Best Housing for Geese?

[lisahaschickens]

I am considering getting geese to help act as "guard dogs" for my chickens so they can free range sometimes and I can have some peace of mind. If I get them, should I get eggs, babies, or adults? I have read in some places that it is important that they "imprint" on you so they don't attack you later and that will only happen if you hatch them yourself. I have also read that they imprint fine when they are goslings (which would be cheaper for me than having to buy and incubator along with the eggs). I have also read that it is best for a beginner to buy a trio of adults and only try to raise babies later if so desired. So, I am looking for advice on that.

My main question, though, is how to house them. I have read that they need anything from no shelter at all to they need to be locked up totally securely every night, like chickens. Which is it? And, if I do need a goose house and run, how would I get/make such a thing and what elements does it need?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

 

[lisahaschickens]

And nobody said anything about "controlling" hawks. That word was never used. There are many posts on this forum, including some older ones plus one I started to inquire about it, that talk about how having larger, sometimes more aggressive birds, like geese in particular, seems to reduce the number of hawk attacks by quite a bit. One lady was losing many chickens to hawks before she got a huge tom turkey to hang out with them and it's been a year and she hasn't lost another bird to a hawk. Another person talked about how he sees many hawks on his property but they never bother his birds and he has geese, and attributes it partly to that. Other people talked about how their geese took on predators like coyotes (and generally lost) in order to protect their flocks of chickens. The stories go on and on. Geese are large, noisy, protective, and aggressive, and I would think that would be a general deterrent. Surely it is not a perfect system and I am realistic about losses, but if something like a couple of geese would help my situation, I'm all for it. Chinese and Embden seem to be the best choices, from what I can read, for "guard geese," with Toulouse not far behind. We have huge numbers of raptors here and the hawk that just attacked did it when I was just a stone's throw away and in plain sight. I am only looking for a deterrent... like another set of eyes and another larger, scarier presence when I am able to let the chickens out with me. Since the attack, when I let them out, I stand there, paranoid, trying not to let them spread out too much and I yell, "no hawks! NO HAWKS!" while running around and clapping. It is pretty ridiculous and I would like a little more peace of mind than that, is all.

As for getting the geese just to be guard dogs, if that's not what they turn out to be, I'd still be excited. Like many people on here, I am a true animal lover and have been around and kept so many different animals in my lifetime. My parents kept chickens and geese when I was little, so I've got good advice there, plus my own general animal experience. If nothing else, I'm happy to have them walk around and munch grass and lay the occasional egg. I'm just hoping that while they're doing that, they'll also make my yard a less desirable target for hawks. Maybe they will and maybe they won't, but I don't think it can hurt to try.

 

[lisahaschickens]

p.s. I am aware that geese are not "predator-proof" but I have read that they are great watch dogs and will help deter hawk attacks, which is my main concern because I had a hawk attack my favorite pullet a couple of days ago and I was only about 100 feet away and directly in its line of sight.

 

[1shelby1]

I didn't have great luck with geese.As goslings they were sweet,but soon started attacking chickens,children etc.I had to rehome to a petting zoo(not to pet but they were 'watch dogs")

 

[lisahaschickens]

ok, thanks. Yeah, I know there is a risk of that. But, I feel like I need to try something to deter hawks because I badly want to free-range my chickens, at least when I can watch them and I've read that geese can really help with that.

 

[Sparrow]

I bought my 2 White Chinese Geese as 1+week old goslings last spring at the feedstore. Even though I didn't get them when they were newly hatched, they still imprinted on me. They are both males, and they still follow me around everywhere and let me pick them up and pet them. They even listen and respond to many different voice commands that I have taught them, including when I ask them to put the ducks in the coop at night, and to get out of a too-small community water bowl. I love them. ^_^

For their housing, I built them a solid wood structure with a tin roof. It is about a foot or more taller that they are, and it has a door that I tightly padlock every night. It has a floor made out of stone pavers. This is located inside their run fencing, and the chain-link that encloses my entire backyard perimeter. They love their house

 

[nzpouter]

ours run around free and find their own shelter between the trees.

 

[lisahaschickens]

teaching them to put my chickens away would be fun! how did you manage to teach them that?

 

[jvls1942]

Quote:
the only thing a goose needs housing for is protection.. so actually a good fence is enough.

My geese prefer to stay outside even at minus 20F.. I spread straw or hay right on the ground for them to lay on..

I do have a fence for them, but seldom put them in it..

 

[lisahaschickens]

ok, gotcha... so the area where they'd be is surrounded by five-foot-high chain link fence on all sides. On all but one side, it is brand new fence that we had put in to keep our dogs secure (in another area) but on the other side of the poultry area, it is an existing fence that is kinda run down and has gaps underneath it so that coyotes and foxes can get in. Our chicken run is lined with concrete and enclosed in half-inch wire mesh, so they're safe when locked up. Will the geese get eaten by coyotes if I don't lock them up at night? We don't have the massive amount of money to spend on getting the line of old fence replaced right now...