AUSTRALIAN POULTRY FORUM™

going only to answer and geese ARE in the answer

Maremma = I recommend anyone with birds and acreage to get them
they are fantastic livestock guardian dogs but do need land around them they are not good suburban backyard dogs

mine were already living with geese (from birth to going home with me at 9weeks old = 5yrs ago now) which helped as they already knew the honk noise
One works days in the paddock with his birds and has nights off in the backyard (with his birds) yes the 3 acres is my back yard the goose paddock is 50 acres
He stunned me when my pet cow had her calf 15months ago by guarding the calf – the calf is nearly a full grown bull but the dog still guards him!! And that bull = loves his mate
The other guards us, the few geese she has and the driveway, she learnt very quickly that was her job = driveway attendant – no one gets past her or near the house – she bonded with us more than the birds but still guards her birds well
They are good door bells as you know well before anyone gets to the last gate that someone is coming up the drive = very long driveway

Maremma bond well with humans – if you want your children ‘guarded’ have the pup grow up with the children as they grow up = it will always guard them

But you have to remember they are not like other breeds of dog and should not be treated the same = they are not toys to be dragged around in the car or brought into the house to sleep or paraded around on a leash in town – these are stupid things to do with a Maremma as it screws with their heads = they are genetically bred over more than 1500 years to be livestock guardians = yes they bond with their humans but they are NOT pets

Now = most Maremma are paddock dogs their whole lives and just guard the birds or whatever it is they bond with, but if trained correctly they show THEIR form of affection to the humans in their lives = remembering they are not like your standard pet breeds

Best to acquire as pups and bond them to the species you want them to be with
It is a slow process that takes until they are about 1yr old but worth it

They are not a breed that can just be ‘thrown in’ with chooks or geese or turkeys or whatever and just expect them to bond and guard = they need supervision and training

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=10485&start=0&hilit=training+a+maremma
read this post it will give a guide on how to train them

I used this as a guide (long before it was posted here) but added my own twist to have the dogs the way I wanted them = I needed hand signals as well as verbal due to the distances involved at my place verbal doesn’t cut it when the dog is 500+mts away!

back on topic = got all you need re night housing for geese now?

anyone else got any ideas for good night housing for geese??

Thanks soozorps
Will post photos of the stages of building.

^ excellent = looking forward to seeing them

Thanks very much that is great Info on the soozorps

Your luck there we have heaps

Out of both feral animals I would rather the dingo its the lessor of two evils

All our are locked away at night because of foxes

Will geese return to their pen on dusk on their own like our chooks do? I have yet to release the new geese but would love them to just return to their own night pen for safety like then chooks always do

Eventually they will go back to their night area but you will have to train them by walking behind them to direct them where you want them to go throwing a small amount of grain into the night area helps = usually takes 4 days to a week – they are creatures of habit and once the habit is formed they will pretty much stick to it
You will always have to supervise them tho as one will be the odd one out wanting to stay in the paddock just that bit longer and as soon as the others see that one they will want to go back out as well = barrier* and grain = works wonders

* Use a piece of shade cloth as wide as you can comfortably reach and as high as mid thigh = this barrier will help them walk in the direction you want them to go