Silly Goose! Five Great Reasons for Adding Geese to Your Flock

I'll admit it: I'm a reluctant goose fan. When I was building my flock, I wasn't thinking geese until my husband reminded me they'd make good watchdogs. When the geese came in at the feed store, I bought a couple and had no idea what amazing pets they would be. If you're like me, you probably have some scary childhood memory of a hissing and biting goose chasing you around. The good news is not all geese are like that. I'm not going to tell you that geese don't hiss or bite, but you can train them to be well-behaved birds and even have them imprint on you.

Here are some excellent reasons to own geese:

1. Better watchdogs than Fido. Roll over, Rover, you've got nothing compared to the geese. Geese are amazing when it comes to alarm sentries - they'll let you know when someone comes around and in a big way. There's no mistaking those honks when my neighbor drives by or when a varmint comes by the barn. If the geese are upset, I know to at least "take a gander" and see what's up. One word of warning: they are loud, so if you live in a suburban neighborhood, your neighbors might not be as enthusiastic as you are over the geese.

2. Weed whackers. Geese are notorious when it comes to weeds; namely, they eat them with gusto. My geese will lay bare patches of dandelions and other weeds. Some folks claim to be able to train them to eat only weeds in gardens, but mine are indiscriminant, so don't trust them to leave your garden intact.

3. Throw away the lawn mower. Geese eat grass and will keep your grass short to the point where, if you have enough geese, you can forget about mowing your lawn. Of course, the downside is the - uh, fertilizer - the geese leave behind. Just don't walk barefoot.

4. Low cost to care for. Because geese forage so well, you may find them cheaper than your hens or ducks. They're tough too, able to handle winters with just enough shelter to stay out of the wind and rain (they're covered in down, remember?). My geese don't eat as much as my ducks, turkeys or chickens, which is surprising for their size.

5. Funny critters. Geese are worth getting just for the entertainment value alone. Yes, they're pushy and even obnoxious at times, but they do some very silly things that would make you laugh. My own act bold and brave, but are the biggest weenies ever. They'll honk and hiss, and then run and squeal when I come to pick them up. They greet me with loud honks when I'm outside or when they think I'm coming to the barn. And when they run, they'll slip and tumble in the most ungraceful ways, pick themselves off, and then screech at me for laughing at them.

Geese lay eggs, of course, and they're just as good as chicken eggs, only bigger. They're excellent for meat too. One negative side to geese is that they can be bullies to other birds. So, if you're considering adding geese to your flock, have a separate pen or free range them so that the other birds can escape their antics. Still, they make a fun and colorful addition to your home flock.

References

Raising Geese: The Basics

Geese Grow On Grass