Thank you and glad you enjoy the content. Its hard to specify exactly pasture space because there are a lot of factors. The biggest thing we found is that a flock of eight breeder geese was a bit hard to maintain space-wise on 2 acres. But not that it couldn't be done, just our grass/pasture and growing season is just not ideal for geese compared to larger grazing animals, so it's going to vary a lot.
We're on 9 acres (over an acre of it Pond). The area dedicated to Garden/Orchard/Vinyard is just about 3 acres. We maintain 3 breeding pair on that. There's probably abou an acre of pure pasture that's dedicated to them ... plus they get rotated through the Gardens/Orchard/Vinyard as areas go in and out of food production throughout the year. We use a couple lengths of moveable Electric Poultry Netting to block out 1600 sq. ft. grazing blocks. Depending on time of year and what's growing in there - they might get moved every 4 or 5 days ... or as many as 10 or 12. Just depends how much is in there for them to eat. How much is eaten down, how fast it's eaten ... and how much manure builds up. We're aiming for 15--18 growouts a year. The Younglings are kept with the parent flock until they're feathered out (about week 10) ... and then they get their own, separately managed paddock that gets moved more often ('cause there's more of 'em and they eat waaaaay more as they're growing)
I really wanted to raise geese because of the high fat content and winter hardiness (Northern Indiana) but I only have a few hundred square feet of usable grazing area. i am just outside city limits but with close neighbors so wanted a quiet breed. However it sounds like I don't have enough space. So perhaps ducks, quail, and or rabbits are a better option. Any suggestions?
Hello, did anyone scare you before that raising geese and birds causes diseases, especially lung fibrosis? I heard and read, and after that I was afraid, and I am thinking of leaving raising birds. What do you think?
Yes we are certainly aware of it and I have known people who have had to stop raising birds for that reason. One big thing though is ventilation (now we are not doctors) as that does help a lot with the dust. Also pending how dry the bedding is when we clean the coops sometimes it doesn't hurt to wear a mask. it just cuts down on the dander you inhale. Most of our birds spend a very large amount of time outside which does help to. Its a serious thing to think about but there are things that can be done to mitigate it a bit like most things in life.
Something is off with the animals, and their cues from the seasons. My Holland turkey was recently still laying eggs and going broody. The deer here have their full winter coats already, and our rabbits shed weird too. Have you all noticed anything else unusual as far as animal patterns go?
Everything is pointing towards and early harsh winter. The horses are super fluffy with winter fur already and we have had grosbeaks at the feeder already. Potentially not good.
We usually just keep them in a basket, to be honest, or something similar. They don't have the same shelf life as chicken eggs (still, if they are fairly clean, they do keep for several months). But I've never actually come across an egg carton that is large enough for them.
Our geese are mostly grass fed. They are on pasture/lawn during the day and in the barn at night. We do feed them a small amount of sprouted oats mixed with a grower pellet in the stall at night, about a quarter cup each .... that is probably high but I have not actually measured it as it depends how well the oats sprout.
We just lost our American buff female in an accident. We are heartbroken. Our gander is now alone and raising the 6 goslings that just hatched a few weeks ago. Do you recommend we find a new adult female for our gander?
Also wanted to ask... can you still do like a 5 females to 1 male thing like with ducks and chickens? Or does the mating for life of some geese breeds prevent this? This feels confusing because most livestock and poultry you keep the males at a minimum and butcher them while you keep the hens, female sheep etc, and then you hear this stuff about some breeds mating for life and not sure how that affects how people farm them.
I was curious to ask... if you crossed 2 heavy weight breeds of geese... could you end up with a hybrid that's even heavier than both? Is it possible to do something like this to push the weight up? Thanks.
You have some beautiful Buffs 👍
Impressive experience!
Your geese videos are super helpful! Thank you so much!
Excellent! We are so glad that you are enjoying them. We love to share what we are learning as we go here on the homestead. Thank you for watching 😃
Thank you for your videos they are very helpful! How big of a pasture do you need for flock of geese?
Thank you and glad you enjoy the content. Its hard to specify exactly pasture space because there are a lot of factors. The biggest thing we found is that a flock of eight breeder geese was a bit hard to maintain space-wise on 2 acres. But not that it couldn't be done, just our grass/pasture and growing season is just not ideal for geese compared to larger grazing animals, so it's going to vary a lot.
We're on 9 acres (over an acre of it Pond).
The area dedicated to Garden/Orchard/Vinyard is just about 3 acres.
We maintain 3 breeding pair on that.
There's probably abou an acre of pure pasture that's dedicated to them ... plus they get rotated through the Gardens/Orchard/Vinyard as areas go in and out of food production throughout the year.
We use a couple lengths of moveable Electric Poultry Netting to block out 1600 sq. ft. grazing blocks.
Depending on time of year and what's growing in there - they might get moved every 4 or 5 days ... or as many as 10 or 12. Just depends how much is in there for them to eat. How much is eaten down, how fast it's eaten ... and how much manure builds up.
We're aiming for 15--18 growouts a year. The Younglings are kept with the parent flock until they're feathered out (about week 10) ... and then they get their own, separately managed paddock that gets moved more often ('cause there's more of 'em and they eat waaaaay more as they're growing)
I really wanted to raise geese because of the high fat content and winter hardiness (Northern Indiana) but I only have a few hundred square feet of usable grazing area.
i am just outside city limits but with close neighbors so wanted a quiet breed.
However it sounds like I don't have enough space. So perhaps ducks, quail, and or rabbits are a better option. Any suggestions?
Hello, did anyone scare you before that raising geese and birds causes diseases, especially lung fibrosis? I heard and read, and after that I was afraid, and I am thinking of leaving raising birds. What do you think?
Yes we are certainly aware of it and I have known people who have had to stop raising birds for that reason. One big thing though is ventilation (now we are not doctors) as that does help a lot with the dust. Also pending how dry the bedding is when we clean the coops sometimes it doesn't hurt to wear a mask. it just cuts down on the dander you inhale. Most of our birds spend a very large amount of time outside which does help to. Its a serious thing to think about but there are things that can be done to mitigate it a bit like most things in life.
Something is off with the animals, and their cues from the seasons. My Holland turkey was recently still laying eggs and going broody. The deer here have their full winter coats already, and our rabbits shed weird too. Have you all noticed anything else unusual as far as animal patterns go?
Everything is pointing towards and early harsh winter. The horses are super fluffy with winter fur already and we have had grosbeaks at the feeder already. Potentially not good.
what do you do for goose egg storage? I can’t find goose egg cartons, or anything.
We usually just keep them in a basket, to be honest, or something similar. They don't have the same shelf life as chicken eggs (still, if they are fairly clean, they do keep for several months). But I've never actually come across an egg carton that is large enough for them.
What are you feeding your geese? Because i have a neighbor that raises Canadian geese and doesnt feed them at all other than compost in the winter
Our geese are mostly grass fed. They are on pasture/lawn during the day and in the barn at night. We do feed them a small amount of sprouted oats mixed with a grower pellet in the stall at night, about a quarter cup each .... that is probably high but I have not actually measured it as it depends how well the oats sprout.
We just lost our American buff female in an accident. We are heartbroken. Our gander is now alone and raising the 6 goslings that just hatched a few weeks ago. Do you recommend we find a new adult female for our gander?
Also wanted to ask... can you still do like a 5 females to 1 male thing like with ducks and chickens? Or does the mating for life of some geese breeds prevent this?
This feels confusing because most livestock and poultry you keep the males at a minimum and butcher them while you keep the hens, female sheep etc, and then you hear this stuff about some breeds mating for life and not sure how that affects how people farm them.
I was curious to ask... if you crossed 2 heavy weight breeds of geese... could you end up with a hybrid that's even heavier than both? Is it possible to do something like this to push the weight up? Thanks.