Topic of the Week - Raising and caring for goslings

[Egg Snatcher]

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This week I would like to hear your thoughts and practices on raising and caring for goslings. Whether it's artificial or with a mother. Specifically:

- For brooder raised goslings: What are the brooder requirements?
- What is the best food for growing goslings?
- At what age can brooder-raised goslings be moved outside?

Anything you would like to add.

View attachment 1275476

Pic by @wildpeas​

For a complete list of our Topic of the Week threads, see here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/topic-of-the-week-thread-archive

I have used my little bantams and mother goose to hatch/raise.
In my experience (which is one hatching season) incubator hatching is not the best for geese. I had 5 geese eggs all developed. All but two died gradually after that candying. When it was time for the geese to hatch the goslings would pip and just die. I got one to hatch by helping it to hatch but sadly passed shortly after.

Hen/Mother goose
Before our goose Gloria went broody, my Cornish Cross cross went broody. She was given 3 eggs, all but one hatched. 2 weeks later mottled Japanese hen decided she wanted to hatch out some eggs too. I gave her 3 goose eggs. Surprisingly she was able to cover and develop baby goslings. All three hatched.
Here is a comparison of the fresh baby and the 2 week old baby

What I noticed about hens raising geese are…
- hens didn’t set on goslings bc goslings arnt like baby chicks and didn’t really won’t to stay under mom
- hen would let babies got swim in puddle or pool
- hen would protect and take care of goslings

Feed I used- meat maker is what our geese including the babies were fed.

Finally Gloria went broody she had 8 eggs. All developed and all but 4 eggs died. All 4 eggs hatched. One was weak and sadly died another one I found dead. The other 2 made it to adult hood. We think that most of the eggs probably would of hatched if we had given Gloria hay instead of wood chips, Gloria seemed to loose her eggs in the wood chips.
Note: the hens free ranged while raising the goslings. TheCornish hen with 2 grow to adult hoop and mysteriously disappeared in the middle of the day. Weird thing was they were there all morning then they were gone. The other 3 goslings from the Japanese hen lived to adult hood a were sold.

And finally Gloria’s 2 goslings also lived to adult hood, one was butchered the other I’m hoping is a girl.

And I have a question, our gander is a white Chinese and girl is an African. Will their babies when bred together or bred back to George(male) produce white goslings?

 

[Berd Man]

- What is the best food for growing goslings?
- At what age can brooder-raised goslings be moved outside?

These are very dependent on climate/region but, I am in zone 6b and I raised my first trio of African and Tolouse goslings on Purina flock raiser with a mixture of fermented scratch grains, they all developed fine and had no sign of deficiencies. They were kept in a brooder for 3-4 weeks (I had received them in early February), then outside for the rest of year with a chicken flock. I eventually stopped feeding them the flock raiser and ferment unless there was snow covering ground as they were not finishing the food I provided seeking greens,roots and weeds instead. This made me wonder…

The next season I got 12 Chinese goslings that were shipped to me as day olds. I decided to see what would happen if they were on pasture from day 1 so I raised them without feeding them anything at all. Now, they followed the original trio of geese around on 4 acres of grass but sometimes I would see them getting bullied by the older geese, so I eventually just made a movable gosling pen out of some old rolls of wire fencing I had laying around. It was still in the pasture with the older geese to socialize them, but eventually was not needed. I placed a small hide box inside that pen and at night the goslings made a pile and stayed warm on their own behind electric netting. I never even put them in a brooder. They all developed fine and had no deficiencies or defects.

I think geese were doing just fine before Purina existed. They hatch near water and eat greens from day one following their mother. If production efficiency and hastened maturation is your only concern then you may not be satisfied with this purely pastured approach. However, the geese are healthy, grow at a normal (but slower) rate and if you use them for meat, it is very soft and delicious harvested at around 20-24 weeks. It’s wonderful substitute for beef.

 

[NevadaEmma]

View attachment 2986527
​

This week I would like to hear your thoughts and practices on raising and caring for goslings. Whether it's artificial or with a mother. Specifically:

- For brooder raised goslings: What are the brooder requirements?
- What is the best food for growing goslings?
- At what age can brooder-raised goslings be moved outside?

Anything you would like to add.

View attachment 1275476

Pic by @wildpeas​

For a complete list of our Topic of the Week threads, see here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/topic-of-the-week-thread-archive

What type of goose it this? Is it blue, or is the color not correct?

 

[Jenbirdee]

I brooded my goslings the same way I do my ducks <3

 

[Goosebaby]

I’ve never hatched with an incubator, my goslings have all been hatched and raised by my older geese.

If you have a friendly relationship with your geese, if you raised them yourselves, the goslings grow up being friendly towards you also. Geese are social animals so spending time with them is the best way to establish a good relationship. However the relationship needs to be maintained. If you start ignoring them, after a few weeks to months they’ll consider you not one of their flock, during breeding season ganders can get aggressive towards you if they no longer have a bond with you.

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A 20 to 22% flock raiser type feed is best for goslings as they require more niacin and other B vitamins as compared to chicks.

Around 4 weeks they can be put on a maintenance diet of around 17 to 18% all flock or multi flock feed, however if you have large breed geese like embdens or Toulouse which have more intense nutrient needs they can be kept on the 20% feed.

During laying and especially molting they Require more protein so it’s appropriate to have them on a 20% feed. In warmer months when they aren’t laying or molting they can be fed the lower protein maintenance feed.

For larger breeds you can feed them 20% flock raiser or all flock year round without issues.

You can feed 20% feeds to medium and small breeds year round as well but you have to keep a closer watch and take extra care to manage their weight.

I prefer to offer my girls oyster shell free choice during laying season, I have a lot of ganders and the extra calcium isn’t great for their health. Layer feed is typically formulated for chickens anyway so there’s lower B vitamin concentrations.

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There’s a common misconception that medicated feed is toxic to waterfowl, this is not true. However medicated feed is not good for ducklings and goslings because it lacks necessary levels of B vitamins. Over time vitamin deficiencies can cause neurological issues than can be easily mistaken for symptoms of poisoning, though it can be just as harmful.

Goslings also don’t just need extra niacin, they need more of all of the B vitamins.

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It’s best to raise goslings with other goslings. They will outgrow chicks and ducklings rapidly which can lead to bullying the smaller birds.

 

[Goosebaby]

And niacin deficiency can cause angel wing?

No, niacin and other B vitamin deficiency will cause neurological issues among an host of problems and cause them to go off their legs, but it doesn’t cause angel wing specifically.

Angel wing happens when the blood feathers grow in and become too heavy for the gosling to hold it’s wrists in the correct position, as the bones are still growing the weight causes the bones to twist, if it isn’t corrected immediately the twist will be permanent. Correcting it is fairly simple and doesn’t require a veterinarian, it only takes 2 to 4 days if caught early, essentially it involves wrapping the affected wing(s) and binding them to the torso with vet wrap in the correct position.


The cause of angel wing is debatable, some attribute it to too much protein, others say too much carbohydrates in their feed, others say it’s genetics. In my opinion based on my one gosling who started to get it whereas her siblings did not, it’s a matter of both too much carbohydrates and genetics. individual metabolisms vary due to genetics, some will get it, others will not, it isn’t necessarily something that can be completely predicted or avoided.
However if multiple goslings get it that’s a sure sign that their feed should be adjusted to a lower protein feed.


I have wondered if angel wing could also be caused by a nutrient deficiency as well, particularly vitamins and nutrients required for bone and muscle development, causing weak bone strength.

 

[chickengr]

No, niacin and other B vitamin deficiency will cause neurological issues among an host of problems and cause them to go off their legs, but it doesn’t cause angel wing specifically.

Angel wing happens when the blood feathers grow in and become too heavy for the gosling to hold it’s wrists in the correct position, as the bones are still growing the weight causes the bones to twist, if it isn’t corrected immediately the twist will be permanent. Correcting it is fairly simple and doesn’t require a veterinarian, it only takes 2 to 4 days if caught early, essentially it involves wrapping the affected wing(s) and binding them to the torso with vet wrap in the correct position.


The cause of angel wing is debatable, some attribute it to too much protein, others say too much carbohydrates in their feed, others say it’s genetics. In my opinion based on my one gosling who started to get it whereas her siblings did not, it’s a matter of both too much carbohydrates and genetics. individual metabolisms vary due to genetics, some will get it, others will not, it isn’t necessarily something that can be completely predicted or avoided.
However if multiple goslings get it that’s a sure sign that their feed should be adjusted to a lower protein feed.


I have wondered if angel wing could also be caused by a nutrient deficiency as well, particularly vitamins and nutrients required for bone and muscle development, causing weak bone strength.

last year I got a new toulouse mix gander. the other geese kept biting him and cut off his feathers. now he has 1 angel wing. the same happened with a muscovy duckling. after bullying and biting he got angel wings. so I guess angel wings are broken wings. nothing to do with diet.

I start giving some wheat together with chicken mash (17% protein) when goslings and ducklings are 3-4 weeks old. it has been working fine for years now. there is no waterfowl feed where I live.

 

[sarahconnor]

Have a lone gander (I think) under a year old - Toulouse. Haven’t bothered to sex him/her yet...until recently it’s been too cold or wet for both of us to investigate that.
I think I read somewhere they have special nutritional needs for their skeletons but Henry/etta shuns greens I provide: sprouted barley, kale, lettuce, cabbage, mustard greens - during this winter. He regularly only eats the soaked organic layer feed I use for the chickens. He’ll take a bite of greens or cut fruit but seems to largely ignore the greens.
And he has obvious difficulty going up ramp to coop and seems to some times limp and seems to have always preferred lying down to walking even as very young gosling. He did eat greens as a gosling.
S/He is doing good job alarm goose.

When my goose was a baby she ate the layer feed my hens ate. Grew up great and lays great eggs. She is friendly with my hens. I rescued two young ducks and she loves them. I mix 50% duck pellets and 50% hen and some calcium and put in a pot in their run so they can eat without having to go ups and down the ramp to get food. They all 3 are thriving. Ducks do great with the flock. They are happy. My white gander duck was neglected and I am not sure if that makes him tame or not. He never tries to mount the female duck or hens. The female duck Daisy lays beautiful eggs and a lot of them.
I give my goose and ducks a large scoop of sunflower seed rich bird seed as rec by a worker at southern states at least 5 days a week. The ducks and goose love it. The seeds provide niacin. They eat out of a cup or a scoop and my hand also. I used to sprinkle nutritional yeast on their food also. They are all doing great. They get table scraps too. My goose is picky with greens. She does enjoy ice berg lettuce and fresh fruit.

 

[Goosebaby]

last year I got a new toulouse mix gander. the other geese kept biting him and cut off his feathers. now he has 1 angel wing. the same happened with a muscovy duckling. after bullying and biting he got angel wings. so I guess angel wings are broken wings. nothing to do with diet.

I start giving some wheat together with chicken mash (17% protein) when goslings and ducklings are 3-4 weeks old. it has been working fine for years now. there is no waterfowl feed where I live.

Angel wing is not a broken wing. Angel wing is twisting at the carpus joints which becomes permanent if not corrected in a short period of time.

A break is a broken bone.

Broken bones will not occur when feathers are pulled out, feathers grow in such a way that they detach if a predator attacks or during a bird on bird fight. Broken bones can occur during a fight but it depends on the size difference between individuals and other factors such as duration or bone weakness due to a crappy diet.

 

[chickengr]

Angel wing is not a broken wing. Angel wing is twisting at the carpus joints which becomes permanent if not corrected in a short period of time.

A break is a broken bone.

Broken bones will not occur when feathers are pulled out, feathers grow in such a way that they detach if a predator attacks or during a bird on bird fight. Broken bones can occur during a fight but it depends on the size difference between individuals and other factors such as duration or bone weakness due to a crappy diet.

I don't know if my gander has broken bone. his feathers grew like "angel wings" feathers after he was attacked. maybe they damaged his feathers not bone. his wing does not look broken.