Can ducks and geese share a pen?

[BirdMom]

We have one Pekin duck (lost the other one last night/this morning to a coyote or fox, it broke into their house) and are wanting to get more, and we also want to get some geese. We're thinking Toulouse geese.

Can they share a pen and a night house? They'd be free-ranged most days, I just wonder if they'd do okay penned up together and in the same house at night.

Can ducks and geese be friends? If I get geese before I get more ducks to keep mine company, will she get along with the geese?

We're strengthening the duck house and will be building a bigger pen and bigger house for them, but if ducks and geese get along, we might just build one waterfowl house rather than a separate one for each kind.

I've been lurking on byc for months now, and finally decided it was time to join. We've got our female in the house, in the bathtub for now, she was too lonely outside and just sat outside the living room window and quacked and quacked at us. She seems a lot happier inside. She won't go back into the pen or the duck house right now. I tried, but it stressed her out too much, so I brought her in. We raised them from a day old, they lived in the bathroom for three months anyway, so no big deal having a duck in the bathroom. Doesn't everyone? ;-)

 

[raindrop]

I raised a pair of Pilgrim geese and ducks together last spring. They free range all day, and are all locked up in a pen together at night. They get along fine. Some squabbling over food, which they work out amongst themselves (I could get another food dish if needed), but otherwise no problems. The only thing to watch for is if they all run together as a group the geese could hurt the ducks if they step on a leg/foot.

My drakes really love my goose. They would like to be more than friends...

 

[snowydiamonds]

My geese would gladly kill my ducks, they killed my favorite duck alst summer while I was out fishing for the day. They wouldn't let her out of the pond and tore her feathers while she drowned. Mine are now housed separately and their pens connect so the geese patrol the fence while the ducks sit next to where the geese patrol...I'd say no but others seem to have had no trouble. It was a shocking horrible thing to come home to, my second son had just brought his fiance' up to Alaska to meet me (his mother) and we came home from fishing and she was video taping the birds to show her family, especially her father when we found my duck

 

[BirdMom]

Thanks! I'm glad to hear it works. It saves a lot of work if we can just build one big house for them all instead of two smaller ones. I just love watching our ducks and chickens and guineas roaming around the place, and can hardly wait to add geese.

My drakes really love my goose. They would like to be more than friends...

Too bad we can't get gucks or deese out of it. I bet those would be more unbearable cuteness we'd all have to have.​

 

[AilsVonHelson]

It depends on size really.

We've always had Africans or Chinese with our Muscovy so the size difference wasn't much and they geese actually kept everything under control. (We never lost a Duck during mating season when drakes would get rough because our geese would simply toss them to the side and guard the females.). But I wouldn't suggest keeping something like Toulouse and call ducks together. Huge size difference and waterfowl can be clumsy and climb over each other while there running.

Our were all free-range, by the way. :]

 

[BirdMom]

My geese would gladly kill my ducks, they killed my favorite duck alst summer while I was out fishing for the day.

Oh, wow, that's horrible! What kind of ducks and what kind of geese? Our duck is a Pekin, and we'll probably get more of the same, we like the big ducks. We don't have a pond, just a wading pool. I guess that can be as dangerous. I hear that toulouse geese are fairly easy-going, and that's what we want. Maybe we'll build things so they can be separated if necessary, but together if they get along.​

 

[BirdMom]

they geese actually kept everything under control. (We never lost a Duck during mating season when drakes would get rough because our geese would simply toss them to the side and guard the females.).

That's funny. Geese: waterfowl police!

Sounds like it could be a good combo to have, then, if one has an overamorous drake!​

 

[snowydiamonds]

The duck was a Magpie, crested. The other ducks are Magpie and Cayuga, two drakes and three hens. The geese are a Toulouse, an Embden (both girls), and a quartet of American Buff, now yearlings, one is definately a gander, possibly two are ganders. I know my 8 yr old toulouse and 8 yr old embden girls are were/are very protective of those Am Buff's because my older two girls tried for seven years (had two previous owners) to hatch eggs but there was no gander to fertilize the eggs so I ordered the Buff's to arrive the day before the eggs were to hatch and replaced the rotten eggs w/the goslings- my girls still think those goslings hatched from their eggs Now those Buff yearlings are pairing off and the Toulouse named Grayzie is helping "her daughter" sit on a nest of eggs they intend to hatch but I haven't seen the dominate gander actually accomplish what his hormones are telling him to do so I don't expect these eggs to hatch this year. I may have to repeat the last year scenario...we have drive by's constantly from the entire town, wanting to see the geese and ducks

 

[Ang]

My ducks and geese are housed together. But they were also raised together. I don't think they know that they are not of the same specie.

 

[mominoz]

Well, mine were close in age and housed in a pen next to each other at night and free range (Runner and 4 tufted buffs, But sometime I have 1 pair of geese that will run at the ducks (they chase them out of the water trough they want ) when they free range. The runners , run away

but I have seen them try to bite them so the runners stay away. I think the geese scare off the hawks and raptors though...that said, today I caught my two ganders fighting ., and will probably separate. It is breeding season. All bets are off. My grey runner gander now seems to nip at the cage , where my mini-ducks are.... I bet a female goose would be safer to be with ducks than a gander.....I wouldn't house them together ...you may wake up one spring day to a dead duck.......it is risky