keeping geese - advice please

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lisap
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keeping geese - advice please

Post by lisap »

Hi everyone

I am new to poultry keeping and have had my girls for 5 weeks now. I have learnt so much from this forum by reading posts and asking questions that the site has become my bible.

I am now in need of some goose advice. How easy is it to keep them, do they need free range grounds to live in, do they need regular access to a pond, are they good at fending off preditors, do they live happily with chickens and last but not least where do you buy them from?

I have a quarter of an acre patch at the top of the garden which is purely given over to the veg plot, 2 of the chicken runs and the orchard. It has a lot of grass which takes me ages to mow so I was wondering whether a few geese would help keep it down. I have put my foot down to ponies and goats as it is not large enough so geese seemed the next best thing.

Thanks

Lisa
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manda
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Re: keeping geese - advice please

Post by manda »

How easy is it to keep them?
I think its easy ..certainly no more difficult than chickens
Do they need free range grounds to live in?
They need a reasonable amount of space because they do like to wander about.
Do they need regular access to a pond?
Yes ...but that could be one of those shell things for children ...as long as you clean it out regularly.
Are they good at fending off predators?
Pretty much but foxes would do damage.
Do they live happily with chickens?
Mine ..no could be peculiar to them but they can't stand them.
and last but not least where do you buy them from?
No idea in the UK...sorry I'm in NZ ...someone will be along I'm sure but if you put a search in goggle I'm sure something would come up.
)grin2(

I have a quarter of an acre patch at the top of the garden which is purely given over to the veg plot, 2 of the chicken runs and the orchard. It has a lot of grass which takes me ages to mow so I was wondering whether a few geese would help keep it down.
The only problem is..goose poo is BIG!! and you will need to have the veggie patch fenced off so they can't get to it ..mine got into ours and decimated it in a couple of hours..mind 34 of them would do that !!! )grin2(

Sorry forgot to say ..hi and welcome to the Lane wav( ) (don't think I've said that yet)
¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*¨)✰
(¸.✰´¨(¸.✰ Manda

Living our version of the Good Life with 4 dogs, 6 cats, a cow, a few sheep, Angora Goats and ???? chooks.
Don't get your knickers in a knot..it solves nothing ~ just makes you walk funny
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Sejjie70
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Re: keeping geese - advice please

Post by Sejjie70 »

Our 3 are easy to keep - they have just over half an acre of what was tatty scrubland to wander about on & thanks to them & the chooks some now looks like decent lawn & the roughest area now looks like grassy heathland. Had to put fencing up to stop them wandering onto the track - Lister our gander took to chasing the odd vehicle that comes down here & all 3 of them took to attacking 1 of the posties.

I have several washing up bowls/plastic storage boxes dotted around their enclosure for water & they have a small pond (an old tractor tyre with a liner in) so they can have a bit of a swim & a proper bath. Feed-wise they mostly stick to the grass & vegetation, though I do supplement with a little good quality waterfowl feed. Now that the main growing season's over I'll gradually increase their pellets - they'll form their main diet over the winter, but will be supplemented with waste greens from a greengrocer friend.

They are humbugs - they took a shine to our tiny bantie hen & when she went broody she decided she didn't want to stay in the broody coop so she'd shout & be a nuisance til someone let her back in the main hen house... the geese would slowly dismantle the broody run so she could get out }hairout{ & part of the large enclosure they're in still has temp fencing which they try to take down.

We got ours from a local smallholder - he raises a number each year for meat, we happened to be at his place getting my eldest daughter a few bantams & hubby surprised me by saying we'd have a few geese too (they were my Valentines gift from him). They weren't really tame as they'd never really been handled or treated as pets so they were v wary of us to begin with. They have gradually got used to us & while they're not really keen on being handled too much or petted they have become very friendly & chatty. When they greet us now they do the same to us as they do to each other - lots of chatting & beak clicking, gently nibbling our clothes. They are still a tad nervous if we make any sudden movements & Lister (gander) really doesn't like my 16 year old son though Stephen's never done anything to upset any of the geese, so am assuming it's a male thing iyswim.
Sarah.
Mum to 1 hubby, 4 children, 3 Springer Spaniels (Max, Millie & Buttons), 2 cats (Sox & Frankie), 2 rabbits (Crunchie & Munchie), 12 chickens (Target, Speckle, Barbara, Margot, EggieII, Gomez, Sparkle, Glitter, Wednesday & Isabel), 3 geese (Lister, Smeg & Camille) & 4 ducks (Soup, Anya, Marble & Vindaloo).
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SpeckledEggs
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Re: keeping geese - advice please

Post by SpeckledEggs »

Mine live mostly on grass, but supplemented in the breeding season and when the goslings are young with pellets and grain, and of course if the grass is not growing well.

They need water deep enough to wash their beak and eyes in but really appreciate something deep enough and big enough to have a splash about in.

They are VERY good grazers, and do not restrict themselves to grass, so your veg patch would need proper fencing. In the old days they said 2 geese would eat as much grass as a sheep, and they keep it looking like a lawn BUT....

As said before they do amazingly big poos, and lots of them, though probably not any more that a sheep. Walking about where they have "been" is not pleasant. And goose poo like sheep poo has its own distinctive smell.

I keep Pilgrim and Old English Crested Geese, both quite rare breeds, the crosses are good as they are quite calm from the Pilgrim side the but grow a bit bigger (and meatier if that is your inclination) from the other side. They seem to be pretty well autosexing with white ganders and brown/pied geese. They are quite good layers especially if you take the eggs away regularly, and the eggs are ENORMOUS

I am only keeping the ones with the best crests from this year's youngsters, so there are some spares some pure and some crosses, if you can collect from Worcestershire :-D
lisap
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Re: keeping geese - advice please

Post by lisap »

Thanks for all the replies, again invaluable. I have had a look at the set up and feel the orchard would be the best place as that is where the really rough grass is that takes an age to mow BUT I am very put off by the poo aspect as I am not sure the area is large enough. Good fertilizer though.
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SpeckledEggs
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Re: keeping geese - advice please

Post by SpeckledEggs »

Try putting their water in an area you don't need to walk over much, as I find that is where mine spend most of their time, and also give them a wooden platform to sit on(or should that have an 'h' in it :-D ), perhaps with a bit of straw on it then a lot of the poo will go there and can be moved away. I find mine mostly feed two or three times a day, then spend a lot of time sitting around
gozbird
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Re: keeping geese - advice please

Post by gozbird »

The grass should not be too long otherwise they get a condition known as 'sour crop' also we feed our two pet geese on a 'maintainence ' pellet diet containing Lucerne mielies and various trace elements and suppliments. The waterfowl food at the pet shop is usually agricultural based where the agenda is egg or meat production. I can recommend the backyard chickens web site for info on all sorts of poultry. I've also had to build a predator proof enclosure for them to sleep in at night to protect them from a lynx that roams the hill behind our property.
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