Best breed to have around ducks?

[fethr37]

What I am looking for is the perfect goose which may not exsist. I like the looks of the Toulouse which there seems to be several strains of but none of them seem to interact well with ducks. I want guard and protector geese that are good layers also.But like the looks of the Toulouse.

Any advice? Thanks

 

[Pyxis]

Well, I can't say for sure that all members of the roman tufted breed are good with ducks, but mine is. She's actually submissive to the drake and will give way if he tells her to move. I also have two juvenile American buff geese and they are fine with my ducks also.

 

[Carrosaur]

Geese are not guard dogs. Watch dogs maybe, they will alert you by honking when something is up, but really they are only protecting their own kind.

Rarely will a goose fight back for an animal that is not a goose in its family, and even if it did, a goose cannot stand up to a fox or a coyote. Maybe it could scare off a raccoon, but geese are birds, they're not equipped to fight with any living thing other than its own kind. Please do not get geese and expect them to be able to fend for themselves.

If you want an animal to protect your ducks, get a flock dog. The Great Pyrenees is very protective of its flock when raised with them, they will bark to alert, and if the danger persists they will normally fight back. Not many animals will come into a yard with a 100lb barking beast, but even then you need to have a secure house for your ducks to sleep in at night.

If you still want geese just for pets, the American Buff goose would work well. They're extremely calm, very friendly, very quiet. They're like the Toulouse but not as aggressive/territorial. My buffs are the calmest out of all my breeds, and they pick the least amount of fights. So my personal opinion would be that Buffs could get along with your ducks.

I don't think you'll find any goslings this late in the season, consider adopting some adults? Maybe some that were already raised with ducks.

 

[mominoz]

I have both Shetland and Super African Geese that were raised with ducks and daily are pastured with Saxony, Dutch Hookbills and Runner ducks. They do "sound out alarm" when vultures, hawks,airplanes and helicopters

, people and dogs that may be within sight distance. I believe they 'deter' overhead predators by their size. (even though I have hawks on my property eating other things, never had an attack).... That said , they occasionally chase off the ducks from the pools when they want it...nothing serious, just a rush by the Shetlands which are fiestier than the Africans.They do have different night pens .... they will also 'take over ' the feed dishes if you feed together...sorta , "me first, I'm bigger" ...although I had a Saxony Drake chase off young geese for the same reason.....My system is field fenced property (keeps out most dogs and deters ; "pass thru coyotes"), and night yards with hotwire top and bottom and some solar lighting. No losses in 8 years. Unlike my old system 20 yrs. ago... which had no hot wire and I lost geese and chickens to raccoons and possums at night.