Best Grass for Goslings and Geese

[9to5]

Hey! So my goslings are set to arrive on April 22nd and I want to be fully prepared for them. One thing I am having trouble finding is what type of grass they would prefer to eat. When I look for online sources, I find a lot of .edu sites and park websites stating "geese prefer to eat grass" but it does not specify what kind.

I wanted to set up a few flats with seeds so by the time my goslings arrive I can start cutting the grass and feeding it to them along with their feed. I also intended on seeding a part of my property with this seed so they can free range and eat that. So far I've been looking at oat, rye, and wheat grass seeds. If anyone has experience or input I'd appreciate it!

Thanks

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

They like all grass. Mine love dandelion greens the most.

 

[The goose girl]

Regular lawn grass is what you want to go with. It's sturdy enough to regrow and most bags contain a mixture of seeds. Geese do like coming across the odd wheat, rye, oat, or barley grass, but the plants don't regrow as well as regular lawn grass - and geese eat A LOT of grass.

There's no good reason to cut the grass for them. Goslings like to exercise both their minds and their bodies by tugging and chewing the plants and it's a way better occupation for them than plastic toys. Dig up some squares of grass turf, let the goslings have at them, replant the squares when they're worn, repeat. Also, they get to eat some of the dirt and get some grit that way.

 

[lokkenika]

Any grass will be good for them. Primarily you can feed them various millet as well. These birds aren't gourmands to choose what to eat. Especially if suddenly you have artificial grass such as I have from https://itsartificialgrass.com/, you can buy different grass separately for them to eat. There is a lot of choices, and you better find what works best for you. Everyone has their way of feeding geese and goslings so that you can ask on other forums as well. I think there are helpful people everywhere who are willing to help you with this.

 

[TwistedTayy]

I’ve been thinking about reseeding my free range area as a meadow with pollinator flowers as well. My plan is to choose a kind of grass cover crop mix and then mix an equal part meadow mix. You want to be sure they are fast growing and will reseed themselves. But be aware that hairy vetch is toxic to waterfowl and its common to find in mixes.

https://www.americanmeadows.com/

i currently have Bermuda grass/crab grass everywhere from the previous owners and the geese HATE it so not all grasses/lawn seed is well received.

 

[Angelawitte]

I’ve been thinking about reseeding my free range area as a meadow with pollinator flowers as well. My plan is to choose a kind of grass cover crop mix and then mix an equal part meadow mix. You want to be sure they are fast growing and will reseed themselves. But be aware that hairy vetch is toxic to waterfowl and its common to find in mixes.

https://www.americanmeadows.com/

i currently have Bermuda grass/crab grass everywhere from the previous owners and the geese HATE it so not all grasses/lawn seed is well received.

What did you decide and how is it going?

 

[TwistedTayy]

What did you decide and how is it going?

Still on the planning phase. Going to start seeding in February for more cold tolerant grasses and then plant the meadows in March. I’m going to section off little parcels about 25sq ft, let it grow up and then let loose the fowl and see which they like best and use that combination as the grass seed along with pea, radish (for clay), mustard, and buckhweat. I also found a company that has a pollinator mix meant for specifically attracting beneficial insects so I’m going to do that around the border (outside the birds reach). Then I will simply scatter some kind of native pollinator flower mix in with the grass seed. That too will have to be done in large sections so that a) it can get tall enough and b) they will have enough time spent on it before the next section grows.

 

[GranderTheGander]

They like rye. Perennial rye is much tougher and can last for years. Annual rye can easily be killed by the heat. They hate zoysia. Even the Canadian geese won't eat it.

 

[ArdellaStenzel]

Believe me, for Goslings and Geese, there is still some grass

 

[Miss Lydia]

I put out perennial rye it's a soft grass and easy to digest.