Certain of these amino acids must be supplied in the diet because the goose cannot make them from other sources. These are called essential amino acids. Protein levels that meet the amino acid requirements for geese may vary slightly, depending upon the amino acid content of the ingredients used in each formulation.
Grains Grains include any small, hard grass family seeds, like oats, corn, and wheat. If you scatter a whole grain scratch across the yard, geese get a dual benefit of food and some foraging fun! Whole grain scratch is much better than an only cracked corn scratch. This can be fatal to geese. If you have a yard, greens are very simple to provide for geese. Geese generally prefer clovers, bluegrass, orchard grass, timothy, and bromegrass over alfalfa and tougher grasses.
Insoluble Grit Not to be confused with the diner classic, insoluble grit Small stones or sand swallowed by birds to help them digest food. While geese have a more powerful gizzard than chickens and ducks, they still require access to grit. You can also leave a bucket of grit out for geese to access freely as they desire. If geese lack grit, they can develop digestive issues such as an impacted crop. Niacin Geese require more niacin in their diets than chickens in order to remain healthy.
This is important to know if you are currently feeding geese chicken food, as it will not provide enough niacin needed for a goose. Niacin deficiency in goslings is particularly problematic and can lead to serious leg and joint issues.
Be sure the diet you are feeding your resident geese is a special waterfowl formula, or supplement their diet with niacin. A Vitamin D deficiency in geese can lead to weak bones and egg shells. Their need for vitamin D significantly increases if they have inadequate levels of calcium and or phosphorous.
Kelp is a popular natural source of Vitamin D. Waterfowl always need easy access to water while eating to prevent issues with choking and to clean food out of their nares either of the pair of openings of the nose or nasal cavity. Use a barn-safe water heater if necessary. In addition to fresh drinking water, geese need water for swimming and bathing.
It is important that their water supply is kept clean and well aerated. And just like humans who eat too much junk food, ducks and geese can suffer dire consequences when they eat too much bread and not enough of the natural grains, aquatic plants, insects and other small invertebrates they would feast on if we didn't so love feeding them bread. A condition among waterfowl called angel wing may be caused by an improper diet.
In ducks and geese with angel wing, their wings become deformed because the carpal joint grows incorrectly, leading the wing to stick out from the birds' side rather than lay flush, according to the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. Birds with angel wing can't fly, and their flight feathers also grow improperly.
In adult birds, angel wing is irreversible and can be fatal because the birds can't easily fly to their food sources.
They also are often rejected from their flocks, according to the nature museum. When the condition develops in young birds, it can sometimes be cured with drastic changes in their diets.
In addition to angel wing, birds that don't eat enough calcium — which can happen when they eat too much bread — can develop metabolic bone disease, causing soft bones and joints that can break and become deformed, according to the Wildlife Center of Virginia. Birds with metabolic bone disease often cannot fly, leaving them dependent on bread and food offered by people. And because they are too weak to compete with other birds for food, they often get attacked by other ducks and geese.
Beyond these health conditions, feeding waterfowl bread poses other problems as well. To start, because bread expands when it is wet, it makes the birds feel full, causing them to stop foraging for foods they would normally eat, which provide better nutrition. When humans regularly supplement the birds' natural food supply, it can also cause the ponds and other habitats where the flocks live to become overcrowded, the Wildlife Center reports.
This overcrowding can cause competition for food sources, leaving weaker birds vulnerable. Geese are actually picky eaters. Believe it or not, they will not consume everything you put in front of them. Do not feed geese straight out of your hand. It can be dangerous.
The best way to feed the geese would be to spread seed on the grass so geese can feed on the seed while looking for food. It can be fun, relaxing and entertaining to watch and feed the geese but do not get into the habit of trying to feed them out of the palm of your hand! They do not have teeth but they have very sharp, dangerous beaks that can harm you!
Adult geese are also very protective of their young so keep a safe distance away. What Do They Eat? Here are some helpful reminders you should remember and be aware of when feeding the geese: Feed the geese whole wheat and cracked corn, not bread.
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