Geese and Foxes

[walldanzig]

Morning all

I had a very interesting conversation with a friend this morning who like me keeps geese.
She has said that she leaves her geese out all the time with just a doorless shelter because a fox will not attack geese.

I have two geese and would love to free range them all the time however I know we have foxes and this would concern me given my experiances with that particular beast.

Does anyone have any experiance/thoughts on this as it would be greatly appreciated

Regards

Dan

[RichmondHens]

I don't keep my own geese but one time when I was looking after someone else's while they were on holiday the fox came and killed one and injured two others. They were not shut up at night either.

[petal]

Oh trust me, a fox will attack, kill and drag a goose to its den. I once tracked the feathers of a missing goose that was left out by mistake -for a mile from my parents house in the lakes to the fox hole on the fell.I was on horseback, those were the days.

[Hilary B]

A good gander will see off a fox, but you can never tell how good he is until he has been faced with one. They still need somewhere they can sleep where the fox would have trouble creeping up on them (a suitably confined space) unless they sleep swimming (some do). It's an unusual fox that will attack a water-bird in its own element, but it's not unknown.
When I had geese there were no foxes in the area (initially we lived about ½mile from the hunt kennels, later on an island where the only wild mammalian carnivore was the occasional otter). I wouldn't risk it, unless they lived (or at least spent the night) in an electric fenced 'paddock'!

[Flummery]

Doesn't anyone remember the childhood song "John, John, the grey goose is gone and the fox is on the town -oh?" There's another line "He didn't mind the 'Quack, quack, quack ' and the legs all dangling down-oh."

Tells its own story (and it chills me to think of it)

[Glutton4...]

Unfortunately, I was naive enough to believe the tale when I got my four Geese. They roamed free for nearly a year, lulling me into a false sense of security. One morning I went out there, and there were only three. No mess, no evidence, just one or two feathers in the paddock, and three slightly shell-shocked Geese.

They are now behind leccy fence with the Chooks.

[walldanzig]

thats decided I ill invest in an electric fence. Thanks all

[VirginVegGrower]

Morning all

I had a very interesting conversation with a friend this morning who like me keeps geese.
She has said that she leaves her geese out all the time with just a doorless shelter because a fox will not attack geese.

I have two geese and would love to free range them all the time however I know we have foxes and this would concern me given my experiances with that particular beast.

Does anyone have any experiance/thoughts on this as it would be greatly appreciated

Regards

Dan

I wouldn't think you would have a problem. My dear departed aunty (farmer's wife) used to let her geese out every night as they would see off everything - burglars, foxes, badgers. She always said they were better than any guard dog. I still shake when I remember running away from a gaggle who ran behind me hissing and spiiting - I was only about ten years of age and ended up atop a five bar gate with my legs up. She had to pick me off and carry me in