From Goose To Gander: Your Guide To Raising Geese

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Hi, I’m Ryan

I’ve raised many different animals over the years, but my experiences with geese have always stood out as overwhelmingly positive. Geese are powerhouses that, in addition to providing eggs and meat, significantly lighten my workload.

Raising Geese On The Homestead

The first step to raising geese for beginners is to decide if it’s really something you want to do. The truth is adding any animal to your homestead will require an initial investment of time, energy, and money, in addition to being a pretty long-term commitment. And while geese are generally much easier to raise than, say, ducks or chickens, they come with a unique set of considerations.

What Are The Benefits Of Raising Geese?

From what I’ve seen, most people decide to start raising geese for meat and eggs. Geese are a solid choice for both, as many breeds are prolific layers. Depending on the breed and age, you can expect each goose to lay between 20 to 70 eggs annually or one to two a week. At nearly three times the size of chicken eggs, a few goose eggs go a long way at your table. Plus, if you’re exploring selling or trading goose eggs, then they tend to have a higher value than chicken eggs.

Keeping geese for meat can be equally rewarding, as each fully grown goose yields an average of 10 to 15 pounds of high-quality meat. However, there are far more benefits than just meat and eggs. One of the first things I noticed after getting into goose farming is that these birds make a serious dent in both the weed and pest populations on my homestead. They spend most of their days foraging and eat weeds almost as quickly as they pop up.

Their foraging tendencies have reduced the need for yard maintenance and herbicides on my homestead while helping to ensure that my crops aren’t competing with weeds for space and nutrients. Additionally, their droppings act like a natural fertilizer. And, since most of their diet comes from foraging, geese are a cost-effective alternative to more feed-dependent poultry like chickens and quail.

Another lesser-known benefit of keeping geese is that they make excellent guard animals. It’s true! They can’t exactly hold their own against predators, but they make so much noise that it’ll either scare the animal away or alert you to potential threats.

Things You Need To Know Before You Start Raising Geese

While keeping geese has been an incredibly rewarding experience for me, it hasn’t been without its challenges. Some of the things you’ll want to consider include:

What To Know Before You Start Raising Geese

How To Raise Geese On The Homestead Step-By-Step

Getting started with a new goose-raising venture is easier than you might think. The key is to start small, consider your goals, and take it one step at a time. I’ll guide you through the best steps to get started.

Step One: Getting Started Keeping Geese

The first thing you should do is narrow down which breeds you’re after. Picking the right breed will go a long way toward preventing headaches and ensuring you’re getting exactly what you want for your unique goals.

Choosing The Best Goose Breed For Your Needs

Sourcing them should be pretty easy once you decide which breed or breeds you want. You can find goslings at hatcheries, local farms, agricultural fairs, and poultry shows. All of these are good options, but you should always make sure that the goslings look healthy and well cared for. Spring is usually the best time to purchase goslings, but there is room for flexibility. You’ll want to stick with times of the year when the weather conditions are mild, and the goslings are protected from extreme heat or cold.

Step Two: Create The Right Environment For Goose Farming

Geese spend most of their day out in the fields grazing, but they’ll need somewhere to raise their young and sleep at night. Fortunately, goose housing requirements are minimal. Unlike other fowl, they don’t require a sophisticated roost or coop. Instead, they just need a well-ventilated shelter that’s protected from the elements and potential predators.

I’ve found that most garden sheds work just fine, with one major addition. After clearing out your shed, install a layer of hardwire mesh over any windows and gaps.

Then, cover the floor with the same mesh to deter burrowing predators like foxes and coyotes. After that, just add a thick layer of wood shavings or straw for warm, easy-to-clean flooring.

The final step to preparing your homestead for geese is to address their water needs. My geese don’t spend a ton of time swimming, but they’re still waterfowl.

Access to clean, fresh water is an absolute must — for drinking, keeping clean, and socializing. Make sure you provide at least one sizeable trough or wading pool for every 10 to 15 geese.

Step Three: Feeding And Nutrition

Of all the birds I’ve raised, geese are by far the easiest to feed. That’s because they do most of the work themselves through their foraging and grazing behaviors. So really, a good chunk of my feeding routine is simply giving my geese access to land. Then, once they’re out in the field, they seek out various weeds, grasses, leafy greens, and the occasional insect or snail.

To ensure they’re getting all of the required vitamins and minerals, augment their diet with fresh fruit, oats, corn, grains, and/or commercial waterfowl feed. If they’re unable to forage — this might happen in winter or during bouts of bad weather — I provide 1/3 to ½ pound of mixed feed per goose. When they’re able to forage regularly, that drops to about ¼ pound daily.

There is one extra step that you’ll have to consider when feeding geese. Geese need access to grit — or crushed up rocks and sand — to properly digest their food. They’ll get this by foraging if you live in an area with naturally sandy soil. But otherwise, you’ll want to supplement their diet with grit. There are a few different ways to go about it. You can either keep the grit in a separate trough near their feeding area, mix it directly into their feed, or scatter grit on the ground where your geese forage.

Step Four: Establish Your Goose-Raising Routine

Now that your goslings have their housing and food needs addressed, it’s time to establish their routine. Geese don’t usually go in at night without a little encouragement, so as dusk approaches, you’ll want to gently guide them into their shelter. Try using the same call or sound each time, and keep the timing consistent so it becomes second nature.

You can also train your geese on which plants to eat — which is crucial if you plan on keeping geese near your crops. All you have to do is hand-pull the specific weeds you want them to eat and offer them to the geese at feeding time. Then, when they’re out in the fields foraging on their own, they’ll naturally gravitate towards these familiar plants.

The rest of your goose-raising routine will be fairly straightforward, so just try to maintain a set feeding time and keep the water clean. Clear out soiled flooring as needed and regularly inspect their shelter for damage or potential security issues. Geese are fast learners, so as long as you’re consistent, you’ll have a well-managed flock in no time.

How Many Geese Should You Get?

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to the question of how many geese you should get. Geese are social animals, so you’ll need to make sure you start with two at the very least.

Aside from that, the main thing to take into consideration is the amount of space you have. I recommend starting with a manageable flock of five to 10 geese for small-scale homesteads. There’s no real upper limit for larger operations to how many geese you can raise. As long as you have the space for it, you can have as many as a few hundred geese running around your property. But as a general rule, I’d stick to a flock of 20 to 40 geese per acre.

Regardless of how many geese you get, it’s important to keep the sex ratio productive. For breeding or egg production, try to maintain a ratio of one gander (male goose) per every three to five female geese. For all other purposes, you can employ a more evenly distributed ratio of one gander for every two to three geese.

Raising Geese FAQ

Goose farming can be an incredibly rewarding venture, resulting in companionship and various practical benefits for your homestead. But there are a few questions that often come up when I’m speaking to beginners. I’ll address them below.

Can You Keep Geese With Chickens?

When it comes to raising domestic fowl, I know a lot of people are conflicted about which birds to pick. Fortunately, with geese, you don’t have to choose. Geese are extremely social animals, and they get along well with other livestock. However, you will have to keep an eye on your ganders during mating season and make sure that there’s no interspecies mounting or fighting going on. Their larger stature can occasionally lead to bullying and injuries of the smaller fowl, but for the most part, geese get along well with chickens, ducks, quails, and even turkeys.

Do Backyard Geese Need A Pond?

There’s a common misconception out there that having a pond is a necessity for raising geese or ducks. But in my experience, domestic goose breeds don’t spend nearly as much time in water as wild ones. They don’t really swim outside of mating season, and they mostly just use the water for drinking, playing, and the occasional bath.

Don’t get me wrong, your geese will appreciate having access to a pond or large swimming pool. But a cheap kiddie pool is more than sufficient for a flock of 10 to 15 geese. You can add more pools for larger flocks rather than installing a full pond.

Do Geese Mate For Life?

I’m often asked “do geese mate for life,” and the answer is yes, mostly. As a species, geese are typically monogamous. They form strong pair bonds with a particular mate and return to them each year throughout multiple breeding seasons. However, this rule isn’t exactly set in stone. Unsuccessful breeding attempts, the death of a partner, and periods of high stress can all prompt a goose to find a new partner. Additionally, some ganders may have a primary mate while keeping a few other geese on the side.

How Long Do Geese’s Eggs Take To Hatch?

The incubation period for goose eggs is usually somewhere between 28 to 35 days, depending on the breed. While this is standard for fowl, it takes an unusually long time for goose eggs to hatch. The process of the chick breaking through its shell, known as pipping, typically takes most birds just a few hours. But with geese, this may take as many as three days.

So, now you know a little more about the ins and outs of farming geese. Compared to other livestock, geese are refreshingly straightforward and low-maintenance. They’re hardy birds that are capable of thriving in and bringing value to a variety of environments. And while they’re not for everyone, geese have a lot to offer to anyone willing to welcome them on their homestead.

Your Turn!

• What made you decide to start raising geese?
• Do you have a favorite goose breed? If so, which one?