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FEEDING CANADA GEESE

By Choo Choo Love

June 8, 2007

(I'm feeding Becky)

Canada geese will not remain in an area because you feed them and migrating geese migrate, duh!

Certain news articles and wildlife agencies advise us not to feed Canada geese. They claim that we will do them more harm than good. They also claim that feeding Canada geese will cause them to depend on us for food, causing them to lose the ability to forage and delaying their migration. Is this true?

Please CLICK HERE to read an Audubon article about feeding backyard birds. Although this article deals with feeding backyard birds, it also discusses whether feeding wild birds delay their migration and causes them to lose their ability to forage. Geese are wild birds and many people actually have them seek out their backyard bird feeders.

We've been feeding Canada geese for five years now and our experience contradicts the claims.

CANADA GEESE WILL NOT REMAIN IN AN AREA BECAUSE THEY'RE BEING FED.

HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES TO ILLUSTRATE THIS POINT TO YOU:

1. In the spring of 2004, we fed about twelve nesting pairs from the end of March till mid-May. Due to an unusually heavy May snowstorm, many nests were destroyed. The pairs who were unsuccessful at starting a family left the nesting area immediately. We have no idea where they went to but we assume that they joined the molting flocks in another location. They left the area in spite of our feeding them.
2. Several successful parents also left the nesting area the day after their goslings hatched. When we visited the nesting area the next day, they had vanished. Some of them ended up at the park pond a half-mile from the nest site. We have no idea where the other parents took their goslings. They, too, left the area in spite of our feeding them. 
3. All our geese migrated south when the first big snowstorm hit the city. In 2003, they migrated at the end of October. In 2004, they migrated at the end of November. In 2005, they migrated in mid-November. And in 2006, they migrated at the end of October after a heavy snowstorm blanketed their food source and the pond began to freeze. The Chesters, one of our favorite goose family, migrated south in early November of 2004 and 2005, long before the snowstorm hit the city. They did so in spite of the fact that they were the best fed geese in the park. A snowstorm blanketed their main food source: grass and waste grain. Even though we brought them food every single day, we were only providing their dessert, not their main course. After our geese migrated south, we observed that other flocks of Canada geese stopped over in Winnipeg on their way south. Our geese were NOT the last to migrate even though we fed them. Besides, many goose articles and books mention that Giant Canada geese will usually stay until it's marsh freezing cold.
4. In the spring of 2005, Becky, an unmated Canada goose, showed up at the nesting area April 1. We fed her that day. She showed up again April 4. April 5 was the last time we saw her. In spite of our feeding her, she only showed up three times in April. 
5. Frank, a gander that we've known for five years, showed up at the nesting site with his wife April 8, 2005 and sometime in April, 2006. Since those dates, we have not seen Mrs. Frank - we presumed she was nesting. Frank has appeared only a dozen times since April, despite our visiting the area everyday, bringing grain. The day after their goslings hatched, the Franks left the nesting site, in spite of our feeding him.
6. In The Geese of Beaver Bog, Dr. Bernd Heinrich writes about Peep, a Canada goose that he raised from a gosling. This "domesticated" goose left Dr. Heinrich's home to join the wild flocks when she was about five months old. She returned with a mate two years later. Dr. Heinrich fed the pair and another Canada goose pair during the breeding season and in spite of his feeding them, they left the bog. One pair left the bog because of a failed nesting attempt. The other pair left the bog to take their goslings to another pond about two miles away. 
7. In Bandy: The True Tale of a Courageous Cape Cod Canada Goose, Marcia Croce Martin writes about a one-legged gander whom she has befriended and fed for many years. In spite of her feeding him, Bandy, a "resident" Canada goose, flies off with other geese after molting. He goes off for months on end. Marcia's cracked corn is not enough reason for him to stay when he has molted and must answer the need to fly and wander. Geese are wandering souls. It doesn't matter that they're considered "resident" geese who do not know their way up to Canada. They still need to wander.

We also learned that our geese, though tame toward us, remain wild and wary. Often, when we're with them, strangers walk up to join us. Our geese sound their warning honks and often dive into the pond in their effort to get away from the strangers. They don't come back up to us until the stranger has departed. Sometimes we meet friends at the park who decide to accompany us while we feed the geese. If our geese are in the pond, they swim toward us but stop at the shore, throwing uncertain glances toward our friends. It is only when our friends depart that they will come up to us.

Canada geese recognize particular people. We have often been surprised to be greeted by our geese when we're not in the usual park pond or nesting area, when we're among a lot of other people, and when we're not carrying any food. They fly or run up to us, honking their exuberant greetings, and extend their necks out to us, performing their bowing greeting ceremony, something they do toward fellow geese. There is no greater honor than to be accepted as their friend and to be treated as a fellow goose.

SO WHY DO WILDLIFE AGENCIES PERSIST IN THIS MISLEADING PROPAGANDA?

Author Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson answers this question in The Pig Who Sang to the Moon: "What does it take to become everybody's favorite animal?" he asks. "You need to become acquainted up close."

The more you interact with Canada geese, the more you will discover how lovable and adorable they are, and their lives will become important to you. The less you know, the less important their lives.

Wildlife agencies don't want you feeding Canada geese because they don't want you to become acquainted with them up close. They don't want you to realize that Canada geese are wonderful, intelligent, sensitive, caring and lovable creatures. If you realize the humanity of Canada geese, you will be outraged that the government persecutes them, promoting their legal murder and destruction. You will fervently oppose hunting and other government actions to remove and slaughter Canada geese.

In many cities across North America, wildlife agencies penalize the feeding of Canada geese while promoting and rewarding cruelty toward them (hunting, gassing, separating goslings from parents, butchering, etc.). Any logical and reasonable person should conclude that this is wrong.  

Once you get to know Canada geese, you will discover that they're more intelligent and emotional than most cats and dogs. They care about their mates. They care about their young. They grieve when they lose their mates and children, which means they understand the concept of death and loss. They value their life. They're loyal to their friends, man or geese. They have emotions: joy, sorrow, jealousy, love, anger, desire. They know fear and they can feel pain. They are gentle, responsive creatures who need and desire your love and kindness.

WHAT AND HOW SHOULD YOU FEED CANADA GEESE?

If you'd like to feed Canada geese, bring them some cracked corn. That is their favorite grain and you can purchase it from a feed store. They're  nutritious and low in protein. Some pet stores carry them in bulk bins but these are usually more expensive than those you get at a feed store. Cracked corn usually costs about US $8/ 50 lbs.

They also like wheat, oats, and barley. All these may be purchased from a feed store.

If you're unable to purchase grain, wild bird feed is a good substitute. Read the label and look for feed that contains wheat and corn. You can get bags of them from grocery stores and Wal-Mart. You can also purchase hen scratch from feed stores. Hen scratch is a combination of wheat, barley, oats and cracked corn. Our geese love hen scratch. Not all hen scratch is made alike. We have discovered that hen scratch can be made up of different grains in different places. Sometimes, millet is mixed into hen scratch and geese are not especially fond of millet.

When feeding a flock, it is a good idea to place handfuls of grain spaced about 10-15 feet apart. This allows all the geese to eat in peace. Of course, it doesn't mean that fights will not erupt but the chances of it happening are much reduced if you feed this way. You can also row feed if the ground is clean by spreading long rows of grain along the ground. If you place all the grain in one big mound, geese will fight over it and the most aggressive geese will dominate the pile while the others have to stand and watch.

Goose with angel wings

We have read that bread is high in protein and sugars and may cause a condition known as angel wing in goslings. This condition will render the birds unable to fly. A goose that is unable to fly will not survive in the wild, especially in harsh climates. In our area, we have not seen angel wing in any of the ducks or geese that we have captured for rehabilitation even though we have seen folks feed them bread. Therefore, we feel that it may also be a genetically inclined condition and that those genes are not present in our area as the geese would not be able to survive in our harsh climate if they carried the genes. However, bread is basically junk food that has little or no nutritional value for geese. Most geese do love bread and we do offer our geese a little bread as a treat but we only offer bread to adult geese who are already flighted.

Feed Canada geese away from walking paths. Most people do not like their poop and they are exposed to dangers from dogs, bikes, racing kids, skateboards, etc. Feed them on the grass close to the water but do not throw the cracked corn or bread into the water. They have a tendency to sink to the bottom of the pond. In the heat of summer, the accumulated food can become toxic, causing a condition known as botulism, which has been known to kill pond animals. 

We feed our geese mostly during the nesting period and just before they head south. When Canada geese return from the south in mid-March, our city is usually covered with snow. There is no grass and ponds are frozen, which prevents geese from finding food. While nesting, Canada geese lose weight because they're unable to leave their nests to find food. We feel that our supplemental food helps them out at that time. Before they head south, they go through a phase known as hyperphagia in which they need to eat a lot to store food and energy for migration and winter. We feed them a lot less during the summer as there is usually plenty of grass and water plants (with the exception of droughts). Grass and pond plants are the best food for goslings.

WHEN NOT TO FEED CANADA GEESE:

If your park has a NO FEEDING policy (indicated by signs posted throughout the park), for the sake of the geese, please DO NOT FEED THE GEESE! To me, these are indications of intolerance toward Canada geese. Your feeding will only provoke the park authorities to initiate cruel treatment toward them.

If your neighborhood begins to complain and discuss ways of getting rid of Canada geese, please DO NOT FEED THEM. You and I know that your feeding is not the reason for their remaining at the park but we will have a hard time convincing people who believe in all the misleading propaganda spewed by the media and the government. Our feeding them at this time will only provoke anger and possibly cause our beloved geese to suffer from cruel treatment or even death.

DO CANADA GEESE GORGE THEMSELVES ON FOOD?

No. From our observation, they walk away when they're full. Goslings rest or go to sleep after snacking on food, even when there's food lying around. This is why the production of foie gras (force-feeding of ducks and geese to produce a fatty liver gourmet food) is extremely cruel and brutal.

Once they get to know you, they will run, fly and swim to you with unmitigated joy. You will enjoy their company. You will see that every goose is an individual with his or her own personality. You may even give them names based on their looks or personalities. You will look into their beautiful eyes and you will see what we see: creatures of magnificent beauty who have been unfairly maligned and persecuted by man; gentle, harmless, defenseless creatures who are being terrorized by government.