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[EarthNSky <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>]

I had Chinese and White Embdens....the WE's were eaten by a coyote or
fox, and the Chinese were taken out by the neighbor's dog. (Hobo the
German Shepherd)  I love geese.  I love the way they pair up and hang
out together.  I love the way they are protective of the farm and
property.  I love their mothering ability, and the fact that once they
were grown, I never fed them.
I found a supplier of Pilgrims in a town near me...that store orders
them around Easter, so I intend to get a couple this Spring.  They'll
live inside the garden fence, hopefully protected from dogs and canines
and yet will hopefully weedeat and keep the grassy areas down.  I also
plan on getting more ducks-would like some more Cayugas, or to try Blue
Swedish, but would take anything, I think.  I really want Muscovies
again, too.
My only advice is not to get too friendly with them when they are
little.  Allow them to fear you, that way, they will hopefully think
twice about attacking you when they become of age.  I adopt a live and
let live philosophy...and yet, I never let my guard down.  My Chinese
gander had to be yanked around by the neck a time or two so that I could
show him I was the boss.
As for sexing, it's not hard with geese as they approach maturity.
Chinese ganders have much larger knobs.  Embden geese are fatter than
ganders.  With Pilgrims, it's a matter of color, as you know.
The easiest way to quickly sex ducks, if you don't see a drake feather,
is to provide them with a pool of clean water.  Once they get clean,
they will be looking to mate, and if you have never seen a drake penis,
it is a sight to behold...lol....it looks like a corkscrew and you can't
miss it!
Bev

Robert Walton wrote:
> Hey all,
>
> Has anyone here raised geese? I'm thinking about starting a flock of 
> geese this spring. I already raise chickens for meat and eggs. I have
>  the goats going and hope to get milk and meat from them.
>
> I'd like to have Pilgrim geese because you can sex them easily. If
> not Pilgrim, White Embden would be the breed.
>
> My goal would be to start with about 10 and raise them saving the
> best females and a couple of males to procreate in the future. I
> really would only eat a few geese a year, but maybe more if I had
> them.
>
> I also figure that keeping a few geese should not be too big of a
> deal as they can graze in season and seem like they'd be pretty 
> independant.
>
> If I have to buy from a hatchery, this is about a $100 investment 
> (purchase and shipping for 10 goslings). Has anyone raised geese and 
> kept a flock going? Any goose horror stories ???
>
> Rob - Va _______________________________________________ Homestead
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--
BevanRon of EarthNSky Farm   NW Georgia USDA Zone 7
34.498N 85.076W    Bev is Earth, Ron is Sky