Geese

With their big personalities, Geese can make the perfect pets. By Carrol Baker.

Gorgeous geese have wonderful personalities, are easy to look after and fun to hang out with. You never know — your next pet might just be a sassy little goose. In the wild, geese are amazing creatures. Like swans, they can mate for life, and as a pet, they are very loyal too.

Breeder Michael Peel from Peel Ridge Stud says the ideal time to welcome a goose to your family is when they are just a day or so old. “When you hand-rear a gosling, you can lift them up and they’ll happily have a cuddle,” he says. “A brand-new gosling will grow up thinking you are its parent and follow you around like a little puppy.”

Geese are very curious by nature, especially when they are young, and they grow into adulthood quite quickly.

Michael raised his first goose when he was just eight years old, after his brother arrived home with three little goslings he’d bought at an auction. “I’ve stuck with them ever since then because I reckon they make great pets, they’re pretty cheeky and a bit of fun to have around.” Michael is a well-respected Australian breeder. In fact, he is credited with developing two new Australian breeds of geese, the White Chinese and the White Toulouse.

The original article was published in PETS issue 61. Click here to subscribe to our magazine.