we are thinking of getting a goose or 2, which are the quietest, friendliest type and what set up do we need? also will they fly off or will they stay with us if we get them young enough? im sure someone on here will be a goose expert and be able to advise!!
thanks
emma

Know nothing about them but next door had one when I was a young girl and I loved it, have always dreamed of winning the lottery and living up a lane with pet geese, It used to play with me was real friendly I remember I used to blow bubbles and it would pop them, the family never did eat it for Christmas like they had intended..

don't want to put a damper but............. know of two different people who ended up with broken arms from their own geese but they are very good 'watchdogs'

oh no dont like the sound of that! I was hoping someone could guide me towards some nice docile breeds, although we could probably do with a guard dog as my dogs are far too soft!

Give me big scary animals any day over birds - they scare me!! lol

Not sure that there are any docile geese as such...My dad had a couple as pets
well pets my foot, they were fine with him but any body else god help em.
They used to hiss and flap their wings and chase everybody else away up the
garden path..They are excellent guards...

There are three that live near me and they're vicious.

I've known people be late for work because they couldn't get to their cars because they were on their drive. 

we always had pet geese when I was growing up, my mum loved them, yes they were great guard dogs!, its usually the Gander (the male) that can be vicious thats because he will protect his ladies.

we have 3 geese, well 2 geese and a gander to be exact!! Ours are embdonx toulouse and the dont fly, although they do likes to run fast with their wings out!!
We used to have chinese but cant recommend them as they are very agressive, although their smaller size may suit. We find 3 geese keep best part of 3/4 acre of grass quite trim,,,but the downside of course is goose poo everywhere!
The NEED water to bathe in daily. They are friendly enough at food times and ignore us mostly....except this time of year when girls are laying and they (all 3) are mega agressive to all & sundry including the hounds.

You might be better off with Muscovy ducks, they graze like geeese, but are pretty quiet, they don't really quack either, but do whistle.  The males are about twice the size of the girls.

http://www.omlet.co.uk/breeds/breeds.php?breed_type=Ducks&breed=Muscovy

http://www.btinternet.com/~charlesbrook2/bb/muscovy.htm

I used to keep Muscovy ducks (we tried geese, but got rid of them very quickly ;-) )

Muscovies like to roost off the ground so will need somewhere they can 'fly' to. You have to cut the feathers on one wing every year or they will fly. We had one that managed to escape every year :-) Such a pain to recapture. They also have claws on their feet so that they can grip the branches so be careful if you need to catch them. They do scar :-D The eggs are lovely though, and the meat has a gamier flavour than ordinary duck.

Edited to add: If you keep other poultry then I wouldn't get geese. They will kill the young of the others :-( We lost a whole batchful of ducklings (about 25) to the geese we got.

My friends had a nursery and they had a male and 6 females and they were rather nice following us around and not having to have a pond was an advantage for my Friends.  they just had a couple of shallow baths for them.

They were good Mums and tasty.

My daughter has a pet goose at her Grandads farm. She is a miserable old bag but is quite happy pleasing herself round the farm and you can actually go up to her if she is in a good mood!! She is a wonderful guard dog too, much better than their german shepherd!! And her name is..........Goosey!!:-D

Anna loves her and will not let Grandad get rid of her.

How about a Canadian Goose- I know they bond from hatching and well they are protected here :) I think they are lovely, people always go to the park and feed them and their lil yellow balls of feathers- aaaaw so cute :)

My Dad has kept geese for years . he started with 4 and now has about 25 . The fox frequently gets one !
As others have said , they make good guard dogs !  They are obviously more aggressive when sitting on their eggs and when their babies are waddling around .
He has had a couple of babies that he has to hand rear as their Mum has abandoned them , then you have the difficulty of re-introducing them to the flock .
He buys grain to feed them and those £1 bags of horse carrotts , he also gives them old bread and veg peelings .
They need to be able to paddle and they will also want fresh water to drink every day .

You would obviously need some land for them . They make quite a mess with the poo , water and waddling around . They are also very vocal !
You would also need someone who is prepared to see to them when you are away as many people are afraid of them .
Saying that , if i had the land i would have a couple living with a goat !

but barbs they are HIDEOUSLY ugly :( with all that red bulbous skin....yuk :( Geese are so beautiful

Oh the girlies are OK, no uglier than Turkeys.  They ar quiet.

I do think Geese attractive, but I was really scared of them at about 12.  Had to cross a bit of ground near allotments near my Gran's and there was a flock of about 15 and the buggers would chase me.  Don't think I would be bothered now, and have liked them in small numbers..

just had a look, can;t decide if they are cool or hideous... striking at least :)

secret with geese.....dont turn your back on them.....walk slowly backwards.......and.....carry a piece of alkathene piping!!! :)
whack our gander on head regularly!!! LOL

Just curious what kind of geese are you talking about- with red hideious ect hmmmm now Iam Our Canadain Geese are lovely :)

It's Muscovy drakes which are hideous, with red, warty faces.

Canada geese are a pest here - I doubt you'd be allowed to keep them as pets.

I was wondering that too.
JG - thanks(or perhaps not) for the link........Yuckkkkk.
Chris

Sam - your gander sounds like my cockerel.  If he doesn't sort himself out, he's going to be Sunday lunch!

Aaaaaaaaaw so ugly its cute :)

Really Canadian Geese are pests there- wow and they are protected here- probably being Canada and all I guess.... The mess they leave in the park Oh my....

You get used to the drakes ugly looks. :-D Honest ;-) You only need one or two, depending on how many ducks you have, as they live in harems. I would love some now, but can't keep them where I live. Mine were very friendly and came to a whistle (though that was usually at feeding time :-) ) At least they didn't wake us up at pre-dawn like cockerels :-)

Agree the drakes are peculiar looking but the ducks are so swet.

i take it you can get edible eggs from the ducks and geese? i love duck eggs... what are goose eggs like?

We have Canadian geese in our parks and they seem ok. Although intimidating, I think this is because of the general goose reputation.  They will approach you for food but I've never heard of any problems with the geese in our parks.  The lakes park where most of the town's geese live has lots of water activities such as yachting, fishing and play areas for young children as well as a trim track.  As the parks are municipal I would expect the local Council to be very careful to keep only birds with reliable temperaments.  If I wanted a goose for a pet I would research this breed.