If you are raising them for a market, you are raising for someone else's fancy. Generally, people who buy geese for the consumers' market want birds that are large, young and generally white feathered. Probably the most popular breeds for marketing are Toulouse and Embden.
Very little research has been done with geese, especially in selective breeding. According to the past U. If you want to buy a few goslings, your county Extension office may know of someone in your area who keeps geese. These growers may have goslings to sell or may know where you can obtain them. You have obtained some real live goslings, a day or two days old— aren't they cute! Now the care starts. Questions, questions, questions! What do they eat?
How much heat? How often do I—? What kind of housing? First, order goslings to arrive in the late spring or early summer late May or June. The birds require much less care at that time of year as the weather is more favorable than earlier. Goslings require a warm dry place for one to four weeks, depending upon the weather.
An area six feet by eight feet will house ten young goslings nicely. Very young birds need to be kept free from drafts, wet and cold.
A watt heat lamp the type used for young chickens and young pigs suspended 15 to 18 inches from the floor will provide plenty of heat. You can test the heat at the floor level by putting your hand on the floor directly under the lamp.
If it is too hot for your hand, it is too hot for young geese. However, it should be warm enough for the birds to be comfortable without piling up on top of each other. Goslings will move away from a draft but they will be evenly distributed on the floor in a ring around the heat lamp if they are comfortable.
If drafts are a problem, a shield or corral of chicken wire covered with newspaper, or one of cardboard, will stop drafts. The corral should be at least 12 inches high and 4 to 5 feet in diameter. Another purpose of the corral is to teach the goslings where mother the heat lamp is—they do notknow that the lamp is mother, and it will not talk to them. The pen should be covered with litter such as straw chopped straw is better than long straw , sawdust, shavings and crushed corn cobs.
The litter material must be dry and must be capable of absorbing moisture, as geese tend to mess in the waterers. In addition to checking for breeches regularly, we highly recommend that all wooden structures have additional layers of protection. A wooden floor can be reinforced with sheet metal, and walls can be reinforced with galvanized hardware cloth. In addition to the typical predators that may come to mind like hawks or foxes, you also need to protect the geese in your care from rats.
Rats can kill geese especially goslings Young geese or cause mortal injury by chewing on them as they sleep. Rats will likely be one of the biggest risks to your bird residents, so be sure to take necessary precautions to deter them, such as keeping food in tightly sealed covered metal bins and cleaning up any spilled food. If the structure is insulated, it must be done in a way that prevents rodents from gaining access to the insulation, because rodents will make themselves a cozy home inside your insulated walls if they can!
This means an insulated wall will consist of the following layers- plywood or whatever material you want as the visible interior wall , galvanized hardware cloth, sheet insulation, another layer of galvanized hardware cloth, and then the exterior wall. If you opt against using this method or something similar, you will need to watch for breeches in the wall that allow rodents to get to the insulation.
Never simply place exposed insulation against your wall or roof. When choosing the type of flooring that is best for your residents, keep in mind that bigger breeds of geese and birds with mobility issues will need more traction than a healthy, smaller breed of goose. Concrete, wood, and dirt are common types of flooring used in goose living spaces. Concrete provides good protection from predators without the need for additional layers of protection, and will not be damaged by spilled water.
However, it must be slightly textured in order to provide adequate traction. Concrete that is too rough may cause damage to foot pads and webbing, but smooth concrete will be too slippery.
Anecdotally, it seems that geese who regularly spend time on concrete without the addition of stall mats are more likely to develop arthritis and bumblefoot. Be aware that stall mats must provide good traction, even when wet.
Wooden flooring, which comes with many prefabricated sheds, does not provide good traction, especially when wet, so bigger geese and those with mobility issues will likely need the addition of stall mats.
Wooden floors will warp and rot, leading to more maintenance over time. Dirt flooring, while the easiest on feet and joints, will not protect against predators, especially those who dig, and therefore must be used in conjunction with other predator-proofing methods. A thick layer of dirt can be packed on top of a concrete floor or over galvanized hardware cloth, or it can be combined with concrete trenching, which should prevent digging predators from entering the structure.
Dirt flooring is difficult to clean and disinfect, and must be added to as it erodes. You may also find that geese turn dirt flooring into a muddy mess around water sources. Regardless of the type of flooring used, geese will also need ample amounts of dry bedding. This is especially important because many geese sleep on the ground, and prolonged periods of time spent laying on a hard surface can lead to hock 1: the tarsal joint or region in the hind limb of a digitigrade quadruped such as the horse corresponding to the human ankle but elevated and bending backward 2: a joint of a fowl's leg that corresponds to the hock of a quadruped and keel sores, especially in bigger geese.
Straw and wood shavings are common types of bedding. Long-fibered straw can be difficult for geese to walk through, and can get wrapped around their legs. Cedar wood shavings should never be used because they can cause severe respiratory issues.
Unlike chickens, most domesticated Adapted over time as by selective breeding from a wild or natural state to life in close association with and to the benefit of humans geese tend to sleep on the ground.
However, straw bales or other low sturdy structures can provide safe opportunities for geese who prefer to roost up off the ground to do so. Keeping these roosts covered in a generous layer of fresh bedding will help with cleaning and also provide additional cushion. Actively laying female geese may utilize a man-made nesting nook but some may prefer to build their own nest in a location of their choosing.
Hard plastic dog carriers appropriately sized based on the sizes of your residents or even dog houses can be appealing nesting areas, so long as they have ample amounts of bedding. Alternatively, you can use 3 straw bales to create a private nook. Place two bales against the wall with about a two foot gap between them.
Then put the remaining bale on top so that it creates a roof over the opening and overlaps with each bale. One of the reasons we decided to get geese was because we enjoy eating them. This will be our first time trying to raise them. And if they keep the grass short, even better. After we lost all but one of our heritage flock of chickens, we decided that starting over, with a slightly different plan would help, long term. Country living in Texas is easier than some places.
Yes they do, we have two Geese living very healthily here in central Thailand, they also get on very well with our three pigs and 25 ducks. However they poop on mt walkways and my porches and even in my garage …. Thank you -LeAnn , from Maine. But I posted your question to this article so maybe someone else will have a suggestion for you. Thanks and good luck. Lighter breeds may not be stopped by a low fence.
So, the practical application will be the fun bit! I hope you found a good solution to your problem! We are planning on adding geese to our menagerie in the Spring. I am wondering what you would suggest as to the best breed for pets as well as how many goslings we should order.
I know that geese breed for life. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks so much,. Sharing is appreciated!
We had one very lovely female goose in with our ducks for years before we got more. Thank you for this article. Do your geese free roam all seasons? Do they need access to shelter all year? Have you had any issues with predators? This was great! Could anyone out there tell me what the best way to harvest an egg from the nest is? And a good way to ingratiate myself to our new geese?
We got a pair from a local farm, but I am new at this, love the eggs and the geese and want to make sure I am doing it right! Hello, I have just got 3 embden goslings. They are 2 weeks old now. They are still inside at night with some heat them I pop them in the run in the day.
I really want to get them free ranging without supervision as soon as, as they love it. I have a particularly murderery cat who would definitely have a go at the moment. I recently got my first 4 goslings that are almost 3 weeks old now. What am I doing wrong? Great article! My Roman Tufted geese are just a month old and pretty attached to me…. My geese are in a transition phase between being outside part of the day, but needing to be inside.
They definitely have some feathers, but not completely. I am having a heck of a time the last couple of days catching them. Any tricks? Try shaking a grain can? My geese, 6 was old, are in a fenced area in the middle of the chicken yard, 1 acre. When can they free range? Will roosters bother them? I got them all at the same age so they grew up together. I planned to put them in the stall next to the coop at night..
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