Geese anyone ????

[Glutton4...]

Mine are Embdens, and not at all aggressive. They've not been handled, but I made sure they knew who was boss at the start. Unlike a friend in the village who's Geese are vicious little wotsits - mine walk away if you approach them.

I read on t'internet, that you should get eggs from Valentine's day right up to August. Mine free range during the day, so I only get about half of my egg quota, as they don't seem to care where they lay!

[mr darcy]

Mine are Embdens, and not at all aggressive. They've not been handled, but I made sure they knew who was boss at the start. Unlike a friend in the village who's Geese are vicious little wotsits - mine walk away if you approach them.

I read on t'internet, that you should get eggs from Valentine's day right up to August. Mine free range during the day, so I only get about half of my egg quota, as they don't seem to care where they lay!

hahhah!! love your avatar glutton
re geese, love them, in the sky flying over in formation, hate them chasing me with flattened heads and demonic eyes!!!

[RichmondHens]

I pick up my feed from a lady who keeps a lot of geese. They roam about her yard honking noisily, and grab my trousers whenever I go in. One led me to the feed shed the other week with a beakful of my jeans - I just had to follow! They are great characters.

[Nicos]

. One led me to the feed shed the other week with a beakful of my jeans - I just had to follow! They are great characters.

eek...so it's going to be even more difficult to cull them???

[mr darcy]

eek...so it's going to be even more difficult to cull them???

yes they might cull you first

[bobleponge]

Some friends of mine have 2 elderly geese, who are quite noisy and aggressive.
Last summer one of their ducks got into the geese field and they killed it.

[Nicos]

Yikes!!!

Well these ( if we do get them) will be goslings ( what age are they OK to take from mom?)
As soon as they are ready for culling they'll be frozen ready for Xmas.

I understand they get pin feathers at a certain age which makes them difficult to pluck- does anyone know when these appear?

So .....hopefully they won't get old enough to get too nasty!!!

[its hilly]

Mine have been fine with my chooks, even the banties, Sid will break up fights between the cockerals, but I cant feed them together or the chooks mob the geese and get them really upset, so they either get stroppy, or begger off without breakfast.
Despite their size they are normally really friendly, but not with strangers. Snadgers description is very accurate. I used to have the builders constantly 'borrowing' things like my wheelbarrow, even eggs went missing when due to hatch. Since I got the geese that has stopped, lol. Well lets face it, a 6' wingspan accompanied by extreme hissing and high speed attack is pretty intimidating. But people who come in with me are fine as long as they are 'under my guard'. Even now when hormones are high Sid will normally keep out of my way, its only when they are in their 'pen' that hes stroppy.

[walldanzig]

I went up last night to close them in the goose is now sitting on the eggs there can only be two at the most as I have been collecting them regularly but I think I am probably in for a bit of fun now from the gander

[Jeanied]

I understand they get pin feathers at a certain age which makes them difficult to pluck- does anyone know when these appear?

According to Katie Thear - 12 weeks - after the moult

[Hilary B]

When I had geese, we let them roam (because we had plenty of grass) and just shut the youngsters in a small (not TOO small) run with food during November. The adults got a small ration of layers pellets from Feb until the goslings hatched, then a handful of corn to keep them tamish, otherwise they lived on grass.
Even an old goose will be edible if you 'hang' it like a wild one (could be as much as 2-3 weeks in a cold place).
I believe goslings stop needing heat at 10 days to 2 weeks, depending on outside temperature. If rearing them without Mum, I woud feed them rather more, but if there is plenty of grass, they don't really need much apart from corn. Spring and summer grass has quite a lot of protein (even in autumn, as long as it is still growing, the protein-starch ratio is pretty good).