New male goose being chased off by female ducks

[RocksFlower]

Looking for advice on if this behavior will change. When we first got our female goose and ducks we had intended to get her a mate but the local farm stores ran out of geese, then the next year they only sold straight run, so here we are in winter and just now getting her a mate. She has been been raised with these 2 female ducks since they were all babies and I am surprised to see how defensive these 2 ducks are of the goose. The ducks are runners and the 2 geese are Chinese, one is white, the other is grey. The male is SO sweet, friendly and even lets the humans pet him (the female would NEVER let that happen!). It’s only been a day so maybe I’m impatient, but I’m wondering if the ducks will effect the 2 geese and their ability to bond? Does anyone have any advice? This is my first time introducing geese and I absolutely love these guys and want it to go smoothly for them.
Thank you for you time!

 

[Isadora]

Very impatient, lol
They're going to need time, especially as the female was raised with ducks and not other geese.
I would separate them with fencing for about a week to let everyone get used to his presence.

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

I second the separation for at least a week if not a few weeks
Some ducks need time to adjust to new members of the family
Fence needs to be so they can see each other sniff but not touch

 

[Goosebaby]

I haven’t had very good expieriences mixing ducks and geese. From what I’ve found ducks are usually more bold and outgoing than geese and geese tend to be more cautious and deeper thinkers, this can lead to geese being bullied by ducks weirdly enough considering the size difference.
However once the goose or gander has had it, things turn out very badly for the duck(s). My old drake Olaf would bully my Toulouse female Friday, chase her all over the yard until I separated him. This behavior went on for awhile and poor Friday developed a debilitating fear of all ducks because of it.
However when she hatched some goslings things changed, the first time Olaf came near her and the goslings she nearly beat him to death. My ganders developed a deep hatred for ducks because of Olaf, it’s taken them a few years to become tolerant of the ducks again.

Once your gander bonds with your goose he will become protective of her, if he’s permanently associated the ducks as being a threat to him he might see them as a threat to her and react accordingly. Things can worsen during breeding season.

I would advise you to keep the geese in a separate night pen than the ducks, for the safety of the ducks as well as for his psychological well-being and keep an eye on them during the day. Eventually once they’ve gotten used to each other they can be out and about together just fine, but I still wouldn’t keep them together at night.

 

[RocksFlower]

Very impatient, lol
They're going to need time, especially as the female was raised with ducks and not other geese.
I would separate them with fencing for about a week to let everyone get used to his presence.

I haven’t had very good expieriences mixing ducks and geese. From what I’ve found ducks are usually more bold and outgoing than geese and geese tend to be more cautious and deeper thinkers, this can lead to geese being bullied by ducks weirdly enough considering the size difference.
However once the goose or gander has had it, things turn out very badly for the duck(s). My old drake Olaf would bully my Toulouse female Friday, chase her all over the yard until I separated him. This behavior went on for awhile and poor Friday developed a debilitating fear of all ducks because of it.
However when she hatched some goslings things changed, the first time Olaf came near her and the goslings she nearly beat him to death. My ganders developed a deep hatred for ducks because of Olaf, it’s taken them a few years to become tolerant of the ducks again.

Once your gander bonds with your goose he will become protective of her, if he’s permanently associated the ducks as being a threat to him he might see them as a threat to her and react accordingly. Things can worsen during breeding season.

I would advise you to keep the geese in a separate night pen than the ducks, for the safety of the ducks as well as for his psychological well-being and keep an eye on them during the day. Eventually once they’ve gotten used to each other they can be out and about together just fine, but I still wouldn’t keep them together at night.

Thank you everyone for your advice, I really, REALLY appreciate it!! We have been keeping everyone separated and he seems to be getting more comfortable with his new surroundings a bit, but still seems anxious because he keeps walking on his tiptoes and his legs are shaking. We finally got him to start eating a bit better, so that makes me feel better. We have a pond on our property and want him to be able to make it down there, but not until he bonds with our female hopefully. Our property wasn’t really fenced for fowl, and we would prefer that he has someone to show him around. We’ll give him a week/a few weeks In the fully fenced front yard to adapt. Thank you again everyone and Happy New Year!!

 

[Goosebaby]

Thank you everyone for your advice, I really, REALLY appreciate it!! We have been keeping everyone separated and he seems to be getting more comfortable with his new surroundings a bit, but still seems anxious because he keeps walking on his tiptoes and his legs are shaking. We finally got him to start eating a bit better, so that makes me feel better. We have a pond on our property and want him to be able to make it down there, but not until he bonds with our female hopefully. Our property wasn’t really fenced for fowl, and we would prefer that he has someone to show him around. We’ll give him a week/a few weeks In the fully fenced front yard to adapt. Thank you again everyone and Happy New Year!!

Walking on tip toes with shaking legs, is he doing this often or is it an occasional thing?

 

[Goosey Girl]

Niacin...give the duck brewers yeast, peas, and/or a duck specific feed like Purina. If you can get some Niacin vitamins in little capsules, you can sprinkle the powder on some defrosted frozen peas for a niacin boost. This is what I use for my young runner ducks:

 

[Goosebaby]

@RocksFlower How is your gander?

 

[Goosey Girl]

I raise runner ducklings with Sebastopol goslings that hatch in an incubator in the spring. They are best buddies for a few months until the ducks reach maturity. At that time, I separate them.

They might all live together happily ever after on Old Macdonald's farm, but on my farm, serious problems have arisen when the sexually mature drakes decide they want to try to mate a goose that isn't considered an adult until 2 years old. The drakes can be quite ruthless in their pursuit with their beak clamped onto a young goose's tail feather as he/she tries to escape. Yes, the drake knows no boundaries and will try to climb on top of a young male goose too. It might seem funny at first, but it is really stressful to the goose.

Why do I keep them together when young?
Well, the runner ducks like to run, so the goslings will try their darndest to keep up - good exercise for all.
Runner ducks tend to be aloof and not overly personable, but with a few clingy goslings, all of them want to follow you around outside.
Win - Win