Best (most convenient) food or combo to brood 2 goslings with 12 chicks and 15 guinea keets?

[Taj MaHen]

Help??!! Looking for suggestions on the most convenient food or combo to brood all those babies. Reading all of the dietary suggestions for each has left my brain in pain. I have very little grass, but do have access to as much produce as they could want (Im a produce clerk and can get all waste--which isnt necessarily bad just not pretty enuf to sell). Im planning on brooding them all together--dont really have space inside to do otherwise. I know the geese need extra niacin--waterfowl starter has that and I think thats ok for the keets too, but some say the 20-30% protein in that is too high for chicks And then at 2-4 weeks it needs to be lowered? Once again I have jumped into something new with both feet lol. Think Ive got a handle on the rest of it but the feed situation is confusing to me. I would really rather feed them all the same thing if possible. Tia for any suggestions!

 

[Jenbirdee]

my concern would be the Gossling grow so fast and big they would trample the chicks but for perhaps a all flock or flock raiser crumble. add extra niacin in the form of nutritional yeast one tablespoon per cup of feed to meet the geese requirement

 

[Taj MaHen]

I appreciate your response. Im prepared to separate them if necessary but for a number of reasons want to try to keep them together. The brooder will be in my living room so Ill have a close eye on them most of the time. Pus I plan on having the goslings outside with me as often as possible. There is lots of wild stuff for them to eat-just not much grass. Was really hoping to feed ony one thing and not have to add anything.

 

[AGeese]

It's probably a bit early for produce and depending on what you can get and when I wouldn't count on that being their main source of feed. You'll need to have a regular source of All Flock feed.

Glad you're prepared separate, that's a lot of keets too and they can be aggressive to chickens later so hope you have the space for it.

 

[AGeese]

I haven't used this feed, but I do recommend this brand:
https://www.kalmbachfeeds.com/products/20-flock-maker-pellet

 

[Taj MaHen]

Thanks for the tips! After much research and talking to the feed store folks I think Im going with a gamebird starter for the first cpl weeks then will begin to add bits of produce, grass and alfalfa pellets. GBS has high protein and has everything in it they all need w/out me having to add anything for awhile. Adding green stuff later along with free ranging should lower the protein % so the geese in particular dont have issues. If anyone sees major issues with this plan Id appreciate input!! TIA! And as far as brooding them all--its going to be a circus no doubt! But while the details arent 100% ironed out I DO have a plan for 3 rings if needed lol. Im here 99% of the time so will have a close eye on them.

 

[fowltemptress]

The water is going to be a mess and go all over the brooder with two goslings, which could chill your other species in there. Also, brooding different species together may cause issues in adulthood if they aren't going to be kept apart from eachother as adults. Specifically, a guinea bred with chickens is going to grow up to think of chickens as just more guineas, which often ends tragically, to put it mildly. Guineas are much tougher birds than chickens and treat each other, and whatever else they think of as another guinea, extremely rough. This doesn't always wind up the case, but it's commone enough that you might not want to tempt fate.

Also, giving the goslings access to grit and grass as early as possible is something I advocate. When they're as young as a few days old, I cut the grass into little pieces for them, or just cut a clod of dirt with grass out of the ground so they can tear bits off.

 

[Taj MaHen]

I very much appreciate your input! Due to your advice re geese, Ive fashioned another brooder where they can see the others but not spread their mess. Thanks! Its interesting to me tho, This is the very first place Ive heard it could be an issue brooding, housing and generally keeping guineas and chickens together. Im wondering if this is from your own experience? Every other thing Ive read and everyone I talk to in my local farm community says they do very well together. The only issues potentially being with guineas and roosters. I wont be having roosters (thats the plan anyway lol--Ive ordered only hens) I understand there is always the possibility (as with any other creatures) that certain individuals wont get along but from what Ive gleaned from all my conversations and reading, it should be just fine. Im curios as to exactly what your experience has been! Tia!

 

[fowltemptress]

I've heard a lot of people say it works for them, too, but I know of enough people who had the same experiences as me that I thought it was worth the warning. In my experience, the guineas just . . . well, I suppose it's just that they thought the chickens were one of the gang. Guineas have this hierarchy that's a lot more intense than the bickering between chickens I've encountered, and the ones at the top will assiduously deny the ones at the bottom access to food and water. It's not really an issue for the guineas, as they'll just wander down to the tank to drink or hustle up another food source, but my chickens are much less capable of adequately feeding themselves if some bullies are keeping them out of the food. That can be breed dependent, but my breeds at the time were big, floofy softies. This was by far my biggest problem back then. The chickens and guineas I have now who weren't brooded together share the feeding area no problem.

I don't know if you've ever been bit by a guinea or attacked by a rooster, but I'd rather have a rooster attack me a million times over, even though my guineas have only ever bit when I picked them up to doctor them. Guineas are quick and strong, with a beak that's hard as a rock and sharp as a razor that they dig in with and twist. I'm kinda amazed they're as prone to predation as they are. Anyway, roosters don't stand a chance if a guinea decides to kick his dupa, and a guinea suddenly deciding to mate with a hen was an unpleasant and very bloody affair. The birds I have today don't acknowledge the other species beyond some effort from the guineas to give the chickens a wide berth, and it's overall so much less stressful a situation that even though I only brooded them together once in what feels like a lifetime ago, I have no desire to experiment with brooding them together again.

For the record, brooding experiences with other species have led me to only brood like with like. Brooding my geese with muscovies was a disaster for me, in that my drake decided my geese were fair game for mating and fighting, which caused a lot of problems I hadn't anticipated. Ducks and geese are another pair of species commonly brooded together, so I may just be unlucky when it comes to mixed brooding.

 

[Taj MaHen]

I really appreciate the heads up! I’ll be free ranging them all as well as feeding. Ive seen some clever ways to hide different feeders in the run so they cant be seen from other feeders. The only time they’ll be confined together is at night when they’re in their coop which is pretty large or if I have to be gone for a few hrs in the daytime. I have a 100 sqft covered pen for them to stay in at those times with roosts and toys and a swing and a bunch of stuff for them to dig around in. They won’t be bored which is the start of nonsense with any animal lol. Hopefully that all will stave off the bullying. Breeding time might be an issue but we’ll cross that bridge if/when we come to it. Again I very much appreciate your experience and willingness to share with me!! Take care!