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Anybody have geese that go into shelter on their own at night?

 
Posts: 300
Location: CT zone 5b
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Long thread title for a specific question-

All my chickens and ducks go into their coops in the evening on their own, but my geese do not. This is a huge inconvenience for me. Just wondering if anyone else has had any kind of success with this. If not, and it doesn't seem possible, then maybe geese aren't for me.
 
Posts: 567
Location: Mid-Michigan
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Shelter? Heck no.

Geese don't mind the rain, don't sleep through the night, and aren't susceptible to most predators. (I don't know if you've got anything in Connecticut that we don't have in Michigan. But my geese have had no trouble with the raccoons, owls, rats, and foxes that I know are around. I hear about cougars, but have never seen one. So I can't say they've fought any of those off. But my chickens die despite protection, and my geese don't die despite lacking protection. It's one of the main reasons I love them.)
 
Will Holland
Posts: 300
Location: CT zone 5b
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I've already lost 1/8 to a bobcat, which is a protected species here, and a frequent visitor (I threw a kiddie pool at it from about 5 yards in broad daylight a few weeks prior). Not only did I lose a goose, it wrecked my expensive premier 1 electronet fence. I sleep much better at night knowing they're closed up.

I, too, had heard these rumors of people raising geese with no shelter at all, but it seems impossible to me.
 
Posts: 15
Location: Michigan
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The geese I have had over the past 20 years prefer sleeping next to the shelter, whatever that may be, rather than in or under it. They are impervious to weather, far as I can tell. I provide shelter so that I feel better, and they ignore it.
As for predators, I'm in Michigan and have had no predator problems. But I also have several dogs.
The geese are actually scarier than the dogs, now that I think of it
 
pollinator
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Location: south-central ME, USA - zone 5a/4b
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If you feed pellets at all, reserve it for evenings to lure them inside their shelter when they're hungry. Our muscovy flock, around 45 minutes before sundown, will line up at the house and some even go inside, waiting to get their pellets. Pretty much the only reason they go inside - if they get fed early and their bellies are full, most of them will simply refuse to go inside unless it's really cold out.
 
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