Ducks and Geese

I feel like I ask SO many questions! Thank you all for your patience and responses. We have the 4 ducks that are about 8 weeks old now and doing great. My husband has come up with the brilliant idea that he wants to add a couple geese into the mix!

Has anyone done this before? If so, do you get the geese as babies, raise them separately from the ducks, and then put them in with the ducks when they are similar in size? Or do you buy adult geese? Will they get along??????

Thanks and HELP!!!!

When I used to have ducks, they were fine as chicks together with the baby geese.

We hatched out a goose this year when our ducks came in and have been raising them together. We actually hatched several geese for our neighbor and decided to keep just one for a protector for our ducks. This is working really good cause the goose is a good protector.

Whether you get adults or goslings you have to always introduce slowly over a period of days or weeks. if I was wanting to do this I would try to get gosling in the same age group. About the only way to find any this time of year is when folks are beginning to sort out their hatchlings from this year and wanting to rehome what they don't want to keep. Geese are seasonal layers and mating and hatching is pretty much over for this year.

Okay, awesome. Any ideas on how to introduce them and get them to know each other before they are housed together?

rlmitchell said:

Okay, awesome. Any ideas on how to introduce them and get them to know each other before they are housed together?

Click to expand...

You set up a pen right next to each other with secure housing for both, you can always us the extra house as a brooding pen so it's not a waste of money but any kind of poultry needs secure protection from preds. then you let them live side by side for a few days, if you have a common area [yard etc] that you can let them all be out in other than their pen then that's a good place to start by letting them mingle with supervision, I use treats as a distraction and that way they are focusing on something to eat other than each other. It may only take a few days of doing this but by introducing slowly they get to know each other through fencing and a lot less confrontation. Honestly though geese are good at keeping flying preds at bay to an extent [not when young] but any kind of land pred a goose won't stand a chance with, go to the goose thread and see what happens when a fox or other pred gets to their geese, they may sound a warning honk but they have no defense with something coming at them with teeth. also there will be a pecking order among them but as long as no one is getting hurt I let them work it out.

I would be mindful of the breeds too. I had 3 month old muscovy and got some week old african and 1 chinese geese. They got on okay, not friendly or unfriendly with each other. When the geese got to breeding age, they began attacking ducklings and would not leave our LGD pup alone. The geese went to the freezer. African geese are known to be more protective but I wasn't risking babies. I do miss their alerts though. Although they alerted to everything, all of the birds, chickens and ducks, would respond.

jdywntr said:

I would be mindful of the breeds too. I had 3 month old muscovy and got some week old african and 1 chinese geese. They got on okay, not friendly or unfriendly with each other. When the geese got to breeding age, they began attacking ducklings and would not leave our LGD pup alone. The geese went to the freezer. African geese are known to be more protective but I wasn't risking babies. I do miss their alerts though. Although they alerted to everything, all of the birds, chickens and ducks, would respond.

Click to expand...

Very good idea about research jw, there is a thread that kevin has done on the goose thread that profiles each goose breed everyone should do the research first.

I raised Ducks Chickens and Geese Together at a young age so they all have grown up together and never had any problems at all. When other ducks/chickens were added to the flock everything seemed to be fine. The geese will be young being with the ducks so I do not think they will be aggressive towards the ducks and same with ducks to the geese.

ChampionAlex said:

I raised Ducks Chickens and Geese Together at a young age so they all have grown up together and never had any problems at all. When other ducks/chickens were added to the flock everything seemed to be fine. The geese will be young being with the ducks so I do not think they will be aggressive towards the ducks and same with ducks to the geese.

Click to expand...

There's a difference when you get them all together than already have one or the other and are bringing in new ones to integrate. you can not just put them all together and think they will live happily ever after.