Benefits of Geese for Our Lake Environment
I originally wrote this for a petition. Unfortunately, it didn't go too far. But as it ended up, I didn't need one, and I got to keep my geese anyway. E-mail if you have any questions about this. ~.^
1. Geese are beautiful hearty birds. The Brown Chinese geese look almost like swans.
2. Our lake has had a problem having wild ducks that are eaten by otters, raccoons, cats, hawks, turtles, and great blue herons. Herons also peck out the eyes of adult ducks. Unlike the ducks, geese will go into a protective pen at night so the otters and raccoons won’t get them.
3. Geese are alert to the danger of prowlers or burglars and add to our personal safety.
4. Our lake geese have been petted almost daily from birth and do not bite or attack people. They have grown up with a bunny rabbit in the same yard. The rabbit chases the geese, not the other way around.
5. Geese eat weeds and water plants and help with keeping the lake free of overgrowth.
6. Geese eat carpenter ants that often nest in the trees around the lake. Carpenter ants can go into anyone’s house. We have had virtually no carpenter ants since the geese arrived.
7. Geese eat roaches and cinch bugs and provide natural fertilizer for lawns.
Q & A
Q. Don’t geese smell?
A. Since geese eat grass and corn primarily, their excrement has no odor once it dries out. We compost the area around the goose house to make top soil, so there is no odor. Geese are very clean. They bathe in the lake or water buckets and clean their feathers with their beaks.
Q. Aren’t geese livestock?
A. Geese are wild water birds. The Brown Chinese that we have raised from goslings are genetically identical to their wild stock. There are many species of geese in Florida’s National Wild Life refuges and other water parks. While some people hunt geese and farmers raise them for food, just like ducks, this does not mean that ducks or geese should always be considered livestock. Livestock are raised in small cages and intended for food production. Our geese are raised to augment our natural lake environment and are used as personal pets. They voluntarily go into their goose house at night for safety from raccoons and cats.
Q. Aren’t geese aggressive?
A. This depends on how they are raised. Our pet geese are very tame, although they will run from you if they do not know you. Generally, it is better to live and let live, to just watch and enjoy the water birds.
Q. Don’t geese scratch?
A. Only if you try to pick them up. They will flap their wings and move their feet to try to get away. You should not try to pick up geese if they do not like it.
Q. Won’t they multiply and take over the lake?
A. We started with eight goslings in the Spring and now there are five left. There are a lot of predators around the lake, including certain kinds of humans. We do not intend to let any eggs hatch.
Q. Aren’t geese hosts for mosquitoes?
A. Geese have very thick fluffy feathers which mosquitoes can’t penetrate. They are also very hardy birds and are less affected by diseases. Song birds are the more likely hosts for mosquito diseases.
Q. Are you raising geese to eat them?
A. We will never eat the geese or let anyone have them who has this intent. It is much cheaper and much less work to buy such kind of food in the super market. They have not been raised for food but only to provide for more hearty water fowl for our lake environment. They also make beautiful, lovable pets. Just like parrots and cockateils, they are equally intelligent and affectionate.
Q. Can we feed the geese?
A. The geese eat grass and weeds so they don’t need bread or other people food. That would just make them too fat. Geese are primarily grass and weed eaters.
Q. Won’t the geese eat our flowers?
A. The geese stay primarily at the shallow end of the lake as this is where they were raised. They will most likely never go to the other side of the lake. They have never eaten flowers. Geese prefer eating weeds and grass and most of it is available on our side the shallow side of the lake. Since they are extremely homing animals, they do not like to venture too far and will be prevented to do so.
Q. Why should you have geese?
A. Since we live on the shallow side of the lake most of the difficult to clean areas grow on our side. Water plants and algae float to our corner. The geese help to keep this area clean. The geese are good at eating the grasses along the water’s edge that lawn-mowers cannot reach. In addition to this, they act as suberb watch dogs. Geese, with their exceptional eyesight and wide field of vision, combined with their strident voices, make excellent guards against approaching strangers or predators since outsiders cannot calm them into silence. This was shown in 390 BC, when Rome was attacked by Gallic troops. It was the alertness of the holy geese housed in the temple of the city's fort that allowed the defenders to wake in time to resist the attacking enemy. (Cited from a website) Many other people also enjoy keeping geese as pets because they are as affectionate as parrots, cockateils, budgies, etc. They loved to be touched, petted and hugged. They are enjoyable in that they can be easily managed, are not too costly, and at the same time, contribute to the environment and people around them.
Q. Aren’t geese very loud?
A. Living on a lake, there are always many different birds letting their harmonious voices heard. Although they may be chattery, parrots can also be when kept out on the porch. Generally, they are not very loud unless they are alarmed and are in fact, quieter than most dogs that can be heard across the neighborhood. HOWEVER, when they are alarmed, they can become VERY loud..and this seems to be one of the (only) problems. My loudest geese are the chinese, the others are not very loud. SO, if you plan on getting geese in a quiet neighborhood, count the chinese out.
