Keeping Geese in Australia: The Complete Guide

Are geese right for you?

Geese reward the right property. They eat mostly grass, weed orchards and vineyards, and raise a loud alarm at strangers. They can live around 20 years, so buying geese is a long commitment, and an unhappy gander in breeding season can be aggressive and noisy. They need space, grass and a neighbour who will tolerate the sound. If you have a small suburban block, ducks, chickens or quail are almost always a better choice: compare them in Chickens vs Ducks vs Quail.

Check the rules first: councils, states and bird flu

Geese are the animal councils restrict most. Moreton Bay (Qld) allows no geese on blocks under 20,000 m² and ten on larger blocks. Mitcham council in South Australia treats ducks and geese as poultry. Alice Springs allows geese without a permit if they are contained, but warns that geese and ducks can be noisy and aggressive and expects ponds to be cleaned at least every second day. Use My Council in One Place to find your council.

Checked 7 October 2026 from state department pages. Poultry registration rules cover geese too. See our state-by-state livestock rules.

Bird flu. H5N1 (clade 2.3.4.4b) reached wild birds on the Australian mainland in June 2026. Ducks, geese and swans are identified as the main wild-to-domestic risk group, and geese are described as particularly susceptible. Official advice is to keep poultry away from wild birds and their droppings, keep geese off ponds wild birds use (provide an enclosed alternative), cover feed and water and report sick or dead birds on 1800 675 888. Victoria has ordered flocks of 50 or more birds in many southern and coastal council areas to be housed. Read our bird flu article and the Agriculture Victoria order page.

Land and grazing

Grass is most of a goose’s diet. A UK guide suggests a quarter of an acre of grass suits a pair, and our Goose Housing Planner uses about 2.8 m² of pasture per goose as a minimum, which only works if you rotate them and supplement with grain. In dry summers and in arid zones, pasture dies back and geese need extra feed and water. Geese will weed between orchard trees and in vineyards, but they can damage young plants, so protect seedlings and young trees. See rotational grazing.

Housing, water and predators

A pair needs about 2.2 m² of shed (a 6 by 4 foot shed), and four or five geese about 4.3 m², in a UK beginner guide that matches our planner’s roughly 0.9–1 m² per goose. The shed should be dry, well ventilated and fox-proof, and geese are shut in at night. Geese do not need a pond: a tub deep enough to submerge their heads is sufficient, though they enjoy wading. Because of bird flu, an enclosed tub is safer than a pond wild birds use. In Australia, foxes, dogs and raptors threaten goslings, so use predator-proof fencing and cover. The Goose Housing Planner sizes the shed, pasture and cost.

Breeds, behaviour and noise

Chinese geese are lightweight and the noisiest of the common breeds. Embden and Toulouse are heavy breeds commonly kept for meat. The Australian Settler goose was developed for Australian conditions, can live over 20 years, and is noisy and needs plenty of fresh water in summer. Purebred numbers are declining. Geese are the noisiest poultry, and a gander in breeding season can disturb neighbours, so think carefully about your boundaries. Aggression is more common than in ducks or chickens, and handling goslings gently from young helps.

Most geese lay seasonally, often only a few dozen eggs a year. Our Goose Cost & Payback Calculator assumes 20–50 eggs a season and a meat price of about $45/kg, both unsourced estimates, so adjust them. Eggs take 29 days to hatch: use the Incubation Day-by-Day Planner.

Feed, health and care

Grass and clover supply most of the diet in the growing season, with wheat or layer pellets and grit in winter, in the dry and during laying. Goslings need a starter feed. Keep water clean and wash feeders. Quarantine new birds for 30 days, watch for worms and leg problems, and ask a vet about any sudden deaths, since bird flu is notifiable. Geese are long-lived, so plan for old age and rehoming. Calculate feed with the Livestock Feed & Hay Budgeter.

How geese change with your climate zone

Geese need grass and water, so rainfall pattern matters more than temperature. Set your zone to see what applies to you.

Not sure of your zone? Use Find My Climate Zone.

Watch and learn

Every guide, tool and rule page for geese

Everything on this site that applies to geese, in one place.

Animal guides

• Geese: animal guide
• Keeping Geese: deep dive
• All poultry guides

How-to guides

• Rotational Grazing at Property Scale
• Fencing Basics
• Heavy-Duty Livestock Fencing

Rules and costs

• Backyard livestock rules by state
• Best states for backyard livestock
• Council permits and livestock fees
• Queensland council livestock rules
• NSW council livestock rules
• Victoria council livestock rules
• South Australia council livestock rules
• Western Australia council livestock rules
• Tasmania council livestock rules
• NT council livestock rules

Related reading

• Bird flu and backyard poultry
• Chickens vs ducks vs quail
• Keeping ducks: the complete guide
• How much land do you need?

Words worth knowing

• Biosecurity
• PIC
• Predator-proofing
• Incubation
• Candling
• Brooder
• Broody
• Deep litter
• Culling
• Moult
• Rotational grazing