Keeping Geese
Keeping and looking after domestic geese: Information written from
over 30 years experience in breeding exhibition pure breeds -
essential facts if you have not kept a goose before. These points
are the result of the most frequently asked questions about
management as pets and in the garden.
What do I need to transport geese?
How often should I treat geese for worms?
What do geese eat?
Why do they need grit?
What do I do if they become ill?
How long will they live?
Should I let the goose sit?
Goose facts and photos of the breeds
Transporting Geese
Birds overheat very rapidly in cardboard boxes in cars in summer
heat. They will die even more rapidly than dogs left in stationary
cars. This is because of their feathers and the additional
insulation of the box. Wire (weldmesh) containers or purpose-made
poultry or pet-carriers are best. If cardboard boxes must be used,
always cut plenty of air holes, or tie on a wire top to allow free
passage of air. Store boxes in the shade, park the car in the shade,
and load boxes only when ready to travel. Place the boxes on the
shaded side of the car; do not put them in a sealed boot. Ventilate
the car well, or use air-conditioning while travelling. Listen to
the weather forecast before picking up birds in the summer months
and avoid heat-wave conditions for travelling.
It is illegal to bind a bird's legs or wings, or to carry it in a
sack. The bird should not be loose in the vehicle.
A bird distressed by heat should be put on water immediately on
release.
Worming geese
Geese are relatively easy to keep except for one problem, which can
be avoided quite easily. Both ducks and geese can get gizzard worm
but geese are far more likely to suffer from its effects and die. So
always worm geese when buying or selling them. Do make sure that
this is not done twice. Gizzard worm is a common parasite and its
incidence would be considerably reduced if more people took this
precaution. Wormers include the following products.
Levamisole 7.5% strength. This is available from a
vet, using figures from veterinary handbooks. The dosages quoted are
usually for cage birds. Scaling these cage bird figures up directly,
for the larger geese, results in an over-dose. Average size domestic
geese should not be given more the 1.0 ml. Never exceed 1.6 ml for
even the largest geese. In the case of geese, the levamisole can be
given as a drench i.e. a liquid dose down the throat. DO NOT EXCEED
THE DOSE AND ALWAYS DILUTE THE PRODUCT WITH AT LEAST AN EQUAL AMOUNT
OF WATER. The liquid is administered by a syringe (no needle) down
the throat of the bird. Take care that the bird swallows, and do not
introduce liquid into the lungs of the bird. The advantages of using
a single dose like this are the following:
- The dosage is measured and known;
- It is useful to give a single, immediate-effect dose if a bird is
ill. - - So it is useful for an emergency.
-
The dosage can also be given diluted in a much larger volume of
drinking water over 2-8 hours. However, spillage must be accounted
for.
- It can also be put in the food if the amount consumed can be
monitored.
Note that this wormer is unsuitable as a single drench for goslings
under 10 weeks old.
Side-effects are birds throwing their head and neck about.
Over-doses can kill.
Remember to read the information about withdrawal times on the
product.
Flubenvet is a multi-purpose wormer for waterfowl and poultry. It
kills gizzard and gape worm, round worm, caecal worm and tape worm.
The wormer is a white powder which adheres well to poultry pellets.
The correct dose (given on the packaging for geese) must be fed for
7 consecutive days.
The advantage of using flubendozole, found in Flubenvet, is that it
is easy to administer.
It can be used with goslings.
The disadvantage is that, with geese in particular, you do not know
how much wormer they have consumed if they also graze.
It does not give an immediate result if they are ill.
Remember to read the information about withdrawal times on the
product.
Flubenvet can be obtained from the vet, and from suppliers of
poultry and game products.
Panacur is not licensed as a poultry wormer but it is obtainable
through your vet. It contains fenbendazole which kills the gizzard
worm, but not its eggs. Two doses, spaced at 2 -3 weeks are therefore
needed to eradicate the pest. It is also less effective than the
above two wormers at killing worms in the windpipe (gapes).
However:-
It is very useful for treating goslings at any age with a single
dose, if they become ill with gizzard worm and are not eating.
Flubenvet is of no use in this situation.
Panacur does not give the side-effects of levamisole.
Note that the 10% solution for cattle or cat&dog should be used.
[The 2.5% solution for sheep results in a four-fold dose being
required and other ingredients may be added.] It can be given as a
drench (see above) or put on food if you watch that the food is
consumed.
Remember to read the information about withdrawal times on the
product.
Birds are unlikely to suffer from gizzard worm if treated when new
to the premises and then fed well, or grazed at a low stocking
density. However, it is always a good idea to worm a goose just
after she has commenced to sit (and the gander) so that if she
becomes ill, you then know that it is not worms which are causing
the problem. Aim to worm the birds twice a year in total, and
observe appropriate withdrawal times if affected products (eggs or
meat) were intended for consumption.
Further info on worms in waterfowl and poultry in articles on the
Smallholder website and at
www.thepoultrysite.com/diseaseinfo/67/gizzard-worms-geese
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NOTES AND QUERIES
Message date : Feb 29 2004, 07:06 AM
From : "greenfield"
Subject : help for day-old goslings
PLEASE HELP!. I have a pair of day-old goslings. Their mother is
still brooding and refuses to help. Could you let me know how I can
feed them and what I live in south India where geese are not quite
so common. Can I give them broken rice/wheat and do they need a dry
or wet feed? The mother still has 4 eggs to hatch; We lost 4
goslings earlier as we left them with the mother; These 2 were
hatched yesterday and seem to be doing fine but they need to eat;
Would appreciate a quick reply; I got your it from the net -
Mallika;
When the goslings are to be with the mother, will they go out and
eat grass? I think this may be the dry season and there is not a lot
of green food?
Finely broken wheat will be better than rice - especially if the
rice is polished rice. Use whole wheat. It does not matter if it is
wet or dry, as long as the goslings have water to get to. Just see
which way works best. The food keeps in better condition if dry. Do
not allow moulds to develop in damp food, especially in the warmer
temperatures where you are. Make sure that the goslings have access
to grit for the gizzard, to break down the cereal and greens. Coarse
sand is useful for this purpose.
Also make sure that the goslings cannot fall into the water
container and drown. In the UK we feed greens like dandelion leaves,
chopped grass, chopped tender cauliflower leaves, but not a lot of
lettuce and cabbage. I would not use spinach The easy way here in
the UK is to buy manufactured 'baby duck 'crumbs or goose starter
crumbs. If the diet is restricted to dry cereals, add supplements
like brewers yeast ( not bread yeast) for extra vitamins. It sounds
as if the eggs may have been incubated by the goose at different
times? It's best to get them all sat on as the same time so that
they synchronise their hatching. Geese are sometimes poor mothers,
and squash the goslings. You could try using a hen as a broody and
foster mother, but hens do carry more external parasites (mites)
than geese; so you would have to look after the hen carefully, with
respect to parasite control (because these parasites will get on
the goslings too)
========================================
Message date : Mar 04 2004, 05:28 AM
Re: help for day old goslings
Dear Christine,
Thanks ever so much for your advice. The goslings are doing fine.
They are now 5 days old and very active. Will take you advice and
switch to broken wheat. They have attached themselves to me as their
surrogate mother and follow me around when we let them out on the
lawn. We have just today made them a temporary run so that they can
have a bit more exercise without the hawks and the crows going for
them. I had put out a basin of water thinking they might just learn
to swim but rushed out and removed it after reading your message.
When will they take to water? Their parents are no help at all.
Their mother is sitting beside the other goose who has 5 eggs under
her and refuses to come out. We did try to introduce them to their
fathers who got rather aggressive so have kept them away. We don't
get specific duck feed in India. Tried chicken feed from a friend
but they don't seem to like it. They are happy with the broken rice,
semolina (which is made from wheat) and chopped coriander and
lettuce. I am sure when they are old enough they will find what they
can eat from the garden. But you are right we are going into the
summer and everything is drying fast.
Mallika
Thanks for your reply. Nice to hear that they are doing well. As
long as they get carbohydrate plus greens I'm sure they will be
fine. Coriander's a bit of a surprise though!
Chick food should be OK as a starter for the first 2 weeks, but they
sometimes put additives in it to combat coccidiosis. Occasionally,
people believe, this adversely affects waterfowl. However, people
reared geese centuries ago just on greens - so I don't see why it
should not be good enough now!
Get a broad-based water contained - eg a washing-up bowl - when they
are big enough to get in and out of it. If you put a brick inside
the water, it can act as a stepping stone to get out. At the moment,
when they are really small, use a heavy pot casserole - as long as
they can step out of it. It's narrow, deep containers where they can
get stuck head-down.
Ganders can be good fathers - especially if they have Chinese or
African in them, but occasionally they can be aggressive to
goslings. I would try to get the goose off the nest if she has sat
for more than 32 days. [They lose a lot of condition and it's
difficult to start them eating properly again.] This would probably
involve fencing her off in another area, with the ganders. If you
have 2 geese on the nest when the next lot of eggs hatch, they are
almost sure to squash the goslings
Note that all photographs and text on this website belong
to
Chris & Mike Ashton. They should not be reproduced
without our permission i.e. they should not be used for
advertising or commercial purposes.
Please telephone 01938 554011 for availability of books or stock
We are in the UK near Shrewsbury on the border of England
and Wales.
We breed a limited quantity of pure breeds of domestic geese and
Indian Runners, Abacot Rangers and Call ducks each year. We do not
sell hatching eggs.
