New Goose Mom Questions

[Aunt Angus]

I ended up with three lovely geese, two of whom were found wandering in the woods (the third is a gander who bonded with the females while at the shelter).

They're wonderful! They are in my goat pasture, and they sleep in the barn with the goats at night. Everything seems to be going ok so far - other than the ridiculous amount of time it takes me to get them in the barn at night.

I am having a bit of a time finding *consistent* info about their needs. I've got a few questions:

1) We are getting tons of rain and wind. The goat pasture has turned into a mud pit. The grass is dying from flooding. I've been giving them waterfowl pellets, kale, lettuce, melons, tomatoes, blueberries, peas, etc. because most of the grass is dead. Will that be sufficient until the grass recovers?

2) The goat pasture is quite hilly/steep on the backside of the property. Will this be a huge problem? Will they be able to get around ok?

3) I'm concerned about their feet with all of the bric-a-brac caused by the storm damage. Would it be better if I kept them confined to a smaller area that I can free from debris?

4) If I do confne them to one section of the pasture, how much area do they need?

5) How do I bond with them? The girls are friendly, but the gander avoids me at all costs. He'll follow the girls over to me, but will stay at least 6 ft away at all times and won't take treats like the girls will.

Sorry for the million questions. I'd appreciate some help figuring these three out.

Here are Thelma, Louise, and JD. You can see the *intense* lack of grass in this part of the goat area. There is some patchy grass on the hill.

 

[Iain Utah]

Congrats on your new trio! They are lovely. Answers as follows:

1) yes, that sounds like a very good diet for your geese
2) geese are remarkably agile on terrain, and I would not worry
3) geese are pretty hardy, but keep an eye out for limping just in case
4) I'm not personally a fan of confinement, but if you do, the bigger the area the better
5) It takes time for geese to warm up, and some may never want to eat from your hand. A fresh bowl of water often works better than food as a bribe to bond with a goose, if a goose is not familiar with treats.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Congrats on your new trio! They are lovely. Answers as follows:

1) yes, that sounds like a very good diet for your geese
2) geese are remarkably agile on terrain, and I would not worry
3) geese are pretty hardy, but keep an eye out for limping just in case
4) I'm not personally a fan of confinement, but if you do, the bigger the area the better
5) It takes time for geese to warm up, and some may never want to eat from your hand. A fresh bowl of water often works better than food as a bribe to bond with a goose, if a goose is not familiar with treats.

Thank you! I'm a nervous nelly about my animals. Once the geese and I get to know each other better, I'll be fine.

I have to confine them a bit just because predators here are no joke. But I'll continue to let them loose in the goat area, which is a rotating area of about 1/2 acre. I only have 4 goats, so they have plenty of room to avoid each other

 

[JRies]

You are on the right track. I dont have allot to add but a gander that has bonded with your girls which is a good thing. But understanding ganders might help. He is watching you not going after you so he already has bonded with you a bit. His job is to watch and guard and protect his flock. Sounds like he is doing a great job. .

 

[Berd Man]

I will second the fresh bowl of water. Mine love that. I think just sitting with them a few minutes a day in close proximity, maybe bring some vegetable scraps from dinner or something and just toss them on the ground to get them eating near you and comfortable with your presence. Eventually they will take it from the hand. It’s just a matter of patience.

 

[Miss Lydia]

If you don't have grass and we hardly ever do thanks to our 15 chickens my goose loves chopped-up romaine lettuce.