So, Can Geese Eat Meat?

When you think about the diet of geese, not knowing any better you probably assume they eat nothing but plants. Grasses, maybe some lily pads and any other plants that grow in or near the water. You’d be pretty much right in that regard, but surprised to learn that geese are, strictly speaking, herbivorous grazers that can eat animal proteins every now and then.

But, what we need to know is what kind of animal proteins they can have. How about meat? Can geese eat meat? And should you feed it to them on purpose?

Geese can eat certain kinds of meat as part of their usual diet like snails, slugs, small fish, and some insects, there’s absolutely no need to feed them meat yourself. The bulk of the diet should always be plant matter, while meat protein should be around 10% of their daily protein intake.

Geese can indeed eat meat, but it isn’t something they need an awful lot of, and practically speaking, they are mostly herbivores.

Geese, strictly speaking, can digest beef, pork and, perhaps most alarmingly, chicken as long as it’s prepared in a suitable way, but again, there is no need to go through the trouble. I hope it’s obvious, but I’ll say it again just in case: geese don’t eat these chicken, beef, or pork in the wild; they aren’t predators and not equipped for tearing meat off the bone!

The basis of a goose’s diet should always be plant matter for best health, but animal protein can still fit so long as it’s mostly in the form of the slugs and snails they forage for themselves. I’ll tell you more about the subject below…

Meat Type	Adult Geese	Goslings
Insects	✅ Can eat via foraging	✅ Can eat — important natural forage for young geese
Worms	✅ Can eat via foraging	✅ Can eat via foraging
Snails / mollusks	✅ Can eat via foraging	✅ Can eat — can occur naturally while foraging
Small crustaceans / aquatic invertebrates	✅ Can eat — natural opportunistic food	✅ Can eat — natural opportunistic food
Small fish	⚠️ Can eat occasionally	⚠️ Can eat occasionally, but isn’t necessary with an appropriate starter diet
Beef	❌ Do NOT feed deliberately	❌ Do NOT feed deliberately
Pork	❌ Should not be deliberately fed — particularly avoid processed or seasoned pork	❌ Do NOT feed deliberately
Chicken meat	❌ Should not be deliberately fed — no nutritional need	❌ Do NOT feed deliberately
Processed meats (ham, bacon, sausage, deli meat, etc.)	❌ Do NOT feed deliberately — high salt and unsuitable formulation	❌ Do NOT feed deliberately

Does Meat Have Health Benefits for Geese?

OK, so meat does have some health benefits for geese, but it’s mostly because of the individual amino-acids it has. They can typically get most of these amino-acids from plants if their diet is varied enough, needing between 18 and 24% of their calories to come from protein sources. In fact, geese shouldn’t subsist on plant matter alone as warned against here:

Diets of only bread, lettuce, and corn, which are unfortunately often provided, lead to deficiencies of protein and multiple vitamins and should be prevented. 

Nutrition in Waterfowl

Extra protein is especially important for any goose that’s molting, or when laying eggs, but again, this doesn’t mean they have to take it from animal sources.

The usual animals that are on the menu for geese in the wild are commonly associated with the water and surrounding wetlands, namely small fish, slugs and snails, but also various insects.

Nutrition Info for Meat

The nutritional content of meat varies considerably depending on what animal it comes from. Vitamin and mineral levels are obviously different, as is the net amount of protein and fat.

But we can look at fish, one of the animal proteins that geese would be most likely to eat regularly. Even then, the vitamin and mineral profiles of fish can vary considerably, so this is a generalization!

Many fish are invariably rich in protein, and have low- or non-existent carbs. Fish also has plenty of vitamins and minerals like vitamin D, vitamin A, iron, zinc, magnesium, phosphorous and selenium, along with other heathy compounds like omega-3 fatty acids.

Can Geese Eat Raw Meat?

Yes and no. While it’s true that the slugs and insects they forage for on their own is fully safe and digestible by them, that doesn’t mean raw supermarket meat is just as good. While they can eat it in theory, there’s no telling what microbiological risk the raw beef or raw chicken will carry for them.

Can Geese Eat Fish?

Yes, these can and will eat small fish, and are likely to take small fish that are given to them. They don’t eat nearly as many as most people would think, but they still make up an important nutritional component of their diet.

Can Geese Eat Insects?

Yes, definitely. Although nowhere near as fond of insects as chickens are, geese can and will eat various bugs, including some pretty big ones like grasshoppers or locusts.

Various crickets, beetles, and other creepy crawlies are definitely on the menu for geese, and you can supplement their usual diet with mealworms and things to boost their protein intake.

What Other Animal Proteins Can Geese Have?

Geese also eat other animal proteins that don’t fall squarely into the above categories, and these are typically things like slugs and snails.

This certainly makes sense because these creatures are often found in moist conditions, and since geese predominantly hang out near water sources it makes sense that there will be plenty of them for them to feast on.

If you have slugs, snails or both hanging around on your property, your geese will usually be happy to wipe them out when and where they find them.

Is Cooked Meat Safe for Geese?

Cooked meat is safer than raw meat, but it does not guarantee it’ll be risk free for your birds.

If you’re going to give your geese some sort of meat (beef, pork, chicken), and particularly if you’re going to mix it in with their feed or other foods, cooking is definitely a good idea… but an even better one is to not feed it to them and let them forage for snails and insects on their own.

Can Geese Eat Processed Meats?

No! Invariably, processed meats are prepared with lots of extra salt and sometimes sugar, and also crammed full of preservatives that geese should not have.

Salt and sugar are bad enough, more on them in a little while, but preservatives that are “safe” for human consumption could have harmful health consequences for geese. Not that every preservative is safe for them, but the risk is there, and there are plenty of other food options.

Don’t feed your geese canned tuna, canned sardines, Spam, or any other canned, processed meat, even if it is a type of meat they could ordinarily eat!

Can Goslings Eat Meat Safely?

Yes, but again we need to make the distinction: only very small insects, worms, tiny fish and other similarly sized creatures. Goslings are very sensitive eaters and have a delicate constitution, and there’s really no reason why they need animal proteins from any other source such as beef, pork, or chicken.

Arguably, goslings do best on a steady diet of starter feed and other needed supplements. They will naturally start to eat insects and mollusks on their own.

How Often Can Geese Eat Meat?

I’m sad to say, there is no documented number of servings per week that geese can have. Simply let them free-range for things like fish, insects, worms, slugs, snails and so forth by themselves.

Geese may have cooked meat as a rare treat, in small amounts, and after you’ve made sure they have a solid and regulated food plan in the form of fortified pellets.

Remember that they are primarily herbivores, and the majority of their diet is and should be plant matter. They might be able to handle more meat than what’s implied above, but that doesn’t mean you can push their digestive systems. Just something to keep in mind.

Preparing Meat for Geese

If we’re talking about whole meat options for your geese, things like insects, small fish, slugs, snails, etc, all you need to do is hand them over and let your geese chow down on them.

Other kinds of meat can be cut up into tiny cubes or morsels and then you can see if your geese will eat them. If not, consider grinding it up and mixing it into their usual feed.

Don’t Give Meat to Geese if it Has Any Bad Ingredients or Additives

Another thing to keep in mind when giving geese any meat, particularly meat that humans might eat, is that it should never be prepared with any ingredients that they cannot have.

Things like salt, sugar, other seasonings, processed meats, butter, and so forth are all terrible for them and they should never have them.

You might like a perfect cheeseburger or a wonderfully juicy pork chop with all the fixins’, but these are nothing that your geese should ever have.

If you’re going to give them meat, give them things they would normally find in nature – or plain, small portions of other meat if not as a rare treat.

Never Give Geese Moldy or Spoiled Meat

Just because geese will eat critters that they literally find in the mud next to the lake doesn’t mean you have an excuse to give them any spoiled or contaminated meats to avoid throwing them away.