Gander adopted flock of adult ducks??

[Gyburc]

Hi all,

My husband and I have 8 ducks, all adult, and three Toulouse geese. Ever since we got the geese last year, they have tended to bully the ducks - nothing vicious, just obviously unfriendly. The gander was the worst - he would chase the ducks and try to yank out their tail-feathers.

The gander was recently left on his own in the garden quite a lot, because our geese went broody. During this time, he started to try to make friends with the ducks - he would wander round with them and try to sit with them. Gradually, they have become a lot happier around him and now they don't seem to be afraid of him any more.

The two geese have come off their (unsuccessful) nest, and they still tend to chase the ducks. The gander, however, is still being friendly to them.

The other day, I heard the gander give a call that I've never heard from him before, and as I watched out of the window, all 8 ducks (including our drake) came running across the lawn to huddle round him and the other geese. I checked for predators but didn't see anything.

What is going on? Can our gander actually have adopted the ducks?? Can they have adopted him back??

 

[Sunwren]

My gander loves most ducks but does not like my 4 Magpie males (can't blame him, they are bad!

). He will actually keep the Pekins close at wing and protect them from the Magpies. And when I put ducklings out there in their cage the other day, the gander came running over to check them out and now he's even trying to protect them from me, this is the first time he's ever hissed at me in his life! I told him to cut that out, he'll get to deal with them soon enough and no doubt will tire of them quickly so not worth how much trouble he'll be in if he pinches me! lol!