Can ducks and geese crossbreed???

[RooptyDoo]

I was wondering if ducks can crossbreed with geese? I see my male runner duck on my female goose all the time and I cracked her egg open this morning and suprisingly it was fertile. I am confused maybe this can happen? Is there anyway a duck can fertilize geese?

 

[Ultra]

Ducks and Geese are in the same family of birds, Anatidae, and both have 40 pair of chromosomes, so it is possible for them to produce young.


Quote: Abstract:

A hybrid between a domestic duck (male) and a domestic goose (female) acquired by the Zoological Gardens, Copenhagen superficially resembled a duck, but by a closer examination it was showed that morphologically and ethologically it showed characters of both duck and goose. Although it is a male it has never shown any sexual activity. I therefore tried to activate it by hormone injections. Treatment with gonadotropic hormones and with sexual hormone were both ineffectual. Therefore I conclude that this bird does not have the nervous mechanisms underlying the sexual patterns, because it is known that castrated male birds and young male birds show sexual activity when treated with hormones.

Apparently goose/duck crosses are an extreme rarity, but genetically, it is not impossible.

Inter-species breeding is rather common place, i.e. horses and donkeys are bred to make mules. More exotic examples are lions and tigers makers Ligers and Tigons.

What biologists consider two different "species" does not always mean they can't interbreed due to a genetic limitation. Sometimes animals are classified as different species even though they are inter-fertile. In the wild they either choose not to interbreed or are physically prevented from breeding through geography, lifestyle, or size difference. There are many species of beetles that are gentically compatible, but physically their genetalia do not fit each other, so they cannot breed naturally and are considered different species. It's fascinating.

 

[Ms Clucky]

I was wondering if ducks can crossbreed with geese? I see my male runner duck on my female goose all the time and I cracked her egg open this morning and suprisingly it was fertile. I am confused maybe this can happen? Is there anyway a duck can fertilize geese?

If it hatches, you are going to posts pictures, right? I think you would be the first.

 

[melody123]

I want Gucklings too!!!

Please incubate those eggs. They will probably just be cute little gooslings, but if you get a guckling, then there will be plenty of customers here.

 

[Haunted55]

I'll tell Haunted 55 about your post since she lives in Maine she can tell you about mating times there. Be sure to look on BYC's buy sell trade thread also your state thread and craigslist.

I had my geese start into their first mating sometime around Jan./Feb., then again in April/May and now they seem to be getting into it again, or at least the challenging and fighting between the ganders. I guess, they can mate when ever they want to, lol. I am not sure my results are normal but this is how it seems to be working for me. I had been told normal is sometime in the very early Spring and then possible again in the Fall, but this wasn't assured. Ducks....they seem to be ever ready. My Pekins, only seem to take a short break in December. Maybe a week or two, the Mallards seem to be more true to season and start mating in the Spring, early Summer up to the first part of August. They are all done now and the males have lost or almost, all of their wedding plummage. Appleyards and KCs are still going strong as are my Muscovys.

One thing to add, be careful of the ducks. I have lost one to over zealous attention from a couple of drakes. It wasn't pretty and will haunt me forever. I also have a gander who is madly in love with one of my SAs and is way too big for her even though she is a good sized duck. I ride 'herd' on mine as much as possible and still have near misses. I agree with Miss Lydia about separating them out as best you can. It could save you a lot of heartbreak later.

 

[rmsherwood3]

This is the first duck/goose mating I have seen in 9 years living on a lake. Unlike the male duck, the male goose takes charge of the family - fifteen kids plus mom who is also cross-bred.

 

[Miss Lydia]

ducks and geese, although able to breed, are unable to produce offspring due to different chromosome numbers (same species and interbreedable species have the same number of chromosomes, this produces viable, fertile offspring).
basically what you have between your duck and geese is the very common species barrier, rendering it impossible for the duck and geese to have offspring, but it is not impossible for them to mate.
Another thing, having experience with this myself, except it was a duck and a pelican, the duck will lay eggs, that's what they do, they've mated and figure they should, but none of the eggs will be fertilized unless another boy duck snuck in one night.
A horse and donkey can gowever. Horses and donkeys can interbreed to form a mule, but the mule has an odd number of chromosomes. Horses have 64 chromosomes, giving 32 in a gamete to a mule, whereas donkeys have 62 chromosomes, giving 31 in a gamete to a mule.
The thing that keeps mules from reproducing is the fact that they have 63 chromosomes and are therefore incapable of making gametes (sex chromosomes that have half the chromosome count) because 63 is not evenly divided by 2. they can mate just fine, but they cannot create viable sex cells (eggs and sperm). Some also believe that this hybrid cross is infertile because the chromosomes line up incorrectly, completely stopping the spermatogenesis process (the process that creates sperm).
Sources: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080526102720AAZu3Ou
[Found this on line]



Before I got a female goose for my gander. He lived with Muscovy ducks and one was his mate. They never produced any off spring.5years

 

[Clucklandia]

Actually, I’m having the same issue!! I have only one goose, she’s 100% Female Toulouse. I have 2 Muscovy drakes and one mallard drake. The Muscovys get on the goose all the time and for quite a while. Her eggs always end up fertile and now I have a broody goose. I candled one today, and saw what seems to be a small embryo.

 

[Dances with Ducks]

Interesting! Do you have an incubator?

 

[RooptyDoo]

Yep sure do!