Geese are very happy to forage on their own. We have a pond that they spend most of the day on and then they forage in the fields surrounding the pond. We do let them up onto our lawns near the house, but goose poop is an issue, so we do limit those areas so that we can enjoy the lawns too. We supplement their foraging with store bought food that we feed them once a day. In the winter months it is twice a day and once it snows, we give them full access to the barn and covered area and keep their dishes full. At night we lock up both the geese and their food to keep pesky critters away. I noticed that many of the wild birds like to come up to the barn and eat too. Even though we have put out a bunch of suet feeders for them.

Through the years Mallards land on our large pond and a couple starting raising their young. The geese are content to mingle with them, but won’t allow Canada Geese to stay…they chase them around the pond until they fly off. The mallard population has grown quite large, even though most take off in early spring to raise their young elsewhere, we have about 120 mallards throughout the winter and they come up to the barn with geese to feed, which I don’t mind at all. I love all the action on our 2 acre pond.

Although they can fly, they know where food is simple and free, so we never have had any leave our property. But we have had a couple of domestic geese and ducks find their way to us and over the course of a month or so, they settle in with our flock.

Geese love water and while it is not essential that they have access to a pond, they do quite well with water deep enough for them to bath and keep their feathers pristine.

Geese are one of the easiest to raise as they are very self sufficient. They make excellent moms and protect their young very well. Whether you raise them for eggs, meat or just as pets they will give you endless entertainment all year long.