How to Raise Healthy Geese for the Backyard Farm

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1 How to Raise Healthy Geese for the Backyard Farm Do you want to raise healthy geese for your backyard farm? The goose is a good choice for a poultry addition to a homestead. Friendly and good at foraging, the goose will add a whole new dimension to your daily chores. Many people think that geese are similar to any other water fowl, such as ducks or even that geese are like raising turkeys or chickens. This is not entirely true. Geese have some unique characteristics and needs and should not be considered the same as the ducks. Raising healthy geese is not hard though. Take a look at what geese require. Are Geese Good Watchdogs? One thing that seems to be a bit confusing is the thought of using geese to protect other poultry. This can be a dangerous misconception for the goose. Geese are territorial and

2 protective. They will not back down readily from an attack, which may give other birds a chance to escape. However no goose is a match for an attack by a dog, large fox or any other larger predator. Housing? In order to raise healthy geese for many years, provide a suitable structure for them to go into at night. Geese do not roost on a bar like chickens, guineas and turkeys. Provide a well ventilated, sturdy, low to the ground structure. Line the floor with dry straw and the geese will be happy campers! Each goose requires approximately 3 square feet of floor space in the structure. Since you will rarely want to confine them longer than overnight, the house does not need to be very large. Two geese could be very comfortable in a 3 by 6 enclosure. We use snap hooks on the latches for our poultry buildings for

3 added security. Most foxes can t figure these out and the raccoon haven t outsmarted the latches yet. When Raising Healthy Geese, Do You Need a Pond? Geese are not like ducks. They need water of course but do not require water to the same extent. The one point that might make a difference is if you are hoping to brood goslings with your goose breeding pair. Geese have an easier time mating when in the water. In any event, the geese won t spend lots of time on the pond like ducks might. Raise Healthy Geese with the Right Food Geese eat grass. That is their primary food source. If you plan to raise healthy geese on grass, they will need all access, every day to grass. The grass should not be too long. Three inches tall is a good measurement. The geese will nibble the grass and graze along. All the nutrition the geese need is included in the grasses. If you don t have enough pasture or grass you can feed wheat, poultry layer pellets and supplement with fresh greens. Lettuce, cabbage, and occasionally, cooked vegetables can be fed, also. note- do not feed layer crumbles or mash to the geese. It can disrupt ability to swallow by getting stuck in the upper bill. Wheat is provided in a bucket and covered with water. The wheat sinks to the bottom of the bucket. This prevents wild birds, rats and mice from accessing the wheat. Also, picking up all food at bedtime helps prevent rodent infestations. If you happen to have sheep to graze down the grass first,

4 helps keep the grass short enough for the geese. If you don t have sheep available, just mow the grass down to a reasonable height before letting the geese out to graze. Housing with Water Fowl Other Poultry and There aren t any reasons why you can t keep geese with chickens or other large water fowl. Each situation will be different. Most likely you will get more than one gosling to begin with. As the goslings grow you will notice that they probably stick to their own flock and the chickens will stick to hanging with the other chickens. The geese will grow considerably bigger than your chickens and you will need to watch for any aggression. Areas that are large enough for everyone to roam and graze give you the best chance of different poultry species getting along.

5 Geese Breeds Light breeds Brown and White Chinese and Roman Tufted Medium breeds Pilgrim, American Buff and Sebastopol

6 Heavy breeds Toulouse, African and Embden Geese can be loyal and affectionate pets. They bond to each other and can be territorial during mating season. Since geese can live 15 to 20 years, you will be able to enjoy your pet geese for a long time. Abnormal Duck Wing Abnormal Duck Wing : What to do and How to Prevent it. An abnormal duck wing, such as angel wing, twisted wing, and lazy wing occur in waterfowl populations that are fed by humans. Not a lot of research has been undertaken on the

7 syndrome. Abnormal duck wing occurrences do not affect the ducks ability to carry out normal duck production or activities such as eating, foraging, drinking and swimming. Angel Wing usually only occurs in one wing. The condition merely affects the appearance when discussing ducks and other waterfowl kept in a backyard farming setting. However the underlying reason why this happens is cause for concern and is easily remedied.

8 Cause British researcher, Janet Kear, from the Wildlife Trust in Great Britain, investigated the syndrome and noted that in wild waterfowl populations, wing disorders were non-existent or extremely rare. This led her to conclude that the previous belief that the abnormal wings were a genetic trait was not the whole story. Abnormal duck wing occurrence was rare in populations that were not fed commercial diet or scraps of human food, particularly bread. (Metzer Farms) Kear determined that the cause of abnormal wings was inappropriate or inadequate amounts of protein, vitamins and minerals. Specifically, feeding a commercial diet that is more than 16% protein past two weeks of age may increase the incidence of these wing disorders. Dave Holderread, author of Storey s Guide to Raising Ducks, also lists an higher than necessary brooder temperature as a potential cause. Holderread recommends using an 18% protein feed for only the first two weeks of growth, followed by a 15%

9 to 16% protein feed up to ten weeks. The wing bones and most growth has been reached by 16 weeks of age. Both Kear and Holderread conclude that feeding an unlimited diet of high energy feed, such as a turkey grower ration, results in unnaturally fast growth. This accelerated growth causes the twisting of the lower wing bones as they develop because the weight of the bones is heavier than the wing structure can hold, at the time. The result is a twist and a wing that sticks out from the body. Research has also shown that when the condition is caught early, switching to a diet of alfalfa pellets, instead of a chick grower ration, can halt and reverse the condition. Wild waterfowl that are never fed by humans show no evidence of wing disorders. Ducks raised domestically and allowed to forage and free range when conditions are safe to do so, will rarely exhibit any sign of wing disorders.

10 Treatment Caught early, before the wing bones have hardened, treatment of angel wing may be repaired. Manually correcting the positioning of the wing and taping it in place for 10 to 12 days, can correct the wing position. I would recommend vet wrap, because it is easy to work with and won t stick to the feathers and downy underbelly. I found some nice clear pictures of how a duck should be wrapped here, Caroline Crocker Originals If the appearance of angel wing in a mature duck bothers you, it is possible to reduce the appearance somewhat by carefully trimming the flight feathers. Personally, if the duck is getting along well and eating and being part of the flock, I would just leave it alone. Prevention In addition to limiting the protein level exercise is also a key factor in proper development of the wings and the entire bird. Access to plenty of greens, exercise and swimming may reduce the occurrence. One of our drakes has a rather pronounced case of angel wing. I did not know what was happening at the time I noticed it developing and concluded

11 that it was a genetic issue. So I did not do anything to correct it. He gets along just fine and is a large, capable boy. But when we raise the next batch of ducklings, I will be more aware of what they are eating and only use the starter ration for the first couple of weeks. Domestic ducks kept in a backyard setting with safe housing probably will not see any ill effects from a twisted wing. This is not the case however when talking about wild ducks, or large populations of free ranging ducks raised on a farm. In the case of wing deformities, the duck will not be able to fly away from a predator. With wild ducks and waterfowl, the affected bird would not be able to fly away from winter weather conditions and would be left to survive in extreme conditions, instead of flying south for the winter. One Green Planet.org wrote that Feeding white bread to wild birds is killing them. This might be a bit of a dramatic statement, but in essence it is true. Feeding high protein and high carbohydrate/sugar foods such as white bread and crackers can lead to wing deformity. This can then leave the bird as sitting prey for a predator or automobile to injure of kill.

12 What to Feed Waterfowl for Treats When permissible, stick to the following items when taking treats to ducks and geese. chopped kale bite size pieces of romaine lettuce or swiss chard whole grains watermelon small amount of cooked pumpkin (meal worms are still an acceptable treat) added in case my ducks think I am leaving out their favorite snack Just keep in mind that these are treats and should only be a small part of the duck s diet. (no matter what the ducks tell you) Interested in more information on ducks? Please check out the following links Fresh Eggs Daily Metzer Farms MomPrepares Are Ducks the Right Choice for Your Backyard?

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