Geese

I never thought of raising geese before, but once I heard about their pest control benefits I had to know more.  Then I saw the size of the goose eggs and so now I'm considering raising geese.

Many factory farm raised animals feed on grain (GMO corn to be precise), but many of these animals don't naturally eat grain.  Cows, for example, are grass eaters.  They eat grain because it is available, not because they would normally choose it.  Geese eat bark, grass and some of the pesky bugs that ruin your crops; this is why many suggest raising geese if you have an orchard.  I plan on having a variety of fruit trees so geese just may be the perfect livestock for me.

I don't know if I would pluck geese to sell their down though.  It sounds like it's an awfully painful process for them.  If I was to sell goose meat, (which may never happen) then I may consider selling the down that is left over after plucking the feathers off of the meat, but I would never want to live pluck the poor thing.  I love animals too much to watch them suffer.  I don't think I could even raise livestock for meat (yet I'm definitely an omnivore)!

I'm looking forward to learning more about geese.  It sounds like they would be an excellent choice for any homesteading project and the added bonus of harvesting goose eggs isn't bad either.