommended area is 100m2 per pair. If you pen is about 12ft by 12ft, that's 16m2 so they'd gobble it up in no time. If it's 50ft by 50ft, that'd be fine for a trio of geese plus chickens.

H

[goosepimple]

A shelter made like an A frame from ply or even pallets braced together is enough at this time of year, a shelter really, so long as your place is fox proof, they grow quickly you'll find and like to huddle together so a trug bucket (large-ish base) gives them enough room to move around in for the first week or two and feel secure.  Speak to them lots and they'll get to know you quickly.


Our geese free range over 5 acres and wander a lot at this time of year, the females wean themselves off the group gradually by sitting away from them for a bit then rejoining the group and eventually this leads on to egg laying on a nest which takes about 2hours per egg.  That's our geese, don't know about other people's geese.


Geese are great and troublesome in equal measure I think, I love them, my son thinks they look like miniature brontosauras wandering around the place with their slow walk 

[goosepimple]

P.S. 


Also, I wouldn't put them in with your hens, they will almost definitely have a go at them, hens can be vicious at times, maybe a barrier in between the two would be a good idea but in the same pen.

[simone]

Thanks - the a-frame shelter made from ply sounds simple enough.

The chicken run is the only area which is fox proof and it's probably 12metres by 12 but the chickens have destroyed most of the grass  - so i was thinking to keep the geese in there overnight (separate from the hens) but let them free-range in the day on the field. 

Does that sound ok?