Geese are cheap to care for, easy to raise, and good guard animals – a great addition to a homestead! Read on to learn how to raise geese.
Some links in this post are affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. Read my full disclosure here.
Should I Add Geese To My Homestead?
When I was looking at what animals to get for my homestead I wanted something that had more than one purpose and was unique. I ended up deciding on geese and after owning them for several years I would recommend them to fellow homesteaders. But are they right for you? There are a lot of things that play into whether or not you should add geese to your homestead. Thinking through things like if you have time for chores, space for them, water availability, etc. will help you decide if they are right for you.
Are Geese Easy To Care For?
Geese are relatively easy to care for, especially in the summer. In the summer they are good to go as long as they have water and grass to eat! Their housing needs are very minimal too, in the summer our geese don’t use any housing at all. In the winter they need a little protection from the elements and they need to have a little more water than other birds such as chickens. But ours are happy with a 5-gallon bucket of water.
What Do Geese Eat
Geese are mainly herbivores and as long as they have access to green grass they don’t eat much else. In the summer our geese mainly eat grass even though they have free access to the chicken’s food. In the winter when there isn’t much grass or it is covered in snow we feed ours wheat and corn mixed with some chicken food. I also try to feed them as many green table scraps as I can – ours love celery tops!
Can Goslings Eat Just Grass Too?
Most places recommend that you supplement goslings with waterfowl grower food until they are feathered. I always turn mine out on the grass as soon as possible, but I do supplement them with food. One hen raised a batch of goslings and she never took them to the feeder, she just kept them on grass. So it is possible just to raise them on grass, as long as there is enough grass to go around.
Do Geese Need A Pond To Live Happily?
No, geese do not need a pond to live happily. Geese are waterfowl, but they don’t need a lot of water to be happy. Our geese are actually happier in small shallow water instead of big bodies of deep water. We fill little kiddy pools and 5-gallon buckets with water for our geese and it keeps them very happy.
Even with that water available most of the time they prefer to drink and swim in puddles anyway. If you raise geese with a pond they might like the deep water better though.
What Type Of Housing Do I Need To Raise Geese?
Geese require very little in the way of housing as they love to be outside. A low 3-sided structure with a roof to protect them from the elements if they want is sufficient. Our geese have a whole coop that they can go in anytime they want and they much rather prefer to sleep on our back porch, no matter the weather. They haven’t set foot in their house on their own in the last year. And when the back porch is blocked off they just sleep in the yard.
Do Geese Lay Eggs?
They do lay eggs, but not as many as chickens. If you are looking for a bird to lay eggs all year then geese are not for you. Geese only lay eggs for about 3 months of the year, generally late January/early February through early May. They don’t lay many eggs, but their eggs are equivalent to about 3 chicken eggs. While my geese are laying I only have to make 2 eggs for breakfast for my husband and me instead of our normal 6 chicken eggs.
Are Geese Mean?
It seems to be common knowledge that all geese are mean and you should stay away from them. However, this is not quite all true. Geese are just like any other animal, most are nice, but you can have a few not-so-nice ones. When I am outside my geese will follow me around everywhere like a puppy dog and are very curious about what I am doing. One of my ganders will even give hugs!
I have had a couple of mean ones, that ended up in the freezer, but for the most part, all of my geese have been friendly. If you raise geese with aggression that can cause them to become aggressive, but for the most part, if you are nice to them they will be nice back.
Are Geese Good Gaurd Animals?
Depending on the geese they can be good guard animals. If you are looking for them to guard your house, you probably shouldn’t be looking at geese. They work somewhat for guarding your house just because a lot of people are scared of geese, but they aren’t all that territorial and don’t mind people coming on the property.
They also don’t guard the chickens. Geese do however scare animals away just with their presence and if they are with the chickens they will keep things like hawks or foxes away. But they have to be right with the chickens. We have lost chickens to foxes while having geese because the geese were not sleeping right with the chickens, but instead around the corner of the house. When the geese are with the chickens we have seen a fox come and see the geese there and leave though. So they do scare animals away, but they have to be right with whatever you want them to protect.
Should I Raise Geese?
If you can provide them with everything listed above and have time to care for them then they might be for your homestead too. You should be prepared to deal with mean geese at some point because you never know what you might get. On the other hand, you should also be prepared for loyal birds that will follow you everywhere you go and poke their head in everything you are doing! And a bonus, if you raise geese, is that they lay really large eggs, equivalent to about 3 chicken eggs!
Leave a Reply