Poor Audrey! Yes, they can certainly be out on pasture, as long as they are safe from predators. Last year when I was raising my goslings without a goose-mama, I put them out in a pen with their water dish. The pen was nothing more than some of that wire shelving sections zip-tied together, but it worked great and was easy to move to give them a fresh piece of grass when needed.

As far as their separation anxieties, they will just have to tough it out. Start by leaving them in their pen and walking away... maybe do some gardening within sight but not really near. You can call to them now and again and go back to see them. They will begin to calm down after a while and learn that the sky doesn't fall and that you will come back.

The goslings will need to be able to get out of the strong sun and also protection from rain. A small tarp held down with bungee cords will work well. Try your dollar store. If you have a birdbath, disinfect it and give them the dish as a wading pool on a hot afternoon. This will distract them and give them something fun to do. A kiddy pool is too deep at this point, I think.

Good luck! They will like being out on pasture and will soon learn to be geese. They will stink less when they are eating mainly greens too.

Oh thank you! I can't wait to get them out. It's raining today so tomorrow's the day. Hooray!

Audrey, it just occurred to me to mention that once goslings are eating greens they also need grit. Chick-sized granite grit from the feed store or failing that, coarse sand. They may pick up enough on their own, but I wouldn't chance it. It's so inexpensive to buy and it goes a long way.

Funny, I can't remember my goslings ever being particularly stinky... Just out of curiosity, what are you feeding them? I remember once I couldn't get the organic feed for my chickens and so bought a bag of commercial feed. Wow, did their poop stink until the bag was gone!

I've actually been adding grit to their feed the last week or so. I had some for a pigeon I raised a few years ago.

I think the reason my geese are so stinky is that they continuously slop around in their water bowl, get their bedding all wet and mix it up real well with poo. I can't keep up with keeping their bedding dry and voila - stench! I can't wait til tomorrow!

You'll enjoy them much more outdoors! I will expect reports in a day or two about how much fun they are, how cute, how sweet, how smart... LOL. Goslings are wonderful, but not my idea of a housepet. Did you know, however, that lots of people have geese and ducks for pets and diaper them to prevent the inevitable mess? I kid you not!

OK, I love them but not THAT much! I really have to draw the line at diapering a goose and bringing it in the house! My little Bearded D'Anver hen, Celia.....well, that might be a different story. I'm ashamed to admit that I've been tempted!

One other thing - do I still need to supplement their feed (in this case they've been getting flock raiser by Purina) or are they OK to just get pasture?

Yes, they still need a good quality feed, as well as pasture. Their need for it will lessen over time, but at three weeks I would still offer at least two feedings a day. If their feed is a pellet rather than a mash you can offer it free choice next to their water for another couple of weeks. I am feeding an organic grower mash, so I mix it with water and give them only what they will clean up within twenty minutes or so. I was feeding three times a day, but have cut back to morning and evening and also decreased the amount slightly as some was being wasted.

It is sometimes hard to know how much or how often to feed them when they are on pasture. Last year my goslings soon lost interest in the mash, although I continued to offer it. They preferred pasture. This year's goslings are greedy little piggies... but I stick to the two feedings because too much high energy, high protein food can cause "angel wing". They aren't starving, in spite of their fibs... they are plump and growing fast and have all the pasture they can eat.

Well, I put out a bowl of food and they haven't touched it. I just can't imagine that they're getting enough to eat but I guess if they're hungry they'll eat. It's hard for me to leave any food out because I have pot-bellied pigs and they'll flip the entire pen upside down and inside out to get at the feed. Sometimes they really make me mad.