Can Geese Eat Dog Food? Is it Safe?

If you live on a homestead or ever spent time on a farm, either with a variety of livestock on it, you already know that your animals will never miss an opportunity to sneak a little bit of food from their neighbors.

Turns out pretty much every animal is an opportunist under the right circumstances! And even our geese, with their relatively specialized diet, will take any tantalizing pellets that they can find.

Dog food is an especially common target for all sorts of animals. So, can geese actually eat dog food and is it safe?

Yes, dog food is generally safe for geese but only in very limited or incidental amounts. It shouldn’t be fed to them deliberately. It’s not nutritionally optimized for geese and has way too much protein for them.

If you allow your birds to roam around or if you spill some dog food anywhere near them, it is only a matter of time until they steal a few bites.

I’ll tell you right now to reassure you that you don’t have to worry about that, as a rule, but neither should you deliberately make a habit of giving them dog food.

This is really common-sense stuff, but there is a lot more you’ll need to know so keep reading.

Do Geese Like Dog Food?

Yes, generally, geese tend to like dog food and dry one in particular… Small kibble is highly favored from my observations, but it isn’t out of the question they’ll eat larger stuff or even swipe a bite of wet dog food if they can.

Because of this tendency you’ll have to be careful to keep geese out of it and away from it.

Is Dog Food a Healthy Food for Geese?

No. Make no mistake, dog food does have nutrients that geese can make use of, and it is more or less digestible by them. It can provide geese with calories and a wide assortment of macro- and micronutrients, including essential vitamins and minerals.

No matter what kind of dog food we are talking about, be it wet or dry, you can depend on any of it having a mixture of protein, fat, carbs, B-complex vitamins, vitamins A, D, E, and K and an assortment of minerals like magnesium, potassium, phosphorus and calcium with other trace minerals and various additives.

That’s because these are all micronutrients that dogs need in order to stay healthy and thrive.

Geese can benefit from all of those same nutrients, and you’ll find pretty much all of them in waterfowl feed or as components in a goose’s whole food diet.

The problem is that dog food is not optimized for a goose’s needs, and that will cause problems if they’re allowed to eat too much or eat it too regularly.

Dog Food is for Dogs, Not Geese!

I need to underline the point: dog food is for dogs, not for geese! A little bit of dog food will almost certainly not cause your geese any harm.

But the more of it they get, the worse things will go… It will turn into a nutritional imbalance going in both directions: too little of some things and way too much of others! This could cause all sorts of problems for your flock.

Accordingly, you should never, ever deliberately give dog food to geese unless it’s a dire emergency. If they manage to sneak a few bites here and there, don’t panic, but don’t make it a point to give it to them.

Is Dry Dog Food Okay for Geese?

Dry dog food is okay for geese as long as they only have a few bites. Call it bits, kibble, pellets, or whatever, it is all more or less the same whatever brand it happens to be.

But keep in mind what I said above: no matter how much your geese like it, it isn’t good for them and it can be difficult for them to digest.

Is Wet Dog Food Okay for Geese?

Wet dog food is nominally okay for geese. A few nibbles, whatever kind they are, are unlikely to cause them any real harm…

Something else to keep in mind is that some geese are more hesitant about eating wet dog food compared to dry, so you might not need to work so hard to keep them away from it if you’re allowing them to forage and roam.

And as always, you shouldn’t make it a point to deliberately serve this stuff to your geese even if they will eat it!

Are Dog Treats Okay for Geese?

Again, sort of. Dog treats are basically just a special shape of dry dog food and typically have similar ingredients and a pretty close nutritional profile. The issue with dry dog treats is that they tend to be very hard and crunchy, and usually too big for a goose to safely swallow.

Note that this won’t stop them from trying! If you’re going to give your geese a few nibbles of dog biscuit or something like that, crush it into small pieces… and even then I advise against it.

Can Dog Food Hurt Geese in Any Way?

Yes, it absolutely can. The massive nutritional disparity between what dog food contains and what geese need is only going to result in some serious problems in time.

For starters, your geese will soon encounter major digestive upset in the form of diarrhea, loss of appetite and perhaps the disruption of the gut flora needed to properly digest food and make use of what nutrients are therein.

Other substantial maladies include high blood pressure, fatty liver syndrome, obesity and more.

One of the very worst issues that might result from feeding young geese dog food is angel wing syndrome, a debilitating and often permanent condition affecting the last joint in the wing… It deforms and splays the feathers out perpendicular to the goose’s body.

This is caused by a significant nutritional imbalance and intake of excess carbohydrates while a goose is developing. Affected geese are left flightless for life.

Giving your geese dog food deliberately as part of their diet or letting them eat it whenever they want will facilitate all of these problems.

How Often Can Geese Eat Dog Food?

You shouldn’t be giving your geese dog food deliberately unless it’s an absolute emergency and they are starving.

However, if your geese manage to sneak a bite now and then when they are roaming around or if, as mentioned, you spill a little bit of food in or near their enclosure you don’t need to worry about it.

But I’m warning you know you don’t need to make a habit of giving them dog food for any reason!

Never Give Geese Moldy Dog Food

If you want to make a bad situation even worse, you could give your geese old and moldy dog food. Aside from being a poor choice for them nutritionally, you might make them dreadfully sick or even kill them due to the presence of toxins created by certain kinds of mold.

Some molds produce terrible mycotoxins that are so dangerous to birds, including geese, that you might not have time to get them medical attention before they keel over.

If you’ve got any old, moldy dog food that is going to go to waste, just throw the dumpster before you even think of giving it to your flock.

Is Dog Food Safe for Goslings?

Dog food is only safe for goslings in the same way that it is safe for adult geese: in very, very small amounts and on an incidental basis.

Baby geese are just too sensitive and delicate to put up with such poor nutrition as dog food, and it won’t be long at all before major problems start to manifest.

If they managed to steal a little nibble periodically, I wouldn’t worry about it, but neither would I ever, and I mean ever, give them dog food on purpose.

Remember what I said up there about angel wing syndrome and how horrible it is? Remind yourself that it affects young and developing geese and will permanently deform them in adulthood and prevent them from flying.

If you don’t want to sentence a poor and innocent young goose to that fate you should give them the foods and nutrition that they need, not dog food.