I have often heard it said that chickens are the gateway animal into homesteading.  I began my personal journey about 25 years ago now. It amazes me, as much as it amazes my friends, that until this past year, I had avoided raising geese.  As a mother with children, I had been hesitant because I know that many cliches that involve farm animals exist because well, there is a lot of truth. Crying over spilled milk is real! So the idea of having something that might goose us, well, it took me some time to give them a try.  My unofficial research began through a call with one of our customers as she gushed over how much she loved her Pilgrim Geese.

One of the first questions I asked her was, would this particular breed be likely to come up behind me and goose my back end when I am bent over weeding my flower bed. She laughed and then went on to tell me such delightful stories of her adventures raising geese.

Facts about Pilgrim Geese

Then it was time! I was ready to give Pilgrim Geese a try. They are known for being friendly. They are also auto sexing, which means I will know males vs females on the day of hatch once I start hatching out my own babies. Their final size will put them around 13-15 lbs, so they are not a super light goose, but not as heavy as some of the other breeds. 

As with other breeds of geese, their laying season is short which means that the opportunity to buy goslings is pretty limited. Here at Meyer Hatchery we generally have goslings available from March until the end of May, sometimes into part of June. 

If you would like to purchase goslings, regardless of the breed, it is important to get your orders placed early because they will sell out. Breeds such the Pilgrim Geese often sell out for the season within a few weeks of their inventory release. We suggest using the Back In Stock Notification for any breeds you are interested in ordering and planning to place your order in the fall the year before you plan to get them.

The Pros and Cons of the Pilgrims

There is a lot to love about these feathery farm friends. One of the first things I learned about them is that Pilgrims love grass. While I do offer mine grain, they are entirely happy to waddle throughout my yard mowing down the grasses. They absolutely love clover and are making great gains in the reduction in the slug population.

While those things are wonderful, the strongest tug of my heart comes from their personalities.  I can understand why ducks might struggle to get in a row, but goslings really do heavily imprint upon their humans. I struggled with getting pictures of my goslings when I first purchased them because they wanted to stay close to me. If I moved, they moved. If I ran, they would run and it was hilarious to watch them too!

It did not take long for me to completely fall head over heels in love with them. Even as they got older and I was able to let them free range during the day, they would still come to me whenever I called for them. They are my farm yard gossips. They let me know what all of the others around the homestead are doing. They always walk around with their necks stretched out, while looking at me, while chattering away. They are a complete delight to have around the farm. 

Of course, there are some cons. They poop a lot. Though to be fair to the goslings, I found their feces to be a lot more tolerable than that of ducks. With ducks, I would struggle with cleaning off my sidewalk due to the consistency.  With goslings, I could just wait a day and then sweep it off. A little discoloration remained a little longer but nothing that would stick to my shoes. Ducks seem to be always more of a splatter that would take days, even weeks to disappear.

As they are excellent at foraging, they also are great to raise along vineyards, orchards and berry bushes. They can live entirely on grasses if you wish, but do grow faster and fatten up a little better if you provide about 20% of their daily rations in the form of grains.  They are not a danger to flower beds nor will they tear up the ground as they do not scratch around like chickens. They will also not dust bathe in your peonies. 

If you are looking for a great addition to your homestead, consider the Pilgrim Geese. They are everything that they quack up to be and more.