can you have two guard geese?

[froggyphore]

next year i want to get a guard goose for my chickens, but i also want to get some ducks and have a guard for them. since the ducks will be brooded separately from the chicks that the first goose will be with, would it be possible to raise a second guard goose with the ducks, and have each be bonded to the different groups instead of eachother? or will they later bond and stop caring for the other birds once theyre in the same yard? they’d both be female if that matters. tyia

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

I raise geese and am not a fan of the "lone guard goose" concept. I've ranged my Runner ducks with a gaggle of 4 adults (1 gander and 3 geese) and the gaggle was effective in preventing aerial attacks by predators - including an attempt I witnessed.

Pyxis posted a thoughtful thread about why it doesn't make sense to keep a single goose. Keeping two rather than one would be much better for their wellbeing, and they could still be effective aerial predator deterrents.

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

Aren't we all?

From my experience, goose behavior towards other types of poultry can be unpredictable because it may be multifactorial: I believe personality is a combination of genetics, how the birds are raised, and maybe unidentified influences (the nurture vs. nature debate). For example, some breeds, generally speaking, seem to be more accepting of other kinds of fowl - Pilgrims and Americans are reputed to be "nicer" to chickens and ducks, so the potential for them to get along with chickens and ducks may be greater than certain other breeds...but there will likely still be geese of those breeds that won't get along with chickens or ducks. Conversely, there may be Chinese or Toulouse geese who are great with chicken and ducks, despite a reputation (generalizing) for being less accepting.

In short, even choosing a docile breed may not guarantee they'll peacefully coexist with chickens and ducks. Further, I don't think geese are any more effective as deterrents when they're solo birds attached to a flock of chickens or group of ducks. What you can control, however, is how you raise them (hopefully, as happy geese with a companion of their own species to be a deterrent team) and how you handle conflicts that may arise.

With regard to cases where geese raised with other types of poultry became aggressive, the situations I've heard of involved ganders during breeding season - normal behavior. Do I think it's possible geese raised with chickens or ducks could unexpectedly experience conflict at some point? Yes...especially since they're different species and they, effectively, don't "speak the same language", so misunderstandings can occur.

I recommend that if you pursue getting deterrent geese, you familiarize yourself with typical and atypical goose behaviors - e.g., "noodling" can look scary, but it's usually normal goose behavior - and proven methods of addressing unwanted behaviors so you can nip any problems in the bud and avoid injuries or having to rehome birds.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

My geese will rip out the feathers of any chicken or duck if they can get a bite of them. Also they chase cars and our 4 wheeler...

They sure are bullies, aren't they. Good thing I like them. Mine follow my goats around, and are unpredictable around any type of poultry.

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

Fair question. I'd describe "noodling" as the kind of behavior that involves a goose or gander grabbing another bird's feathers, usually just "mouthing" them with their bills (hmm..."billing" them? ) and pulling on them. Typically, it just results in wet-looking feathers and annoyance, but it can sometimes become too enthusiastic or frequent, and the bird being noodled will lose feathers; I've seen this happen with a gosling and a small chick, where the gosling noodled the chick's growing tailfeathers to the point of feather damage and I had to separate them. The gosling was just being a gosling, but other geese are built to handle this kind of behavior better than chickens.

As you know, geese really do delight in "goosing" other animals, but it's not mean-spirited - it's just their nature. They are much like puppies in their mouthiness.

 

[3xhhheather]

Fair question. I'd describe "noodling" as the kind of behavior that involves a goose or gander grabbing another bird's feathers, usually just "mouthing" them with their bills (hmm..."billing" them? ) and pulling on them. Typically, it just results in wet-looking feathers and annoyance, but it can sometimes become too enthusiastic or frequent, and the bird being noodled will lose feathers; I've seen this happen with a gosling and a small chick, where the gosling noodled the chick's growing tailfeathers to the point of feather damage and I had to separate them. The gosling was just being a gosling, but other geese are built to handle this kind of behavior better than chickens.

As you know, geese really do delight in "goosing" other animals, but it's not mean-spirited - it's just their nature. They are much like puppies in their mouthiness.

Yes the nomming! One of my geese looks almost like a sock puppet when she like chomps down on, she doesn't pull or actually lock until she gets real excited (cue neck vibrations) I just wish my duck Olive would find a new girlfriend to flirt with and then she wouldn't look so raggedy.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

My geese will kill chickens if they can corner them and they absolutely hate my ducks. I haven't raised any with other species so I'm not sure if that would work out or not.

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

My geese will kill chickens if they can corner them and they absolutely hate my ducks. I haven't raised any with other species so I'm not sure if that would work out or not.

My geese will rip out the feathers of any chicken or duck if they can get a bite of them. Also they chase cars and our 4 wheeler...

 

[BrandySC]

I had almost this exact scenario, except my geese were both male. We got one goose (Turbo) to guard our chickens, not realizing he needed company. Three months later we got him a little brother (Wally) and because of minimum orders we got a pair of ducklings. To this day Wally and his duck cousins are inseparable! My plan for Turbo to have company completely backfired because Wally bonded to the ducks he was raised with. (Turbo bonded to me because he was hand-raised in the house. He'll still come hang out inside but treats at bedtime are incentive enough to get him to his pen with his brother.) All have worked out a pecking order by now and the ganders, who did hate each other in the beginning, acclimated to being roommates after a couple nights sharing a pen. We have a turkey, 13 chickens, two ducks and two geese. All range together during the day. Geese and ducks are penned at night and the chickens and turkey share a coop. All get along. They are fed together in the morning, share a kiddie pool. Raising them and socializing them seems to be a lot of the key.

 

[froggyphore]

I raise geese and am not a fan of the "lone guard goose" concept. I've ranged my Runner ducks with a gaggle of 4 adults (1 gander and 3 geese) and the gaggle was effective in preventing aerial attacks by predators - including an attempt I witnessed.

Pyxis posted a thoughtful thread about why it doesn't make sense to keep a single goose. Keeping two rather than one would be much better for their wellbeing, and they could still be effective aerial predator deterrents.

oh nice, i’m always looking for a reason to get more birds haha. the only problem i have found is the possibility of aggression towards the chickens. have you ever heard of a pair or trio who were raised with the other species becoming aggressive or careless towards them? because if that were to happen i would have to rehome them thanks so much for the input!