I agree with George Allen, Jr. the former editor of the
Gazette, that some of his favorite birds were the more
common ones. This is true for me especially when I
think about geese. Perhaps it is because of the
thousands out in the wild or perhaps these were my
first geese to get as a young man -I do not know - but I
love Canada geese.

There are several subspecies of the nominate family.
The main difference is size and coloration and
geographical location. I personally love the Giant
Canada goose, especially those with the bright
white on their head. But then as I think about it, I love
the little Cacklers with the rose color on their
breasts. Canada geese are undoubtedly one of my
favorite geese.

Managing the Breeding Pairs

If you have several pairs of these geese you will need
to think seriously about having several separate pens.
You should have 1) separate breeding pen or pens, 2)
wintering pens, 3) large general holding pen. Having
these pens will really make life easier as your flock
grows. This is especially true during the breeding
season. Most agree that separate breeding pens make
for higher production. Records are easier kept, the
ganders fight less, and servicing the pen can be
systemized. However, this is not to say that raising
Canada geese in large colony type pens is not
successful. Once the breeding pairs settle down and
have their territory staked out things get quiet.

Breeding

Several types of nesting sites can be used with these
geese. One is made by placing three bales of straw to
form a triangle with a depression in the middle. About
six inches of loose straw is placed in this depression
for the geese to use. Another nesting site commonly
used is the wooden structure. This is about four feet
high and is three by three feet with some sort of
windows near the top to let in light. The front is open
with only the roof and the sides closed in.

One year old geese show little response to breeding.
They will develop pair bonding if allowed to do so.
However, the second year most geese will begin to
think about breeding. Planned matings can sometimes
work if the single gander and female are penned
together but most of the success comes from one and
two year old birds.
More young can be raised if the first clutch is taken
away from the parents and they are allowed
to have a second clutch. Production is more than
doubled by using this method of management. It is
reported that first year layers seldom lay a second
clutch but after that most all will do so if conditions
are right.

Gathering the eggs can be dangerous for the keeper.
The Giant Canada geese are very large and will defend
their nests with much vigor. They will attack intruders
especially if they do not know them. Most advise that
only one or two people work with the flock as the
geese become accustomed to the keepers. When
gathering eggs it is a good idea to have a helper to
distract the defending pair while the other slips in a
gathers the eggs. Eggs are gathered daily with the first
two replaced with plastic or plaster dummy eggs.
When the goose finishes her clutch she covers the nest
with straw. She begins to incubate. When all of the
eggs are gathered a piece of plywood should be placed
over the nest to cover it for three or four days until the
goose loses her urge to incubate. After that the
plywood can be removed and she will commence to
rebuild her nest and hopefully lay a second clutch. If a
second clutch is desired it is best not to let the goose
get too far along in her incubation cycle.

Eggs can be artificially incubated or the second clutch
at least can be left for the parents to incubate. If they
are good parents the goslings can be raised by them or
they can be taken to artificially brood.

Raising the Goslings

The wonderful thing about geese is they are easy to
brood and raise. You can use any type of brooder box
that you like and still have success. My Assembly Line
Method of raising gamebirds works just fine with
geese. The size of the box needs to be adjusted to fit
the size of the birds. You can build your brooder box
large enough to accommodate the entire clutch of
goslings and raise them in a group with no trouble.
Feeding goslings is not difficult if they are not given
too much protein. If more protein is given than they
can tolerate their legs go and they will not make it.
One of the secrets to raising geese is to give them
plenty of greens. They love grass and can grow rapidly
and healthy on just a diet of good fresh grass. If you do
not have any grass to give them they will appreciate
getting lettuce of any other green food. Usually, when
the goslings hatch out there is winter grass everywhere
that can be pulled and fed to them. If your pens are so
arranged to let the goslings out on a lawn so much the
better. They will graze and be perfectly content. Years
ago I raised five Giant Canada geese in Oregon and
was amazed to see how much greens they consumed.
Luckily they were on about a quarter acre of fast
growing clover which they trashed after about a month.
It is best to give them some type of low-protein
crumbles to supplement the grass diet.

Wintering

Most goose breeders agree that the wintering period is
very important as the birds need to come through the
winter in good condition for the following breeding
season.

Canada geese are hardy and require less heat than most
other game birds. In Northern latitudes shelters place
to face the South can be made to keep the geese out of
the deep snow and cold winds. These shelters can be
made from any material that is available. The shelter
area should have clean mold-free straw for the birds to
bed down in. This can be cleaned out periodically.
This wintering pen should have a source of fresh, open
water available for all of the birds. Although open
water is not necessary, it gives the geese a chance to
bathe and keep their feathers in good condition to
ward off the cold. Some sort of heating system will
need to be used in cold climates to keep the water
open during cold spells..The watering system should
be designed for easy draining and cleaning when the
water becomes fowled. The size of the water pond and
the number of birds will determine how often it needs
to be cleaned. Some breeders design a drainage system
which can easily be used to get the water out without
disturbing the birds.

Good feed should be used during the winter. Whole
grains such as corn, barley, wheat, oats and millet are
satisfactory. Give extra portions of shelled corn during
times of stress. It is advisable to supplement the diet
with some type of green forage. Alfalfa can be used
but care should be taken to get hay which is free from
mold and is not steamy. Some sort of hay trough
should be designed to keep the hay off of the ground .
Sand and grit should be available at all times to help
their digestion.

Final Thoughts

Writing this article makes me want to get some of
these wonderful geese. They have a great personality
and will inter-relate with their keeper. As a matter of
fact mine became pests when they wanted to be fed by
nipping me on my leg. This became a problem as my
legs got all bruised up from their bites. I stopped this
by doing what they wanted - feeding them!
If you want to get some geese, try the Canada. You
will enjoy them and get some valuable experience to
raise some of the more delicate geese later.

----------------------------------

By Leland Hayes from lelandhayes.com

Get a free subscription to Dr. Leland's great gamebird ezine at http://www.lelandhayes.com