Depending on the time of year they will dodge or attack me. So they are very interactive.
My wife can pet them.
We got them because hawks were taking out chickens. After we got geese that stopped. In addition to being excellent guard animals they also mow the grass and in the spring they give us giant eggs.
After the initial cost to buy, raise for a month until they can be outside and their housing they can live entirely on grass making them practically free to maintain. Best farm investment ever.
In 6 years we have had one sick goose. She was always too small for her breed. Not sure why she was sick.
This year was the first injury of a goose. They did something that cut up a foot. We treated it with some safe wash and they recovered just fine.
Injuries to me have been numerous. The boys like to attack me when I’m putting them to bed so I occasionally end up with welts and bruises. The girls occasionally give me a nice little buffeting with their wings when I’m trying to remove them from a nest so I can take away their eggs.
At some point every farm animal will have a last best day. The sooner you recognize when that is and resolve it the better everyone’s mental health will be. It is is an unavoidable fact of farm life.
But if geese have proper night time protection and plenty of grass you can expect them to live 15 to 30 years problem free.
She was always too small for her breed. Not sure why she was sick.
Sounds like a runt, which is fairly common with cats and dogs. That’s where “the runt of the litter” came from. It also applies to farm animals with singles litters (cows) and larger litters (pigs). I have not seen it get applied to a bird before, but it make sense.
A runt is just something with a low birth rate. It turns out that there’s a very strong correlation between birth weight and health.
I built and sold an MSP, now I farm grain and cattle. If anything, I work even more, but I don’t have to deal with customers. And I can eat the product.
I had decades of tech experience including Linux administration. I now have a homestead with geese.
I’m now a programmer with about 20 years of experience. You’re very impressive. Do you have advice for me?
Never turn your back on them. If one gets in the house just drive away and start a new life.
Goose advice?
Spoken like a wise man
So cool. Are they interactive? Do they recognize you and let you pet them?
Depending on the time of year they will dodge or attack me. So they are very interactive. My wife can pet them.
We got them because hawks were taking out chickens. After we got geese that stopped. In addition to being excellent guard animals they also mow the grass and in the spring they give us giant eggs.
After the initial cost to buy, raise for a month until they can be outside and their housing they can live entirely on grass making them practically free to maintain. Best farm investment ever.
That’s so cool. Thanks for the information!
I am from the internet. I’m here to help.
How often do they get sick or injured?
In 6 years we have had one sick goose. She was always too small for her breed. Not sure why she was sick.
This year was the first injury of a goose. They did something that cut up a foot. We treated it with some safe wash and they recovered just fine.
Injuries to me have been numerous. The boys like to attack me when I’m putting them to bed so I occasionally end up with welts and bruises. The girls occasionally give me a nice little buffeting with their wings when I’m trying to remove them from a nest so I can take away their eggs.
That’s not too bad. I love the idea of animals on a homestead but I couldn’t handle it if they required medical attention
At some point every farm animal will have a last best day. The sooner you recognize when that is and resolve it the better everyone’s mental health will be. It is is an unavoidable fact of farm life.
But if geese have proper night time protection and plenty of grass you can expect them to live 15 to 30 years problem free.
Sounds like a runt, which is fairly common with cats and dogs. That’s where “the runt of the litter” came from. It also applies to farm animals with singles litters (cows) and larger litters (pigs). I have not seen it get applied to a bird before, but it make sense.
A runt is just something with a low birth rate. It turns out that there’s a very strong correlation between birth weight and health.
She lived just over a year and was healthy until she wasn’t.
Damn that is cool. I’m glad I learned these things about geese today!
I built and sold an MSP, now I farm grain and cattle. If anything, I work even more, but I don’t have to deal with customers. And I can eat the product.
You could have eaten the customer too, but you would have needed to wait until he paid the bill.