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Feeding geese is a great pastime. Whether you’re at a local millpond or a rural public park, geese are one of the most common and identifiable birds. Feeding geese, though, requires some consideration. You can’t feed geese just anything, and your technique must be carefully considered. While feeding geese is generally ill-advised (doing so increases their reliance on humans for survival), with a bit of planning you can feed geese in a way which keeps both you and them safe.
Steps
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Supervise children. Geese attack anything -- or anyone -- that makes them nervous or invades their personal space. They are also aggressive around creatures who show fear, including small children. Do not let babies, toddlers, or young children near geese. They are liable to get too curious and wander to within pecking range of a skittish goose. In the best case scenario, such an encounter may result in a painful nip; more serious damage is a very real possibility.
- Children ages 10 and up are the demographic most likely to understand the habits and behavior of geese, and the reasoning behind the many protocols that the act of feeding geese requires. These children should be invited to feed geese with adult supervision when they show interest in doing so.
- Children in secondary school may be allowed to feed geese on their own. Take them out to feed geese a few times with parental supervision. After they understand the process and have shown respect for the animals, they can be permitted to feed geese on their own.
- While children of a young age should be welcome to watch, do not give them free reign when around geese.
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Ensure the geese are calm. Geese should be wandering peacefully across the meadow or field. Look for geese who are relaxed and meandering casually about. If they are alert and active, they might be interested in a snack. Feed geese who approach with a friendly warble and show some interest in your presence.
- If the geese are very skittish or alarmed, or are standoffish and do not immediately wander up to you, you might be in a known predator area. In this case, try to move closer to the flock in order to feed geese safely.
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Look for signs of aggression. An angry goose will extend its neck and head toward a potential threat. It will open its mouth and hiss threateningly. It may also honk, squawk, flap its wings to look bigger, or run at you. Do not approach a goose that indicates anger or is tending its eggs or young.
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Do not feed geese food by hand. Do not draw geese to you and have them eat directly from your palm, you’re likely to get bitten. If there are several geese in the vicinity and all are clamoring to eat from your hand, they may start to push and attack one another in order to get to the food in your hand, putting you in the center of the conflict. Avoid this by watching them dine from afar.
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Feed geese leafy greens. The goose’s natural diet is heavy in tender grasses plants. In winter months, especially, the vegetation geese need for a healthy diet is rare. Giving them lettuce, alfalfa sprouts, and chard will keep them happy and healthy. Geese may find other vegetables like carrots, green beans, and celery amenable as well.
- Veggies like broccoli and potatoes make geese happy too, but may need to be steamed and fed in a warm (not hot) state before the geese can digest them. [1] X Research source
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Feed geese other acceptable foods. Whole oats, lentils, brown rice, small seeds, and split peas are some of the foods geese enjoy. Additionally, unprocessed popcorn (free of additives, salt, and butter) and small seeds like sunflower seeds make good snacks for geese. [2] X Research source You can also feed geese foods that occur naturally in their environment such as small fish, mollusks, and crustaceans. Assorted vegetable/fruit scraps are also welcome.
- Geese do not like alfalfa and cannot eat raw potato peelings.
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Do not feed geese processed foods. If we, as humans, shouldn’t eat it, geese definitely shouldn’t eat it. Things like white bread, candy, junk food, fast food, chips, and anything with high levels of salt, sugar, and fat should not be fed to geese. [3] X Research source
- Young geese (less than 6 weeks old) who are given high-protein or carb-heavy foods regularly may develop angel wing, a condition which causes their wings to develop in an unnatural way and inhibits their ability to fly.
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Do not feed geese dairy products. Avoid feeding geese milk, yogurt, or baked goods containing milk. Geese are lactose intolerant. Consumption of dairy may lead to diarrhea and dehydration, which could in turn lead to death. [4] X Research source
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Feed geese bite-sized portions. [5] X Research source Do not give food to geese in portions too large for them to swallow. Their throats are much smaller than ours and they have no teeth with which to chew their food, so it is important that you provide food in bits no bigger than one to two square inches.
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Throw food near the geese. Items that will float can be thrown into the water. The brief submersion will help break the foods down and make them more digestible. [6] X Research source Most food, though, should be tossed a meter or so in front of the geese on land.
- Do not distribute more food than the geese will eat. If you see their consumption slowing, stop feeding.
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Provide an adequate amount of food for all, when feeding a flock. Place several small accumulations of cracked corn, oats, or green veggies in the area of the flock. Space each pile about 10-15 feet apart. Ensure there is enough feed, and enough space between each pile of feed, to allow all the geese to eat some in peace. [7] X Research source Concentrating food in one location might cause a feed frenzy as all the birds scramble to get their portion.
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Don’t feed geese often. Wild geese may become dependent on humans feeding them if they continue to receive food from you or others on a daily basis. Check the area in which you’re feeding for notices prohibiting feeding.
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Do not feed geese in high-traffic areas. [8] X Research source When geese gather near roads, rail tracks, or parking lots, the chances of a goose being struck increases. Plus, if geese become accustomed to being fed in these areas, they will learn to congregate there, waiting for food. This will bother people who do not have anything for the geese. Always feed geese at least fifty meters from any roads, trains, and cars.
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Don’t leave food lying about. [9] X Research source When you toss food out to geese, if they wander away without picking it up, you need to gather it before leaving the area. Otherwise, the food may attract rats and leads to the accumulation of poisonous blue-green algae in the water. Moldy food might be eaten by geese later and infect them with a deadly lung fungus. [10] X Research source
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Community Q&A
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QuestionI have been feeding dried bread to the ducks and geese at my local park for some time. Is this okay?Community AnswerNo, you should not feed dried bread to ducks and geese. I would avoid doing this in the future.
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QuestionCan geese eat whole corn?Community AnswerYes. Geese love corn, and especially whole corn.
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QuestionCan ducks eat chopped vegetables?Community AnswerYes, they can eat corn, lettuce, peas, etc.
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Tips
- If you see a nest, leave it alone, and never try to examine or take eggs out of it.Thanks
- Feed at your own risk.Thanks
- Do not touch the geese.Thanks
Tips from our Readers
The advice in this section is based on the lived experiences of wikiHow readers like you. If you have a helpful tip you’d like to share on wikiHow, please submit it in the field below.
- Learn their body language so you know if you need to leave the area.
- If you talk to the geese, they will talk back and come to know you.
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References
- ↑ https://www.beautyofbirds.com/swandiet.html
- ↑ https://www.beautyofbirds.com/swandiet.html
- ↑ https://www.beautyofbirds.com/swandiet.html
- ↑ https://www.beautyofbirds.com/swandiet.html
- ↑ https://www.beautyofbirds.com/swandiet.html
- ↑ https://www.beautyofbirds.com/swandiet.html
- ↑ http://articles.lovecanadageese.com/feedingcanadageese.html
- ↑ https://www.leicester.gov.uk/media/179772/feeding-geese-and-swans.pdf
- ↑ https://www.leicester.gov.uk/media/179772/feeding-geese-and-swans.pdf
About This Article
Article Summary
X
To feed geese safely, make sure that you use safe feeding techniques and that the food you’re offering is suitable for birds. Only try to feed geese if they appear calm and alert, since geese that squawk loudly or are wary of you may be likely to attack. If you see geese wandering slowly about, offer them greens like lettuce or spinach. Alternatively, try wholegrain bread, lentils, or small seeds. Remember never to feed geese by hand, since they may bite you or fight each other. Instead, put out the food and retreat to a safe distance to watch them eat. You can also throw the food to the geese. For tips on how to keep children safe while you’re feeding geese, keep reading!
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Reader Success Stories
- "I deliver the newspaper to an area in our city and noticed a mother Canada goose nesting in a planter with last years dried up plants in it. It is in a corner of the front door and I wanted to find out what to treat her with for food. I don't plan on feeding her daily, as this is not good for her wild instincts. This article helped with good nutritional information for this beautiful nesting goose. An honor to witness so close up. I have to put the newspaper close to her nest without disturbing her." ..." more
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"I deliver the newspaper to an area in our city and noticed a mother Canada goose nesting in a planter with last years dried up plants in it. It is in a corner of the front door and I wanted to find out what to treat her with for food. I don't plan on feeding her daily, as this is not good for her wild instincts. This article helped with good nutritional information for this beautiful nesting goose. An honor to witness so close up. I have to put the newspaper close to her nest without disturbing her."
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"I have kept two or three geese for many years, but feeding has been hit and miss. I have always fed a slice of bread daily - I shall stop this and keep it as a weekly treat. I always collect up the uneaten chips after a meal for the geese! Thanks."
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"Geese flock around a certain street and won't get out of the road, so I started feeding little chunks of whole wheat bread. I mentioned this to neighbors and I got read the riot act about feeding the geese. Now I know what to feed them!"
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"Good to know all the different foods that are good for them, and to feed them away from places such as walking paths."
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"The most important was the information about which foods to feed them!"
