Can a goose join a duck flock?

[Jlw0903]

I currently have 4 ducks (a drake and 3 hens). I really kind of want to get a goose as well.
My ducks have a large fully enclosed pen two 10x13 runs that are connected together plus their hut that they go into at night. They are in the pens unless let out and supervised which is usually for a few hours throughout the day. -we have lots of predators and free range would be a fast path to death and heartbreak.

I have never had geese please excuse my uninformed questions. I just find that BYC has more reliable information than any web search.

Can I get just one goose and would it be okay until it was old enough to be outside? If not
What if I got it at the same time as some duckings?

can geese and ducks live together well? If I had a male goose would it try to mate with my ducks or fight my drake? What special considerations are there for mixed duck/geese flocks? I feed my ducks Kalmbach duck and goose feed so I'd assume that would be covered. Is there other food considerations for geese that differ from ducks?

Last question - what breed(s) would you recommend? I'd like something that tends to be more calm and friendly - my animals are my pets, eggs are secondary benefit and I have 0 intentions of eating my animals.

if it's an overall bad idea I am open to that opinion as well with a reason why. I haven't committed to getting goose(geese). I just thought they would be fun to have around.

 

[Jenbirdee]

Well, Yes and No.
Yes they can, but in my opinion, No its not the best idea.
Geese and ducks speak different languages.
It's better for a goose to have at least one other goose in his/her life.
While some people have put one goose in with ducks or chickens as a "guard" the goose is not really a guard - but more of an 'alarm system'
They will call out if they see danger. Roosters do that too. They will not fight a predator off to save your ducks/chickens.

They will fight a predator to protect their spouse and babies (gander/goose/goslings) and they will fight to the death which is usually what happens.

I have heard stories from people who have a gander in with a flock of chickens and occasionally (especially during breeding season) they have to separate the gander (Poor Guy all alone)
chickens occasionally get injured
Some people have a few geese in with a bunch of ducks and they get along
some people (like me for one) keep their geese separate from the ducks and chickens because the geese attack the ducks

 

[Jlw0903]

Well, Yes and No.
Yes they can, but in my opinion, No its not the best idea.
Geese and ducks speak different languages.
It's better for a goose to have at least one other goose in his/her life.
While some people have put one goose in with ducks or chickens as a "guard" the goose is not really a guard - but more of an 'alarm system'
They will call out if they see danger. Roosters do that too. They will not fight a predator off to save your ducks/chickens.

They will fight a predator to protect their spouse and babies (gander/goose/goslings) and they will fight to the death which is usually what happens.

I have heard stories from people who have a gander in with a flock of chickens and occasionally (especially during breeding season) they have to separate the gander (Poor Guy all alone)
chickens occasionally get injured
Some people have a few geese in with a bunch of ducks and they get along
some people (like me for one) keep their geese separate from the ducks and chickens because the geese attack the ducks

Thanks for that info!
If I had two girl geese would that be fine you think in terms of fighting?

 

[Jenbirdee]

Thanks for that info!
If I had two girl geese would that be fine you think in terms of fighting?

in my case, it is my goose that hates my ducks and attacks them.
when @Goosebaby and @Miss Lydia log in I know they will give you good advice

 

[Evadig]

My four geese no matter what gender hate my three ducks and chase them every chance they get. They always have to be separated from each other (though it does seem at a couple geese are learning to tolerate the ducks a little).

 

[Miss Lydia]

Missy my goose has lived with the chickens and ducks in their coop since her mate died in 2021she has even taken on the roil of mama goose to 2 Runner drakes that hatched here in June. She was cranky back in late spring when mating season was going on but got over it when these ducklings hatched. My Muscovy wouldn't let her anywhere near them but when she gave up mothering after 10 weeks Missy took over and they are still a threesome. It's very sweet. And now she is very interested in the 4 Runner females we still have inside. They are just going on 4 weeks so they won't be going outside to stay for a while yet. But I have to say so far all ifs going well Missy is 11 yrs old and has lived with us since she was 4 months old so she knows these ducks and chickens as her family.

 

[blackbox]

Seconding Jenbirdee in that geese really do need at least one other goose in their life. They can survive without other geese, sure, but they won't be very happy.

You should also be aware that geese generally like to stick with their own kind, and are oftentimes apathetic at best towards other fowl. Like in the post above -- it just depends. Sometimes they'll get along great with ducks and chickens, sometimes they just won't care as long as they're not in their way, sometimes they will go out of their way to bully or attack other fowl (usually because a run isn't big enough for them to have personal space).

Ganders (and geese as well, sometimes) do occasionally try and mate with ducks, and can obviously cause serious injury just because of their size.

As far as breed temperament goes, I don't have personal experience but I have heard Buffs are usually quite docile and friendly. You'll probably want to avoid Africans and Embdens, and in my experience, White Chinese (every White Chinese goose I've met has been so much more aggressive than their brown counterparts, no idea why).

All this isn't to say that you should give up on geese!! They are wonderful animals, and with care they can cohabitate with ducks peacefully, as long as you are aware of some of the potential issues that may crop up.

 

[Jlw0903]

Thanks everyone for your advice!!!!
Unless I decided to really expand things and have a separate area for them I think I'll hold off on the geese for now.
Ducks are reallyy first passion and I'd rather just expand my duck flock then add something that might cause trouble lol

 

[minionek1450]

I currently have 4 ducks (a drake and 3 hens). I really kind of want to get a goose as well.
My ducks have a large fully enclosed pen two 10x13 runs that are connected together plus their hut that they go into at night. They are in the pens unless let out and supervised which is usually for a few hours throughout the day. -we have lots of predators and free range would be a fast path to death and heartbreak.

I have never had geese please excuse my uninformed questions. I just find that BYC has more reliable information than any web search.

Can I get just one goose and would it be okay until it was old enough to be outside? If not
What if I got it at the same time as some duckings?

can geese and ducks live together well? If I had a male goose would it try to mate with my ducks or fight my drake? What special considerations are there for mixed duck/geese flocks? I feed my ducks Kalmbach duck and goose feed so I'd assume that would be covered. Is there other food considerations for geese that differ from ducks?

Last question - what breed(s) would you recommend? I'd like something that tends to be more calm and friendly - my animals are my pets, eggs are secondary benefit and I have 0 intentions of eating my animals.

if it's an overall bad idea I am open to that opinion as well with a reason why. I haven't committed to getting goose(geese). I just thought they would be fun to have around.

ive got 3 geese (1 is my cousin's) 2 of them are male and 1 is female and i also have 2 ducks male and female i assume. they are just fine together and they stick together all the time. but when the ducks get lost they scream so loud i gotta go outside and help them find them

 

[telandra2]

I started with 4 ducks and added geese. Then more ducks. And more geese. So far I've had 1 or 2 each of White Chinese, Brown African, Sebastopol, Embden, and Toulouse.

Every adult goose I've adopted has been good with ducks. Most of the goslings (either hatched or purchased) have been somewhat duck aggressive. I don't know if it's familiarity vs loneliness, joining an existing flock/gaggle, personality, or something else.

Right now my flock prefers to sleep together. But the coop -has- to be divided/separated during nesting-gosling time. Even if there is no aggression I've had a goose squeeze in on day 25 to add her egg to the duck nesting box -- crushing several almost ready to hatch ducklings .

They all eat the same duck pellets, treats, and whatever they free range. When there are no goslings they all choose to free range and swim with each other, so they do like the company of the other waterfowl.

I thought I liked ducks. Geese are more fun .

Edit: the big brown African gander has covered flirty Ancona duck girls during breeding season without issue. (Always in the water.) The white Chinese would grab ducks and potentially drown them trying to dominate/breed them. He did drown a younger gosling as a teen and has killed several ducklings.