WHY KEEP GEESE?
Geese were originally domesticated for various purposes and are useful for
- Watchdogs - geese will alert you to visitors and intruders. Geese are unlikely to attack your visitors, but they will call out to attract your attention.
- Egg producers - good laying birds will produce about 60 eggs a year, each equivalent to about 3 hen eggs. They lay in spring and summer and some breeds may also lay in autumn and winter.
- Christmas dinner - suitable breeds of geese can be reared cheaply on pasture with sufficient supplementary food to make them as fat - or as lean - as you wish.
- Grass cutting and foraging - geese will produce an excellent pasture and can also be useful for keeping orchards and yards tidy. In some situations they can also be used for weeding.
- Providers of craft materials - Curled feathers and down can be used for filling duvets and winter clothing, feathers for head-dresses and eggs for decorating.
- Companions - geese are fascinating, hardy and long-lived creatures that can give you hours of entertainment and pleasure. They are easier to manage and less messy than chickens or ducks, and have more individual personality and character.
- Showing - most geese are good show animals, opening up or extending a hobby for their owner.