Geese, Turkeys And Pheasants

[joblo]

Last week my wife and I went to the Royal Farm on the Prachinburri Chachensao border to get some - as she calls them farm ducks - Muscovy I would say, to cross-breed with her Khakis. To shorten the story, we returned with a pair of black and white geese (the male with splayed wing-tips). Three turkeys 2F/1M. Three Pheasants also 2F/1M. With the "farm ducks" too. Also about 30 ducklings (khaki). Good thing she did not have enough money with her or she would have bought a pair of ostriches, a pair of kiwis and a pair of emus as well. They were for sale too at about TBT8,000 each bird. No amount of badgering would get me to go back for them as we could not get them on the same day as the ATM limit is THB25,000 per day. (Phew! That was close.).

Now what the heck do we feed them and what else do we need to look into. We have the 8 birds in the same run, they seem to be getting along well so far, we are feeding them duck feed and have added some molasses to the water. I have done some 'googling' and but for the making sure they are kept warm, out of the snow (as if) (all North American sites). There is also an article on foraging for the geese, which I am loath to do as we have a dog that loves to PLAY and has managed to kill a few chickens in his day, just playing. Maybe I should pen the dog and let the geese out.

I might add that we or rather the wife keeps about 80 ducks and some chickens too in a separate run.

Any advice will be appreciated - Thanx

[ozzydom]

Your geese (probably chinese) are primarily grazing birds, meaning a high percentage of their food requirement comes from cropping grasses, they also need access to water at all times (as do ducks), in saying that,they can still put away large amounts of standard duck food (the foods with plenty of corn is great for them.

Pheasants need a higher protein food (high in meat or fishmeal content), they do ok on 45% protein fish food pellets. and really thrive if you can source some grasshoppers and other bugs.

They are not easy to breed as they tend to cannibalism ,better results can be had by either an incubator or putting the eggs under a broody hen or muscovy.

You will either need to pinion them or put a wire cover over their pen or they will "fly the coop".

Turkeys are ok on duck feed, they are not good preeners and need a sand pit or heap of rice husks to " have a bath in otherwise they can suffer from bird mite infestations.

All birds ,and in particular water fowl need either shell grit or access to fairly small gravel which they eat to aid their digestive system,

[Chinavet]

Joblo, let the geese out....your dog will learn very quickly they are not ducks! Keeps the snakes down too.

[ozzydom]

Joblo, let the geese out....your dog will learn very quickly they are not ducks! Keeps the snakes down too.

To true Chinavet, when the village mongrels intrude on our fish farms ,our two Chinese ganders attack them head on, two ganders side by side with wings spread and honking away must resemble a Mack truck with air horns blaring to the mongrels as they soon depart.

My border collie reckons the geese are great as it saves her chasing strays away all day.

[joblo]

Thanks Ozzydom & Chinavet, Great advice I will let you know how it goes.JB

[Maizefarmer]

..... Geese make a noise - 24/7 - you're in for a shocker: the neighbours will be up in arms within a week, if you haven't shot the lot before they do.

Think hard before going down the "I'll keep geese" path. A good 100yards or so from the house and nearest neighbour(s) min distance! First class alarm system, though - far better than the average pooch!

[teletiger]

..... Geese make a noise - 24/7 - you're in for a shocker: the neighbours will be up in arms within a week, if you haven't shot the lot before they do.

Think hard before going down the "I'll keep geese" path. A good 100yards or so from the house and nearest neighbour(s) min distance! First class alarm system, though - far better than the average pooch!

Hahaha. I love this subject. Keep your geese tightly corralled and covered at night. We gave our 5 geese free range of the farm. A huge mistake. Once an Hour, on the hour, during the night, the lead gander will lift up and go on a "recce" of the farm yard, taking the gang with him. If as much as a leaf stirs, or a beetle farts, Honk, Honk, Honk, the sky is falling, everyone run!

Our geese had free access to the pasture in the day and we corn fed them at night. Come slaughter time (none too soon for the staff) They were really tough. Let us know how you get on Joblo. Did I mention the "Kee han' everywhere? Haha.

Regards

[BAYBOY]

Joblo

Did they really have a pair of Kiwis for sale at the place where you bought your birds?

BAYBOY

[joblo]

Thanx for the valuable feedback and comments guys, so far they are reasonably quite but the poop droppings are getting bigger and the honking is getting louder as they are growing. They seem to forage quite well and the male seems to like the pond, but not the female.

Joblo

Did they really have a pair of Kiwis for sale at the place where you bought your birds?

Yes Bayboy They were motley looking chicks when I asked about it the said 'Nok Jing jo' which I took to mean Australian Birds. The only Australian bird I know that is a big bird of that size is an Emu. When I questioned them they showed me the parents - they were Kiwis I thought. "Yea I am the expert at nothing" - but that's what I thought they were, they could have been a Thai version of Big Bird. They had all sorts of large and flightless birds as well.

[bina]

pheasants can be given small high protein dog chow as supplement to their protein requirements-- we used a science diet/eukenuba style for working dogs, for the high protein; also hard boiled eggs mashed with the shells.... some breeds of pheasants can be very nasty to other birds, depending on the breed. also, they like to roost high up... and as for colours, many breeds only get good colour in their second year... hatcheries are best as said above , for chick rearing; or farming the eggs out to a broody hen.

DO NOT GET OSTRICHES... the males are nasty , violent , and i have had several nasty experiences with an in -heat male, until we turned him in to isaan ostrich laab (here in israel)....

emus are cool, we kept ducks with ours but when we put them geese in with them, the geese hassled the emus (but they were old lady emus so maybe they were just lacking energy)

also, emu babies need special runs and special diet to prevent splay leg syndrome... our emus ate 2 meals day of high protein dog chow, chopped mixed fruit and cukes, alfalfa hay, mealy bugs, rabbit chow, duck feed, and about anything else they could get their beaks on to...

geese? if u have small children, a nasty gander can cause real damage (nasty gander grabbing friend's three year old boy -- almost caused a second circumcision.!!! other then that, they are great grazers, u can heard them from place to place, good watch dogs, but the noise is deafening...

bina

israel

[joblo]

Thanks for the advice guys & lady.

Just to let you all the poultry are doing well except for the turkeys. One went walkabout, maybe got killed like his sister, by a mongoose. Last weekend. I actually saw a mongoose scramble up the chicken wire and attack the turkey, by the time I got to the run it was off with turkey in mouth. Oh well sh&^ happens, the turkey was too much of a turkey to get out of the way of a hungry mongoose.

The geese now 'own' the yard and as you guys said - a noisy bunch - but they have enough space to forage in. The geese are not coming back to sleep in their enclosure at night and refuse to get herded in. They prefer staying out over night it seems. The food, water and cover doesn't seem to entice them.

The pheasants now come home to roost at night in their own enclosure after harassing the other birds daytime.

Bina, thankfully no children. Mt wife has told me what the Thais feed to the geese when the husband gets a bit too randy and thinks of taking on a 'mia nooi', so I have been warned!

Bayboy, they were Kiwis, two have died and there is one left. I saw yesterday when we went to get more ducklings, that's all we got this time.

Ozzydom & chinavet thanks for the advice, I have not seen a snake around since the geese were let out, not that they bother us anyway. They also keep the neighbours goats away too.

JB

Edited June 16, 2009 by joblo

[MrWiggle]

My border collie

Do you know where to get Border Collies in Los ??

I was told of an Ozzie guy breeding them somewhere also.

As for geese, is it true they keep snakes at bay ? and just read about chasing away mongrel dogs, is this true also that they hunt off strays ?

cheers

[billd766]

My wife and her mother keep ducks around our place and though there is about 10 rai the little buggers always crap on the concrete outside the kitchen and the house.

How can I stop them doing it there?

[ozzydom]

My border collie

Do you know where to get Border Collies in Los ??

I was told of an Ozzie guy breeding them somewhere also.

As for geese, is it true they keep snakes at bay ? and just read about chasing away mongrel dogs, is this true also that they hunt off strays ?

cheers

True, even the mild mannered Chinese goose normally found here are masters of all they survey , but if your can find a pair of Emden geese ,even rottweilers give those bad tempered buggars a wide berth.

I hand reared my three Chinese and they imprinted with me , if I sit on the grass at the ponds they come and sit with me and neither my wife or my border collie is allowed to approach, let alone strays.

Chinese geese are also bi-lingual, I cant make a goose noise so I use a crow call to bring them in with the required effect.

[MrWiggle]

and the border collies ?

[473geo]

Pheasant - pluck when still warm.......roast with Bacon on the breast - beautiful

[ozzydom]

and the border collies ?

Try BC- Lovers Kennel

Ph. 081 8377250

email [email protected]

[Waterbuffalofarm]

Last week my wife and I went to the Royal Farm on the Prachinburri Chachensao border to get some - as she calls them farm ducks - Muscovy I would say, to cross-breed with her Khakis. To shorten the story, we returned with a pair of black and white geese (the male with splayed wing-tips). Three turkeys 2F/1M. Three Pheasants also 2F/1M. With the "farm ducks" too. Also about 30 ducklings (khaki). Good thing she did not have enough money with her or she would have bought a pair of ostriches, a pair of kiwis and a pair of emus as well. They were for sale too at about TBT8,000 each bird. No amount of badgering would get me to go back for them as we could not get them on the same day as the ATM limit is THB25,000 per day. (Phew! That was close.).

Now what the heck do we feed them and what else do we need to look into. We have the 8 birds in the same run, they seem to be getting along well so far, we are feeding them duck feed and have added some molasses to the water. I have done some 'googling' and but for the making sure they are kept warm, out of the snow (as if) (all North American sites). There is also an article on foraging for the geese, which I am loath to do as we have a dog that loves to PLAY and has managed to kill a few chickens in his day, just playing. Maybe I should pen the dog and let the geese out.

I might add that we or rather the wife keeps about 80 ducks and some chickens too in a separate run.

Any advice will be appreciated - Thanx

[zzaa09]

Joblo, let the geese out....your dog will learn very quickly they are not ducks! Keeps the snakes down too.

Indeed. They tend to be the best watch animals around. Full of fiesty character...we've a dozen geese on the property and just let the be - roam freely. They know where home is. Outside of normal grazing and scavaging, we'll supplement with food scraps and whatnot - since they are omniverous. Since we have them without the genuine ideals of having them for lunch, they just keep propagating.....they've become family.

[Maizefarmer]

Pheasant - pluck when still warm.......roast with Bacon on the breast - beautiful

Pluck when still warm .............? - and then hang without feathers?????

It'll be full of maggots within a couple days - and bearing in mind you normally hang pheasent for a good 3 days to a week plus before it become real tender, I;d hate to think what would have become of it by then.

... the bacon idea is cool though - stops the breats drying out in the oven.

[hiro]

Pheasant - pluck when still warm.......roast with Bacon on the breast - beautiful

Pluck when still warm .............? - and then hang without feathers?????

It'll be full of maggots within a couple days - and bearing in mind you normally hang pheasent for a good 3 days to a week plus before it become real tender, I;d hate to think what would have become of it by then.

... the bacon idea is cool though - stops the breats drying out in the oven.

I went to look for a pair of siam pheasants in Bang Saphan the other day.

They want 10.000 Baht for a pair.

Anyone knows an alternate source ?

Thank you

[tim armstrong]

What a great topic. sounds like the christmas carol - although no partridges mentioned. Don't you just love Thailand - went to buy some ducks, came back with a zoo! One point about the turkeys. They are highly nervous and very stupid. My mother once sent me to the chookyard to get one for Christmas dinner. Being 9yrs old and inexperienced I chased them around the yard until one fell over. Except most of the others did too - and died. Not a popular boy that year.

[afarang]

What a hoot of a topic. Wonderful. Yes turkeys are stupid. So, If I refer to or call someone a turkey, it is because they are stupid or have done something stupid.Commonly used in Aust..Any where else?

[slappy]

Hi

I live up in Khon Kaen province, and i am looking to buy Khaki Ducklings, Ornamental Pheasants Guineafowl and Goats can you give us any idea where i can buy from. I have been trying to find on the internet, but without success. I see a lot of ducks to eat in markets shops etc but no one as yet can give me details of a duck breeding farm.

Thanks

[ozzydom]

Hi

I live up in Khon Kaen province, and i am looking to buy Khaki Ducklings, Ornamental Pheasants Guineafowl and Goats can you give us any idea where i can buy from. I have been trying to find on the internet, but without success. I see a lot of ducks to eat in markets shops etc but no one as yet can give me details of a duck breeding farm.

Thanks

slappy,you mention Khaki,s and eating ducks in the same paragraph,do you want the ducks for eggs,eating or both?

Pekins are a far better bird for both.

[tim armstrong]

Pheasant - pluck when still warm.......roast with Bacon on the breast - beautiful

Pluck when still warm .............? - and then hang without feathers?????

It'll be full of maggots within a couple days - and bearing in mind you normally hang pheasent for a good 3 days to a week plus before it become real tender, I;d hate to think what would have become of it by then.

... the bacon idea is cool though - stops the breats drying out in the oven.

I went to look for a pair of siam pheasants in Bang Saphan the other day.

They want 10.000 Baht for a pair.

Anyone knows an alternate source ?

Thank you

Strewth ! how do you get into this industry ? I presume you can breed them in sheds?

[slappy]

Hi

I live up in Khon Kaen province, and i am looking to buy Khaki Ducklings, Ornamental Pheasants Guineafowl and Goats can you give us any idea where i can buy from. I have been trying to find on the internet, but without success. I see a lot of ducks to eat in markets shops etc but no one as yet can give me details of a duck breeding farm.

Thanks

slappy,you mention Khaki,s and eating ducks in the same paragraph,do you want the ducks for eggs,eating or both?

Pekins are a far better bird for both.

I am just wanting them for eggs. It's just that where ever i go you can find duck ready cooked, but whenever i ask about where can i buy day old ducklings no one knows.

[ozzydom]

Depending on where you live,ask your local stock feed shop,they can usually source them for you but most shops in country areas get them in on a regular basis

Dont buy from the trucks that ply the villages flogging them,you will end up with all drakes.

[Morden]

Turkeys for sale from one to ten months old.

Our flock has reached the stage where we can sell some live birds for pets, breeding or the pot. They are all fully inoculated, free to roam and forage and fed with high protein turkey feed.

The present choice is mature stags (males), stags and hens coming to maturity and young poults.

We can give advice on feeding and caring for them to any buyer who needs it.

Please PM me for more information.

[slappy]

Turkeys for sale from one to ten months old.

Our flock has reached the stage where we can sell some live birds for pets, breeding or the pot. They are all fully inoculated, free to roam and forage and fed with high protein turkey feed.

The present choice is mature stags (males), stags and hens coming to maturity and young poults.

We can give advice on feeding and caring for them to any buyer who needs it.

Please PM me for more information.

Hi Morden

Can you tell me where you live, as i live in Khon Kaen province and would be interested in buying some.

what does PM stand for? for more information, How do i get in touch with you.

Thanks