Can Geese Eat Celery? Is it Safe?

Ask any seasoned goose owner what their birds prefer to eat, and chances are high they will tell you leafy greens. Doesn’t matter if they are wild-growing or the same kinds of veggies that you and I eat, all of them tend to be favorites among geese.

But domestic geese can eat a surprising amount of produce that they wouldn’t normally have access to in the wild. Some of them make sense, others don’t, but in all cases, you need to know which ones they can have and which ones they must avoid.

How about celery? Can geese have celery, and is it safe?

Yes, celery is safe for geese to eat and is a nutritious supplement to their diet, having an assortment of vitamins and minerals that they need. They particularly love the leafy green tops of celery, but they can easily digest the stalks also.

Celery is one of those things that people tend to love or hate, but I’ve rarely encountered a goose that doesn’t love the stuff. Also, watch your fingers if you have a fistful of celery greens because they go crazy for it.

Celery is a great option to spruce up the diet of your flock, and it can be a wonderful snack that you can feel good about giving them. There is, of course, a lot more that you’ll want to know, so keep reading.

Do Geese Like Celery?

Do geese like celery stalks? Yes, generally. Do they like the leafy green tops? Absolutely, with a capital ‘A’!

You probably won’t have to work very hard to get your flock to eat celery stalks and they will gobble up the greens with delight. This makes it a cinch to incorporate into their diet or serve to them as a snack.

Is Celery a Healthy Food for Them?

Yes, celery is surprisingly healthy despite its reputation as a vegetable that burns more calories to eat than it provides. That’s just not true, and it’s also not true that celery is devoid of nutrients.

Celery is surprisingly nutritious, with a great assortment of vitamins and minerals that can improve the health of your geese.

If we take a look at the vitamin and mineral content, we see that celery has a wide variety, including vitamin A and many of the B-complex vitamins, including B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12 and folate.

Other vitamins our present as well, including vitamin C, vitamin D, and vitamin E. I told you it was well-rounded!

But we aren’t done yet because when it comes to minerals, we will find that celery contains iron, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, and a little bit of zinc alongside some naturally occurring sodium.

Compared to the vitamin content, the mineral content is not as spectacular but still highly respectable.

If you start tallying up all of the health benefits that these nutrients can provide for geese, we see that there is hardly any part of their life that won’t be improved.

These nutrients will enhance tissue and skeletal growth and healing, organ function, various metabolic processes, circulation, the longevity of connective tissue, proper feathering, egg laying and the thickness of eggshells, and a lot more.

If you’ve been sleeping on celery as a healthy food for your birds, it’s time to get on board with it!

Is Raw Celery Okay for Geese?

Yes, raw celery is just fine for your geese. In fact, raw is the best way to serve it to them. It is plenty easy for them to eat and digest with just a little bit of prep, and it contains the best possible amount of nutrition.

Is Cooked Celery Okay for Geese?

Yes, it is. However, I would caution you against cooking celery in any way for your geese since it just isn’t necessary for them to eat it.

Most importantly, it will lose a lot of nutrition during the cooking process, and assuming you aren’t trying to feed your flock the toughest, woodiest parts of the stalk it isn’t going to make it any easier for them to eat.

Are Celery Stalks Safe for Geese?

Yes, totally. But, it is a good idea to chop them prior to giving them to your geese. They don’t have teeth, and so they cannot take a bite out of it easily like other animals can.

Make sure the resulting pieces are appropriately sized for them to swallow and they won’t have any issues.

Are Celery Leaves Safe for Geese?

Yes, celery leaves are totally safe for geese. They’re also their absolute favorite part of the vegetable. Highly nutritious, tender, and very easy for them to digest.

Can Celery Hurt Geese in Any Way?

No, assuming that they aren’t getting pieces that are too big for them to easily swallow, and also assuming that they are still getting a well-rounded diet that covers all of their nutritional needs.

As long as you’re taking care of those two things, celery absolutely will not harm your geese.

How Often Should Geese Eat Celery?

Celery tops and greens: geese can eat as much as they want.

Stalks: they can have anywhere from 2 to 4 small servings a week in combination with the other foods they usually eat.

The stalks are good for them, but they don’t need to eat too many as they can cause indigestion and potentially diarrhea because they are so moist.

What’s the Best Way to Feed Celery to Geese?

It depends on which part you are giving to them. If you’re giving them the greens, just hand them over and they’ll do the rest! If you are serving them stalks, be sure to chop them up into small pieces to reduce the likelihood of choking.

Never Give Geese Celery if it is Rotting or Moldy

Celery tends to go bad pretty quickly, and if you’ve got a bunch that you didn’t harvest in time or that sat in the produce drawer of your fridge and started to rot, you just need to throw it away instead of giving it to your geese.

Geese might eat it, yes, but they are vulnerable to foodborne illnesses and toxins produced by certain kinds of mold. If you give your flock any bad celery, it could make them extremely sick, potentially even killing them!

My personal rule of thumb, and a good one that you should follow, is that I don’t give my birds anything that I wouldn’t eat myself when it comes to fruits and vegetables.

Is Celery Safe for Goslings, Too?

Yes, it is. They can have celery greens anytime, but you should wait until they are about 5 or 6 weeks old before you give them tiny tidbits of the stalks.

Remember that goslings have specific nutritional requirements and celery, while healthy, isn’t nutritionally complete for them and is seriously deficient in calories. Make sure they’re getting that early-life feed they need and other, better foods!