Who knew how great geese are?!

[MissPrissy]

No. I am raising embdens for meat. I have a another clutch of eggs coming for one more batch!

 

[pips&peeps]

I love my geese to pieces, but this past week has been troubling me.

My boys are very protective of the girls now that it is breeding season here. I have got bruises all over my calfs from them biting me....

The girls scream bloody murder at me when I take their eggs. Then the boys come after me.

They don't love me any more. And, the ones that are biting me are the ones I raised, the two adults I bought last fall don't get that close. Must be a fear thing.

 

[greyfields]

This bad behevior goes away! Trust me!

Unless you let them hatch a clutch themselves, then they will be angry and hissy for about 9-12 months until the goslings are doing their own thing!! Use the incubator. It's best for everyone involved.

I don't know how I ever did without gooses either. And you have to call them gooses, because they're gooses and not geese. Just ask them, they'll tell you. They'd rather be called gooses.

 

[Cara]

Do all white geese have blue eyes?

 

[greyfields]

I'm going to say no.

Pilgrims are sex-linked. Females have brown eyes and grey feathers, males have blue eyes with black randomly in their plumage. I don't know why I stated this, I just think it's cool.

Also, to the dude about Pilgrims, they dress about 6 pounds less than the Embdens. If you want a big giant bird, Embden is the way to go. With that said, 20 pounds of goose is like 50 pounds of turkey. It's richer and goes so much further. It's radically different from the drab turkey we were raised on (which only tastes like the gravy).

Don't let eating goose creep you out. If you are serious and you want to breed geese, which I do becuase the site of the goslings on grass in Spring is one of the highlights of the year; then you must consider outlets for your males. You cannot keep them all as pets or you'll be over-run. Selling them to foodies who appreciate something different or who want to embrace their heritage is a sustainable way to support your goose habit.

 

[Cara]

The majority of buyers of home-raised poultry in this area are Mexican. It seems that the majority of Mexican people in this area are not as far-removed from the source of their food, and less squeamish about slaughtering and butchering. I only sell live meat birds since we do not have the permits to butcher. For this reason I consider the popularity of meats within the hispanic market before raising birds specifically to sell. I'm at a loss whether goose would be popular though, does anyone know?

 

[greyfields]

I have no idea. All I know is that that group (along with asian immigrants) buy my roosters when I send them to auction. You can only make proper chimichangas apparently using an old barnyard rooster.

 

[Cara]

LOL i'm going to quote you next time my husband complains about chicken for dinner. He's a chicken's dream, he'd do anything to get out of butchering and eating one.

 

[Cara]

Ok maybe they're not so cool. Webber just pooped through my croc.

 

[deeszoo]

LOL!! Goose poop can be rather messy! But, I even like my gooses during breeding season. They can be so romantic to each other! Yes, they are mean to you right now, but that is just because they are protecting the next generation. It gets better after laying season is over. And, when they are eating lots of green grass, they poop mostly green piles. Just that loose goose poop once in a while.

DeAnna