12 Fun Facts about Pet Geese
Geese aren't nearly as popular pets for the backyard as chickens or even ducks.
So it's likely you don't know these 12 fun facts about pet geese that I ran across while I was doing some research on how to best raise our three new French Toulouse goslings.
12 Fun Facts about Pet Geese
A female is called a "goose", while a "male" is called a "gander". As in "what's good for the goose is good for the gander."
A young goose is called a gosling. It takes a gosling about two years to become fully mature, and an adult domestic goose can weigh anywhere from 15-25 pounds.
Female geese only lay eggs for about a month each spring.
A goose egg is roughly three times the size of a regular chicken egg.
Geese are mostly herbivores, unlike chickens and ducks which are omnivores.
Geese subsist on mostly grass and weeds, and wheat or pelleted feed when fresh greens aren't available.
Geese have serrated bills to help them rip the grass and weeds they eat.
They prefer to tug the greens from the ground instead of eating cut greens.
A goose poops about once every 12 minutes.
Goose manure is about 77% water.
Domestic geese can't fly due to being bred for a more upright stance and heavier body weight, but a goose can easily break your nose with one well-placed flap of its wings.
A group of geese should be referred to as a "gaggle" when they're on land or water, but when they're flying they are known as a "skein".
Geese who have been separated for even a short period of time will greet each other (and their humans) by honking and stretching out their neck or flapping their wings.
Geese can live for 25 years or longer when properly cared for. At that rate, they might outlive us!
