Geese - how much space?

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Geese - how much space?

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boisdevie1

Joined: 11 Aug 2006
Posts: 3897
Location: Lancaster

Posted: Sun Dec 02, 07 11:55 am Post subject: Geese - how much space?

I'm toying the idea of getting a couple of goslings in the spring and putting them in with the hens. The hens have a run of 200m sq which is mostly bare earth at the moment. I'm planning to open up the run to include a 200m sq lawn and the 500m sq veg plot. Would this be enough grazing space for two geese and would they eat the weeds in the veg plot? I presume by Xmas they would be big enough to eat - thinking ahead, Xmas 2008 we're doing the family meal for 20 people here and we're doing the main course so I thought of goose.

Nick

Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 34535
Location: Hereford

Posted: Sun Dec 02, 07 11:56 am Post subject:
Wouldn't they just eat everything in the veg plot?

Bebo

Joined: 21 May 2007
Posts: 12590
Location: East Sussex

Posted: Sun Dec 02, 07 1:06 pm Post subject:
I doubt a couple of geese would feed 20. Maybe we are greedy in our house but I can only just get one to stretch to four people.

Blue Sky

Joined: 30 Jan 2005
Posts: 7658
Location: France

Posted: Sun Dec 02, 07 1:35 pm Post subject:
Can you run geese with hens? I dunno. I know you can't run Turkeys with hens.

mochyn

Joined: 21 Dec 2004
Posts: 24585
Location: mid-Wales

Posted: Sun Dec 02, 07 1:36 pm Post subject:

Bebo wrote:

I doubt a couple of geese would feed 20. Maybe we are greedy in our house but I can only just get one to stretch to four people.

yep: for 20 I'd be wanting a moderate sized flock of geese!

Bebo

Joined: 21 May 2007
Posts: 12590
Location: East Sussex

Posted: Sun Dec 02, 07 2:34 pm Post subject:
To be honest it generally only does for four of us because my OH doesn't like it and because I always make a generous amount of stuffing.

Vanessa

Joined: 08 May 2006
Posts: 8324

Posted: Sun Dec 02, 07 4:39 pm Post subject:
Goose is delicious, but not very meaty at all ... Mochyn is right, you'd need a small flock of geese to feed 20!

landgirl

Joined: 05 Jan 2008
Posts: 1

Posted: Sat Jan 05, 08 5:14 pm Post subject:

Hello, I know this topic is a bit old but I just thought I'd add my experience of keeping geese.
I'm down to one goose now, but used to have 3. They always ran with the chickens, in a small paddock (about a third of an acre). I'm sure the one I have now thinks she is a chicken! She lives in an old goat stable and is a great conversationalist. She must be nearly 15 years old now, and still lays around 20 eggs a year, always around Easter (how does she know the date?).
She mainly eats grass, and leaves the weeds alone, but I know she would eat any vegetables I tried to grow in her space! She especially loves lettuce and cabbage.
Geese are quite messy and tend to poo all over the place, so you have to watch where you step.
She is more of a pet than anything else, although she does keep the grass down quite well. However, I wouldn't hesitate to keep a few if I ate meat a lot.

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woodsprite

Joined: 20 Mar 2006
Posts: 2943
Location: North Herefordshire

Posted: Sat Jan 05, 08 6:07 pm Post subject:

I've always kept my geese with hens and ducks BUT they do all freerange. I would allow 5 geese to feed 20 people, it'll probably only need 4 but an extra one is always good.
If you have any access to maize you can increase the average weight of your goose without selling out on the mostly grassfed flavour.
My son currently raises around 50 geese to order for Christmas lunches and his vary in weight from 6/7lbs to 20lbs dressed. Again he free ranges in one of his pheasant pens when the poults move out in August. The pen he uses is around 5 acres I think but I can check on those details for you.

VSS

Joined: 14 Jan 2007
Posts: 2845
Location: Llyn Peninsula, North Wales

Posted: Sat Jan 05, 08 7:00 pm Post subject:
That is only four people per goose They must be small, skinny, or you lot are big carnivores - a mucovey drake feeds four. Geese have more on them than that.

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