Back when we had geese we put all of our lawn mower clippings into black garbage bags (open of course) and left them in the sun so they were dry very very quickly. then we simply gave that to the geese along with there normal pelets and grains and hay.

In winter they need higher energy feed to generate more warmth--wheat and corn. I usually feed a mix of wheat, oats, barley, corn and a bit of flax plus a protein source like meat or soybean meal. Of course they still need their greens. I add in alfalfa meal but dry grass clippings are tastier to the geese (they don't seem to like alfalfa). I've also used hay (timothy grass) when available. Make sure the grass is mold-free though.

Our geese reject the ducks' organic layer feed in the winter in favor of whole grains (mostly cracked corn). We also give them hay. They love carrots and apples, if you have access to ones that are not cosmetically perfect.

Katey

Thanks, eveyone, for the input. I'm glad I asked now... Looks like I better get the rake out -- grass clippings are one thing we are not short of. Do I just leave them to dry in the sun and then gather them up?

Another question... do any of you free-range your geese and do they wander far?

We let our geese wander in our 1/4th acre back yard with 3 laying hens, they wandered into the neighbors yard once a week, over a 3 foot fence,grass is greener you know. The only time they ever went a wandering is in the fall, when she desided it was time to lay, the pair of them went all over looking for a nest, left our ard durring the day when we were all out and came back before we came home, the neighbors told us all about it though, they even crossed a busy street and looked in the green belt behind us, but they had established our yard as territory with lots of food and clean water so they came back.

Geese do not need the high energy of corn and wheat. Oats is plenty good enough. Dried grass/hay is not so good either. Try to get some winter oats, wheat or, probably best, Grazing Rye (sometimes called Hungarian Forage Rye) growing before the winter hits. Brussels sprouts and kale will stand extreme cold to give them some greens too. O:T: I have not forgotten you,but life has been hectic - will explain soon. Old McDonald.

I'm new to geese but have been doing a lot of reading about them and whole oats is definitely the recommended geese feed.
A little corn is okay during the winter months for extra energy but I think a lot of people over do the corn thing as a means to stretch their feed bill dollar.
Translation: its cheaper.
You might also want to feed gamebird or duck pellets.

Winter on the prairies is brutal all right. I am not looking at conditions that are quite so extreme, but -20 C. is not uncommon. Motherduck, do you feed only grain to the geese in winter? Could you give me a bit more detail?

These goslings are getting huge! I can't believe they grow so fast!

Motherduck, Yes I agree that your temperatures are somewhat extreme, and I can only guess at how cold -40 is. I would prefer not to find out. Porridge in the mornings might not combat that low a temp. even laced with a dram of Dalmore or Glenmorangie!! Maggie's -20 is in line with my experiences, and Hungarian Rye, Oats, Brussels Sprouts and Kale, as well as a few other things, will survive at -20, consequently my post suggested those crops as possibilities. I found even -20 unnecessary to live with, so moved to Portugal where -6 last winter was the coldest most places had ever recorded. Old McDonald,

Hi Old McDonald! Minus twenty is not the lowest we get, of course, but anything lower is extreme for us. I can take the cold better than this heat... pant, pant. I am sure I would DIE in the Portuguese heat... even when my sister lived in France and I would visit her, I tried to make it either early spring or late fall.

I am looking into your suggestions. They sound as though they may well provide the answers. Once I have had a chance to do that, I will likely have a few more questions for you.

So little information is available about geese as they are usually treated as an afterthought to ducks... I intend to buy a book solely about raising and breeding geese, but it is no substitute for the information given by someone who really knows from ecperience. I have to say that SO FAR, both Brian and I really, really like the geese... and may want to breed them in some quantity if I can find the breeding stock I want.

My first choice is Pilgrims, but I am also looking at Pomeranians - maybe saddlebacks - and also the tufted Romans. I want a good-natured goose that I can free range as we have several acres of turf here... with numerous mature shade trees. Add a pond, and I think you have goose paradise!

Need some help, I'm raising some toulouse geese for first time in NY, had some in florida but as you know the climate is different. What should I feed them in he winter and how should I house them?

Howdy
I live in upstate NY -20 is common here in the winter especially in January and February. I feed my geese game bird pellets and cracked corn. Lettuce does not have enough nutrients in it so don't bother with that. I save bread crusts and cucumber peelings for snacks for the geese. They also pick at the goats hay as do my chickens. I have been known to shovel the snow off sections of grass for my geese to graze in the winter. I also give them free access to the barn on really bad days.Right now I have planted my geese their own cucumber bed. They just love cucumbers.

I have a mixed flock with geese, ducks, guinea fowl and chicken so they all get vegetarian laying pellets. They free range in about 1/4 to 1/2 acre which is fenced. In winter I usually give them some cracked corn late afternoon to give them all a little extra energy when it is cold, snowy and windy. Attached to one of the coops is a fenced area with a fenced top. That coop's occupants sometimes stay in that totally fenced area all night, preferring that to the coop. All the birds except the chickens like to stay out in the air most nights, but since it has a fenced top, predators can't get in. I may occasionally give them greens in winter, but don't make any special effort to do so.
I have a Pilgrim pair and an African Brown pair. Although the African Browns are noisy, neither breed is aggressive, and the Pilgrim are almost timid. Very nice geese. Ann

Thanks for the info. I have a custom built 12x16 shed coming,it has windows all the way around, so there will be as much light as possible and a goose door with ramp for winter so I don't have to open double doors. I plan on having heat lamps or heat for really cold days.I like the idea of the fenced in yard with roof, I may attach this to the shed. The shoveling of snow to expose grass is another thing I'm going to do. I plan on trying the cucumber on my geese. I have a brook in my barnyard and my shed is going to be placed within a stones throw of the brook but I will still have water in the shed. I feed them cracked corn, goose pellets and they graze the barnyard plus they nibble up whatever is in the brook including watercress. My 2 babies are just showing a hint of tail feathers, they are very tame, I'm their mom. They live in my kitchen at night and run the barnyard all day with me.I have been trying to think of names have any suggestion. thanks Mindy

Has anyone given thought to sprouting grain to provide winter greens for geese or other poultry?

I raiose swans they need corn for warmth I feed wild game and turkey maitenence.It has some corn but I also add cracked corn,and I chop lettace and throw on water that helps fill them up and get thier greens.

COULD ANYONE TELL ME WHY MY GEESE ARE EATING AN UNUSUALLY LARGE AMOUNT OF FOOD JUST LATELY,, IS THIS USUAL IN AUTUMN? ARE THEY PREPARING FOR WINTER? I FEED THEM MIXED CORN AND WHEAT LAYERS PELLETS, THEY ARE STILL GRAZING IN MY GARDEN, I HAVE A HUGE GARDEN BY THE WAY! I HAVE ALWAYS FED THEM HALF N HALF OF THE ABOVE, I HAVE HAD MY GEESE SINCE MAY 07, FROM BABIES, I FEED IN THE MORNING AND IN THE EARLLY EVENING,, PLEASE CAN YOU ANSWER MY QUESTIONS,, MANY THANKS SWEETIE67

We have two Roman Tufted. They do grow really fast. Feed them a mixture or grain and cracked corn (the cracked corn I will increase slightly for winter). I have a nesting corner in their barn with shavings and loose hay (they love leafy hay) they love to graze on it. I keep two bales of hay in their barn also. We named them first Heckle and Jeckle because we didn't know if they were male or female and this seemed to cover either. Then they didn't seem like Heckles or Jeckles so changed it to Bennie and June, the problem is not sure who Bennie is and who June is. Does it really matter. It isn't what you say its how you say it to them. The sound of the voice. So it's Benny and June or June and Benny. Pilgrims are next.

MY GEESES APPETITES SEEM TO HAVE SETTLED DOWN NOW, MUST BE A WINTER THING, BUT I HAVE A NEW PROBLEM, MY FEMALE GOOSE IS NOT SITTING ON HER EGGS, SHE STARTED LAYING ABOUT ONE MONTH AGO, AND SINCE THEN SHE HAS LAID AN EGG ROUGHLY EVERY TWO DAYS, THIS IS HER FIRST TIME LAYING AS SHE IS ONLY A YOUNG GOOSE, I HAVE BEEN LEAVING THE EGGS UNTIL THERE IS ABOUT THREE OR FOUR THERE BUT SHE JUST ISNT BOTHERING TO SIT, ONLY WHEN LAYING... IF THE EGGS GO COLD WILL THEY STILL BE OKAY FOR HER TO SIT ON? OR DOES SHE NEED TO SIT CONTINUALLY? DOES SHE NEED TO BE KEPT ON HER OWN? MY FIRST TIME ALSO AH AH.... SHE IS MATING WITH THE OTHER GEESE,,,I AM HOPING TO HAVE BABY GEESE..ANY INFO WILL BE APPRECIATED.. MANY THANKS SWEETIE.

Sweetie, your goose will not sit on her eggs until she feels ready. Neither will chickens. (This is called going broody.) It is really too early in the season for sitting on the eggs, even in the relatively mild climate (compared to here) of the United Kingdom. The eggs are dormant until she starts setting and will still be able to develop into goslings for 10 - 14 days after being laid. After that they are not viable.

The best thing to do is to take the eggs and store them in a cool place for her in case she goes broody suddenly. When you have a nice clutch ready for her, continue to add the new eggs but start using the older ones. They will still be good to eat, although goose eggs are very rich. Continue to use the oldest ones as you add new ones... That way you always have eggs ready for her when she is ready. When she has stayed on the nest for at least a full day and night, give her the eggs you have saved and she will try to hatch them for you.

Eggs laid later in the season will be more likely to develop into goslings than early eggs, especially if this is your geese's first season. Geese mature more slowly than chickens.

Please get a good book about geese and learn... and reading all you can find in this forum and other Internet sources is a good idea too. Geese are wonderful, but you will enjoy them more if you understand them. (And please, when you post on a forum, don't use all upper case letters. Capital letters are very hard to read and many people will not even bother.)

I have (3) 5-month old Emden geese and the cold winter here in southern Oregon will begin soon. I think I have their shelter figured out, I have hens also with their coop all ready. Will probably attach an insulated lean to against the coop with three sides protected. Will lay straw on pallets for the floor and use heat lights, same as inside the coop. but I have questions about feeding them when grass is not available. Hear a lot about grains but what type and are they fed raw or cooked. Same with apples, carrots, other veggies. One last thing, I think. Where would I be able to buy bales or bundled of Timothy hay, clover, bluegrass, orchard grass or brome grass? Any help will be appreciated.

Feed them unmediated chicken pellets or cracked corn. Make sure they have access to grit.

we are looking for advice for how to keep our outdoor (they have a lovely goose condo too) geese in winter. my husband heard they will sit down and freeze to death in the snow. I think God made them smart enough to go into the house. he is threatening to lock them in the goose house all winter long. can they be allowed to hang out same as summer???

According to what do geese eat, the best choice would be a wheat, corn or the oats. You can also buy a lettuce or a cabbage in a local store and feed your geese with it. Sometimes they can eat cooked potatoes (ex. left from a dinner) or carrots.

My geese are out grazing during the seasons that support it, but I also give them a bit of scratch, consisting of whole corn, wheat, and oats, before they are put away in the evening all year round, placed in a large rubber bowl. Over the years, I have noticed that their preference as to which of the grains in the scratch they eat changes according to the season. For example, during the warmer/hot months, they pick through it and eat all the wheat and oats. As fall approaches, they go more for the corn, eventually eating nothing but the corn over the winter, leaving the wheat and oats, starting the whole thing over again in the spring, gradually leaving more corn behind, eating more wheat and oats. To try to reduce waste, I gave what they left behind to the chickens, but they are on a similar schedule. But, since when I give this "refuse" to the chickens, it's just tossed either on the coop floor or on the ground in their pen, depending on the season, and if it doesn't compost/rot, it sprouts and they are happy to eat any sprouts year round. A lot does get wasted, though. So, in observing this, adjusting the wheat/corn/oat ratio in the scratch accordingly in step with the seasons seems to be a solution. The chickens DO get organic layer year round, and the geese get hay through the winter, but I get straw for bedding and nesting, this past year it was difficult to find plain straw, so I had to get "wheat straw" for bedding, and there was a substantial amount of grasses, etc., in it that they were more than happy to eat. I think the economy is affecting how/what farmers are bailing up for winter forage/bedding?

I have a kiddie pool & perpetual water bowl hooked up to the hose for my geese to swim & clear their nostrils; how do I provide this during the winter months when it is below freezing temps? Tank heaters?

We are in Winnipeg so the temp goes down to minus 30 Celcius frequently from December to March with a lot of snow.

We are new to geese and chickens - this is our first year and we are wondering what to do. We have three white geese and 10 hens and one cocky roaster. we ha e a small building it's only 6' x 8' for the winter - can we house them together? do we need lights for them to lay.

Do the geese need a swimming facility all year long?

Motherduck - I would love to connect. we are in MB. Just north of Winnipeg. you could connect with me if possible at reflexlady66@gmail.com

There’s to much snow here for the geese that just flew in for the summer there is a fence separating the land they are on .so if. Put feed on n my side of fence will they find it?

I live in Mundelein, IL. Twice the police have come to my door because someone complained I was feeding the geese. I was giving them bird seed. They honk mostly just before take off.. I sweep up the poop and power wash the circle in warm weather. Even though I had to stop feeding them, they still come. It breaks my heart because I know they are hungry. All the grass and vegetation is covered with snow and ice. The ponds are frozen over. I use to take they warm water. What can I do for the geese without getting fined or arrested? Sue Myers, smyers5100@aol.com

Wild geese have been finding their own way for millennia. While they are flying high, they will find what they need. You only made it convenient for them, that's why they come squawking. Don't worry, they will be fine. My original post was about domestic geese.