Modern homesteaders guide to keeping geese.

Throughout the years I've had many different types of poultry. I've raised everything from chickens and to quail. The ones that were the most fun to be around though were my Sebastopol Geese. They were the funniest critters ever, and grew more attached to me that any other poultry I've ever owned! 

My ducks could have cared less where I was at any point in time. 90% of my chickens felt the same way, unless I had treats! The geese though would follow me all over the yard. They wanted to be right by my side at all times and if I wasn't outside, they spent a good part of their time waiting by the back door for me to come out. They even learned to "knock" by tapping the glass with their bills to get my attention! 

Geese are a lot of fun but being my first large waterfowl, there was a bit of a learning curve. I spent a lot of time looking for answers online and specific information on geese is harder to find than chickens! Thankfully, someone finally wrote a book about raising geese and I was lucky enough to get a copy to check out early. The Modern Homesteaders Guide To Keeping Geese by Kirsten Lie-Nielsen.

While chickens preen in the spotlight, geese are the historic unsung heroes of small farms and homesteads. Providing weed control, large eggs, and entertainment, and acting as "security" over other animals, geese are the ultimate modern homesteading companion.

The Modern Homesteader's Guide to Keeping Geese covers everything you need to know to raise geese, including: 

Profiles of breeds and how to select the best one for your needs 

How to "imprint" goslings on a person 

Feeding, housing, animal health, and cold weather care 

Using geese for weed control, soil improvement, and as "watch-geese" 

Cooking with goose eggs and meat 

Additional coverage includes a look at the rich history of geese on farms in North America and Europe that will enhance any goose keeper's enjoyment of these intelligent and unique birds.

This practical guide is a must-have essential for the kitchen table of homesteaders, small farmers, permaculturists, and professional farmers looking to add the power of geese to their land.

This book is available on Amazon in both kindle and paperback editions. I have the paperback and it would be a great gift for the new goose keeper. I certainly wish I had it when I started raising geese!  

Here's a sorta funny story about my geese ...
When I first got my pair of Sebastopol geese and was looking for a name, I wanted to give them couples names. I started looking for  rhyming names, or famous couples. Since they were the most expensive geese I had ever even heard about I named them after one of the richest, most famous couples I knew of. This was about 7 years ago. Their names were Donald and Ivana. Ivana especially influenced the name because the real Ivana was a well dressed, classy lady and my goose was wayyy fancy and knew it! 

Flash forward to today and you can imagine the looks and confusion I get now that the whole presidency thing has happened! People especially like to 'correct' me and tell me it's Ivanka not Ivana. *sigh* Moral of the story ... no real people names for pets, because you never know how things may change. 

The book though, has solid advice that I'm sure will stand the test of time. 

~L

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