Have you considered raising geese on your homestead? Probably not. Geese don’t get much attention and when they do get attention, it’s almost always negative. Geese are usually villainized because of a bad experience with their foul tempered Canada cousin. However, don’t write off domestic geese because they might be some of the most useful, lowest maintenance, and least expensive to feed animals on your farm.
Did you know that prior to World War II, and the advent of total mixed rations, eating chicken was a delicacy reserved for special occasions? Before we had our modern-day hybrid broilers, and factory farms to grow them, chicken was a very expensive meat to grow. This is because chickens require large quantities of grains and protein to lay eggs or grow well. Grain is a high input commodity that requires a lot of land to grow and is not easy for small farms to produce in the quantities needed to support a large flock of chickens.
Almost every person who gets into homesteading gets chickens. They are usually the first animal added and we assume they are the best, most efficient bird to raise. We base this assumption on them being raised commercially. Then we come to realize we cannot come close to producing meat or eggs for the low price found at the grocery store. No matter how you try to do it. Without access to the economies of scale of a commercial production systems chickens cannot be raised inexpensively.
Historical homesteading provides some insight
The self-sufficient small farms of yesteryear are much more closely aligned with most homesteads than modern agriculture. For this reason homesteaders should look at what animals were economical on self-sufficient farms in the past.
Historically, animals that thrived on a forage based diet were the most common animals on self-sufficient homesteads. These animals were less expensive to grow than chickens. Chickens were kept for eggs, and their meat was a delicacy. This also holds true for most self sufficient homesteads today. A homestead faces the same difficulties producing and harvesting grains practically as the farms did historically. The reality is that for most self-sufficient small farms, chickens are about the most expensive meat source you can grow.
Many of the small farms that America was built on used to have a flock of geese. The geese were a valuable asset to the farms. They were used as guard animals, to weed crops, they were also used as a source of meat, eggs, and down for clothing and pillows. Unlike grain hungry chickens, if you have ample pasture, geese can be raised very inexpensively.
Geese are herbivores like cows or sheep.
Geese are unique among domestic poultry in that they are grazing herbivores whose diet mainly consists of grass. In fact, they would prefer it to most any other food. This is why geese love golf courses and parks. They are there to eat the tender new shoots of grass. Given the opportunity, goslings will be grazing within days of hatching. On good quality pasture, geese can live and grow with no or very little grain. So, despite their large size, they are remarkably economical to grow and keep.
Minimal care and housing–a huge plus!
Geese have very minimal housing requirements. Being waterfowl, they are almost completely impervious to cold and wet conditions. We find that our geese are perfectly happy to be out day and night regardless of the weather. They are unbothered by wind, torrential rain or snow. They do not require a coop or any kind of elaborate shelter. A simple wind break is likely sufficient in all but the coldest parts of the country.
Geese are also not as vulnerable to predators as smaller poultry. While predators like foxes or raccoons can and will eat a goose, they are not preferred. Because geese are so large, alert, highly flock oriented and can be aggressive, unless predators are desperate, they will prey on easier targets. Our geese live inside an electric fence with our sheep. They graze the same pastures and share the same 3 sided shelters. Thus far, this has proven sufficient predator protection for our geese.
We chose Embden geese for their production abilities
While there are a variety of heritage breeds, and even some auto-sexing breeds of geese out there, on our farm, we have chosen to raise Embden geese. We decided that if we were going to be raising an animal mainly for meat it would make sense to raise production birds. Embden geese were bred for production. Equally importantly, they are also one of the less expensive breeds to acquire.
Embdens were mainly bred for meat production. They grow rapidly and have a nice carcass. The second reason we chose Embden geese was for their egg production. Most geese are not great egg layers. However, the Embdens have decent egg production and much better fertility than other breeds. After all, these are both important traits for good meat production. We have found that our geese will lay an egg every other day throughout the spring months giving us more than enough to eat and hatch.
Well-fed Embden geese will weigh 15-16 lbs at 16 weeks, which is the standard processing age. They have a feed conversion efficiency of 5. While this is significantly worse than Cornish cross chickens (1.8), it is much better than most heritage breed chickens (7-10). Plus, you have to remember that much of the feed the goose is consuming is free grass. Geese are extremely hardy and self sufficient, so they do not require nearly as much housing, heat, and care as chicks.
No, you don’t need a pond
A misconception many people have about keeping waterfowl such as ducks and geese is that they require a pond. Geese would of course like a pond, but they do not require one to stay healthy. They are also less obsessed with water than ducks. At minimum, they will need a water source that will allow them to be able to dip their heads and eyes under water. We provide our geese with 15 gal rubber tubs that we fill half way and dump out daily. Their swimming water can be something as simple as that.
That being said, if you can provide them a swimming pool (like a 300 gal stock tank) that they can bathe in, they would be thrilled. Giving them access to an area of water a couple feet deep will likely help with fertility as well. Geese naturally mate in water, and some large geese have difficulty doing so on land.
What does goose taste like?
This is a very valid question. Most people haven’t tasted geese and have no idea what it is like. For those of you who have never tasted goose, it tastes like the very flavorful dark meat of chicken. It has a very mild, pleasant flavor. If you have eaten duck, it is not nearly as strongly flavored as duck. We have found that goose makes a good substitute for chicken in most dishes, and pairs well with chicken seasonings. It will not be difficult to adapt your menu to using home grown goose rather than chicken.
And we of course should address the issue of geese being aggressive and terrifying to have around.
In our opinion, geese get more of a bad rap than they deserve. Anyone who has kept roosters knows that they can also be quite aggressive and prone to attacking humans. Yet we do not warn people away from keeping chickens because of rooster aggression. The same holds true for geese. In fact, I am less worried about being harmed by one of my geese than any of the roosters that have lived here.
Yes, geese are big, and they can be intimidating. And of course they can be aggressive. Canada geese are a perfect example of this and may be a large part of the reason people are so biased against keeping geese.
Fortunately, most domestic geese are not as foul tempered as Canada geese.
Raised and managed properly, geese can be a peaceful part of your farm. Raise your goslings with other goslings, so that they know they are geese, and do not handle them more than necessary. That way they will recognize you as their human because you come to feed them and move them to new pasture. However, they will not be overly friendly and will still retain their natural fear of humans, which will help to keep the adult geese respectful.
Most geese are bullies that are all bluff. They do not actually want to fight you. This means that if you can show your dominance to them when they challenge you, the majority of the time they will back down. Typically asserting dominance is as simple as spreading your arms and walking purposefully towards them when they challenge you. This action ought to force them to move away from you. If you do have a gander that does not back down, the simple solution is to cull him. There are plenty of domestic geese out there that are not overly aggressive. As with any animals on your farm, you should select for the traits you desire in your flock.
While we have found our geese to be peaceful for the majority of the year, domestic geese tend to be highly protective of their young, particularly during the spring breeding season. This is a good thing in the sense that you want them to protect their vulnerable goslings if you allow them to hatch their own eggs. We find our ganders start to get protective sometime in January. Once they are done nesting the switch flips, and they go back to their normal old laid-back selves.
Create nesting areas in quiet places away from high traffic areas
This is the best way to deal with these breeding season hormones. Section off a peaceful area for them where they can be undisturbed. That way they do not feel the need to be protective of a high traffic area. It will result in lower stress for both them and you.
We hope that this encourages you to think outside of the narrow range of foods that factory farming provides. Geese can be a wonderful addition to a homestead. Despite our initial hesitation (because of the bad rap geese get), we have found geese and particularly goslings to be one of the most enjoyable animals to keep. Having an adorable group of goslings following you around or chattering to you (their surrogate mother) about their day’s adventures never gets old.
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