Abstract
Geese are not difficult to keep and raise when you start with young birds. Some species nest readily while others do not, so the main trick is getting the birds young so you can raise them. The different Canad as, Barnacle, Snow, Blue, Egyptian, Andean, Abyssinian, Bluewinged, Swan geese, Orinoco, and Whitefronted are among those that can usually be counted on to nest.
Emperor, Redbreasted, Brant, Ross's, Nene, Bar-headed, Kelp, Magellan, Spurwing, Ashy-headed, Ruddy-headed are some species that are not as sure. Some pairs nest one year and then don't the next year, or the eggs may be fertile one year and not the next. In other words, you can't be consistently, sure of success with these geese like you usually can with the first mentioned group of species. Of course, you get pairs of the first group too that aren't good breeders just as you often find certain pairs of the second mentioned group that turn out to be very prolific.
So we are thinking in general terms in categorizing these geese. Most geese do not usually breed until they are 3 or 4 years old. Canadians have been known to breed the first year though, and many do the second. Ross's have also been known to lay as first year birds, but I don't know of anyone who ever got fertile Ross's eggs the first year. Cereopsis Geese often take several years to begin breeding, but once a pair starts, they can almost always be depended on to nest every year thereafter unless moved. I know of a pair that didn't breed until they were twelve years old, and then they raised one or two broods every year· thereafter for many years. Hand reared or captive bred stock will almost always lay, but wild caught adult birds sometimes never produce in captivity. When getting new blood out of the wild, it is best to get eggs, or at least very young birds.
If you keep several pair in a large enclosure of an acre or more, the larger the better, they will usually get along and nest satisfactorily, each pair setting up and guarding an area they want to nest in. If you find a pair belligerent, you have to remove them from the mixed collection and pen them by themselves. Species that should almost always be kept paired by themselves are the large species of Canad as, Cereopsis, Andean, Spur-wing, and Egyptian. You may find a peaceful pair among these, but they will almost always disrupt and prevent the successful nesting of other birds. Sometimes Abyssinian Blue-winged Geese will cause trouble too. So the ideal set-up for goose fanciers is to have separate pens for all your pairs. Have the dividers solid board or thickly planted so the pairs don't see each other through the fences. Or you can have a large area for a mixed collection of pairs that get along fine together and individual pens for the more aggressive pairs.
Pens should be well planted with grass, clover, dandilions, and other green vegetation they can forage on if possible. If not, you have to supply them with all the greens they want. Feed them a mixture of grains too, and by letting them partly satisfy their appetites this way, they won't graze so intensely on the natural growth in their pens and they won't be so readily depleted. If you can't keep natural growth for them, then greens must be provided, and lawn clippings are the best. The main diet of adults should be greens and grains. Corn, wheat, barley, oats are all good, and we usually use a combination of them all. A chicken laying feed can be fed breeding stock just before and during the laying season. At the Game Bi rd Center we don't usually use game bird or turkey feed for geese because they don't require high protein in their diet. We feed chicken feed because it is lower in protein.
Many species of geese don't seem to swim much and spend most of their time grazing around on land so an abundance of water is not necessary for them. However, a small pond a couple of feet deep is important for obtaining good fertility since most geese prefer to breed in water.
In a mixed collection you can have a large pond where all the pairs can get in. But then construct another pond some place else as far away as possible, otherwise you may not get good fertility from those birds that are kept away or bothered. Where you have each pair in its own pen, you should construct a small pond in each pen big enough for them to get into for breeding purposes. Something about three feet square and a couple of feet deep is adequate. Some pairs are successful breeders on dry land, but for maximum success with all your birds, provide breeding water. In Hawaii when they first tried to raise Nene Geese for their restoration program, they were having poor results. When the famous aviculturist, Wesley M. Batterson, was called over to Hawaii to help them out and find out what was wrong, he discovered the Nene breeding pens did not have sufficient water for the Nenes to get into, and after this situation was corrected, their Nene production increased.