How to… keep geese

Simple steps to keeping geese

Geese are hardy creatures and very easy to keep. All you need is space - a large garden, paddock or orchard with access to water - and commitment, as they often reach the ripe old age of 30. Producers of triple grade-A eggs and premium home-reared meat, your flock will also supply top-grade fertiliser, maintenance-free lawn mowing, and you won't need a burglar alarm. Before buying your first gaggle, check your neighbours won't mind an avian Neighbourhood Watch next door, and then scour poultry magazines or charm friends for their surplus stock. The Domestic Waterfowl Club (www.domestic-waterfowl.co.uk) has a list of breeders. Start with two females and stick to easy, smaller breeds such as Chinese, Romans or Pilgrims.

 

Where to keep your flock

An ideal home is a simple shelter safely housed within a netted pen, leading to a paddock with access to a pond. Keep them penned for a few weeks until they get to know their address, and be warned: geese are master escapologists. People say you can keep geese without a pond, but they love to preen and paddle, and some of the larger breeds like the extra buoyancy for successful mating.

 

What to feed them

Geese are herbivores and need large amounts of good grazing, supplemented with helpings of mixed corn, plus grit (which they find in garden soil) and plenty of clean water. They also enjoy soaked bread, windfall fruit, brassicas and cooked root vegetables. Your flock should be fed corn in the morning in their pen, let out to graze, preen, potter and doze until sunset and then encouraged back to quarters for a corn supper and bed. Beware: geese mess a lot, so no snacks at your back door.

 

Goose eggs

Unlike hens and some ducks, geese don't lay eggs consistently. You might get just 80 eggs a year from Chinese Browns but goose eggs are that much bigger. Their creamy flavour is excellent in quiches, flans and custards, but goose egg whites can't be whipped stiff, so no meringues or soufflés. You don't need a gander for your goose to produce eggs.

 

Goslings

Geese are xenophobic and unwelcoming to newcomers, so the easiest way to increase your flock is to hatch out your own goslings. If you want to try a new breed or don't have a gander, buy fertile eggs from a breeder. The incubation period is 30-32 days, and the goslings will stay under their mum for a few days, surviving on food from the egg. Both parents will be fiercely protective, so keep children at a safe distance.

 

Ganders

Some ganders are aggressive and full of bravado, standing protectively between you and their flock, hissing with necks outstretched. They mate for life and make great dads, but are not recommended for beginners. Excess ganders are traditionally culled at Christmas. You may find this hard to contemplate - geese can quickly become your friends - but it is a solution to the gander ratio problem and, having had a good life, the meat will be very tasty. You'll probably find that your local butcher is keen to come and buy them from you, as goose meat is luxury fare.

 

Cleaning and care

Geese are hardy, easy and great fun to keep, but remember you'll have to clean out their shelter regularly and visit them every day. Indeed, the temptation will be to spend much longer pleasurably watching their antics - geese are great time-wasters.

 

Further information

For more details on keeping and breeding geese, read 'Goose on the Green' by Francine Raymond, available from The Kitchen Garden (01359 268322; www.kitchen-garden-hens.co.uk)

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