Step by step guide on Raising Geese
Raising geese is relatively easy as compared to keeping many other domestic poultry birds.
Geese require less care and maintenance, so keeping geese is very easy. Geese actually can take good care of themselves easily and it’s truly entertaining and relaxing observing their activities.
Raising geese is gaining popularity, especially among the beginners/hobby farmers. Geese are kept for many different purposes.
They are raised for their delicious meat and eggs, for the purpose of enhancing the beauty of a property and also kept just as pets.
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| Step by step guide for Raising Geese |
If you are a beginner and want to keep geese then you must know as much as possible about keeping geese before starting. It’s actually require less time and less labor for raising geese.
Steps for Raising Geese
As we have mentioned above ‘raising geese is actually very easy and simple’. Although you need to know the right steps. However, here we are describing more information about raising geese.
Determine Your Purpose for Raising Geese
Before starting, you will need to determine the actual purpose for raising geese. Geese are actually raised for many different purposes.
They are raised for eggs, meat, enhancing beauty of a property or kept just as pets. So, determine your purpose first and this will make the geese caring process easy and simple.
Select a Breed
After determining the purpose of raising geese, you have to select a breed which will be good for your purpose.
Geese are actually grouped into three categories depending on their size. These three categories are; light, medium and heavy.
Both light and medium geese are good for egg production, but the heavy geese breeds lay less eggs and they are raised mainly for their delicious meat.
Chinese, Pilgrim and Saddleback are some good smaller sized geese breeds. They lay good number of eggs (around 60 per year) and they are also good for meat.
The American Buff geese is considered as a good medium sized breed. Toulouse and White Emden are best heavy geese breeds.
Some geese breeds are of aggressive nature, while some have excellent temperament.
Some geese make great pets and some breeds are very beautiful and good for property decoration purpose.
You can ask your friends who are raising geese if you can’t decide which breed is good for you.
Build a Shelter
Build a good shelter for your birds. Geese actually stay outside throughout the day if you allow them to roam freely.
But they require shelter for staying at night. And a good shelter also help to protect the birds from adverse weather conditions.
So, build a house for your geese where they will feel comfortable and safe. And this will keep them happy and they will grow well.
Purchase the Birds & Bring Them Home
Purchase the birds from any of your nearest breeders or stores. Your friends are also a great option for purchasing geese (if any of them is raising geese). You can also consider purchasing online, if the seller can deliver in your area.
If you are going to start with a minimum number of geese, then consider at least a pair. Because geese are social birds and they actually love to stay in group.
You can purchase either mature birds or goslings if you want to raise a few birds. But if you are planning for raising numerous birds, then consider purchasing goslings. This will cost you less money.
Whatever you choose (goslings or mature birds), bring the birds home after purchasing. You will need a large container or a poultry transporting van if you purchase mature birds. Be very careful while transporting the birds.
Caring for the Geese
Good caring is the most important part of raising geese. Although geese generally require less care and management as compared to many other domestic poultry birds. Follow the caring steps mentioned below after bringing the geese home.
Clip the Wings of the New Geese
Clipping the wings of the newly purchased geese is very important. So, clip their wings before releasing them. Geese are very strong birds, so be very careful while clipping their wings.
You will not be able to clip their wings alone. It’s actually a tough task and generally require 2-3 person.
For clipping their wings, gently hold the neck and hold it’s body firmly close to you.
Have another person ready for gently taking the wing and unfolding it and then cutting the shorter feathers at the base of the wing. Be extremely careful and don’t over cut the wings.
Release the Geese
Release the birds after clipping their wings. Geese actually love to stay in water, so it will be better if you have a pond ready for your geese.
You can release them every morning and bring them back to their shelter in the afternoon or evening.
Guiding them regularly will make them get used to their surrounding environment.
Feed Them Quality Feeds
Good food is very important for your geese. If you let your birds to roam freely, they will take most of their diet foraging.
But you still need to provide them with grains, grass or pelleted poultry feeds. Just like other farm animals, geese also require balanced diet consisting of energy, protein, vitamins and minerals.
Feed the gosling with duck starter feeds. Add some oats and grains in their diet during winter season. And also provide them with enough clean water, if you don’t have pond.
Additional Caring
Protect your geese from predators. You can either make a fence around your property or keep your geese in a closed area.
Supply bedding and nesting materials inside their shelter. Clean their house, feeding and watering materials as frequently as possible.