How to Raise Champion Geese for 4-H or Pleasure

Find a poultry hatchery to order your 4-H chicks and goslings from and get your order in early. Goslings are frequently in short supply, and expensive compared to other poultry chicks. Purchase duck or goose starter feed about one week before your goslings are scheduled to arrive from your local elevator or farm supply store. You will also need chick waterers and feeders. There are tiny waterers for newly hatched foul. If you try using the large waterers the small goslings may fall in and drown.

Prepare the goslings' cages or pens a few days before the hatchling geese are scheduled to arrive. Although these birds will grow to over 10 pounds, when they arrive they are tiny and vulnerable. We start ours in the basement in a dog crate. Use pieces of cardboard (cereal boxes work well) to weave between the bars of the crates so the goslings cannot escape between the bars. This also helps hold the heat in to keep your birds warm.

Hang two heat lamps from the top of the goose cage, just in case one burns out, this also prevents the goslings from piling up and suffocating each other. Put about a half-inch layer of newspaper in the bottom of the cage. Then, sprinkle the duck/goose starter all over the top of the newspaper so the chicks are walking on it. Goslings cannot walk directly on newspaper it ruins their legs. Also, goslings eat everything, so if you put bedding down, they will eat it, you put food down, they eat it and grow.

Confirm the delivery date and be prepared to arrive at your local post office around 7:30 AM to pick goslings up. Contact the postmaster of your office a couple of days in advance and give them your phone number. Believe me, they want you to pick up your goslings:-) Remember, the goslings have had no food or water since hatching. The sooner you get them settled, the better their chance for survival.

Fill two or three small chick waterers with fresh cold water and add a 1/4 tsp of electrolite. Carefully lift each gosling from the shipping box and push the tip of its beak into the water. They will usually begin drinking right away. Do this with each gosling so that you know each one is drinking. Replace the drinking water with fresh water twice a day. This is one of the most important things you can do. Birds that are not drinking are not eating and therefore are not growing. The water gets nasty after a few hours under a heat lamp. Only use more electrolytes if the birds don't seem healthy or it is very hot and humid when you move them outside.

Remove the top layers of paper when it is wet or covered in droppings. Geese and ducks are very messy. Have lots of newspaper on hand and be prepared to change it everyday. First, move the birds to another box temporarily. Remove the top layers of newspaper by rolling it up. Stick it in a bucket or garbage bag to take it outside so you do not leave a trail. Put new starter down on top of the newspaper.

When the goslings have doubled in size, which doesn't take long, you will need to move them to a larger area. Sometimes, I put two dog crates together. If it is warm outside, I move them to a shed. However, they still need heat lamps 24 hours a day until all of their feathers appear. They are still vulnerable to raccoons, cats, dogs, or whatever predators you have in your area. Be sure your cage or shed shuts securely.

Once goslings have their feathers, you can let them out to run in the grass a each day. Be sure the weather is warm and it is not raining. A dog run works well for this. Once they have most of their feathers fill a kiddy pool with fresh water each day for them to play in and drink. You can also switch them to grower instead of starter. This will help keep them cool, drinking more, therefore eating more. You will also need to hang a couple of box-type fans near the windows or screens of their shed or coup. When the weather gets really warm and the birds are fully feathered I stop closing them in the shed at night if I have quite a few. That way they can stay cool in the pool and not suffocate each other or damage each others feathers. Consider whether you have predators who can get to them before doing this.