Considering Adding A Goose To The Family...

[Fields Mountain Farm]

Recently saw someone thinking about putting down a duck after a gander had a go at her. Deciding whether to eat an injured bird or not. They decided to give her a chance to recover. And ducks ARE hardy. But why risk it? My ducks were MUCH louder than my chickens... and hilarious to saying "whack, whack, wack". Not all the time though, more like when you approach. We thought they were working for the mafia.

As far as I'm concerned ducks don't house well with chickens either.

Don't know about the whole pairs thing... But I always see them flying in a flock not alone.

Better provide separate house and yard before that happens. It's brutal and can be too late by the time you figure it out. Once hormones kick in all bets are off!

X2 on separate housing if a gander is involved especially...

 

[Fuzzbutts]

I would think it would be best to get females. Males may try to breed the ducks and could potentially hurt them.
They do have great personalities, but you want to establish whose boss from the get go and maintain it. There are a couple of great threads in the goose forum about goose behavior and training. Ask lots of questions!

That is probably one of my favorite things to learn about- behavior patterns. I wish I could find some sort of guide for ducks... I hear geese tend to be very intelligent and are protective of what they consider to be their "flocks"
Thank you for the advice! I will definitely be looking for those threads!

 

[Fields Mountain Farm]

Really? I'm surprised, my chickens and ducks always got along. Every so often one of the chickens would get too big for her britches and try to change the pecking order, but that was the worst of it.

My ducks, chickens and turkeys all run together with no issues, however, they free range 24/7 with housing available to all if they choose. Having lots of space for them to escape each other and range in there own "territory" is a big factor, at least it's what I've seen here. May be different for others even with lots of space. Individual bird personalities play a big role as well.

 

[Fields Mountain Farm]

That is probably one of my favorite things to learn about- behavior patterns. I wish I could find some sort of guide for ducks... I hear geese tend to be very intelligent and are protective of what they consider to be their "flocks"
Thank you for the advice! I will definitely be looking for those threads!

Check in the duck forum for similar info on ducks.

 

[Fields Mountain Farm]

And yes, very intelligent. My gander knows what no means. If he lowers his head in an aggressive manner to bite, a quick firm NO and he backs off. He's not happy about it and vibrates his neck and head to let me know that, but accepts me as boss and stops.

 

[sourland]

Really? I'm surprised, my chickens and ducks always got along. Every so often one of the chickens would get too big for her britches and try to change the pecking order, but that was the worst of it.

And generally they do get along, but drakes and ganders have penises and roosters do not. Drakes or ganders breeding chicken hens can injure them potentially to the point of killing them. Not all drakes will try to breed chicken hens, but drakes without duck hens or those raised with/by chickens are more likely to do so.

Geese form strong pair bonds and do well in pairs.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

My ducks, chickens and turkeys all run together with no issues, however, they free range 24/7 with housing available to all if they choose. Having lots of space for them to escape each other and range in there own "territory" is a big factor, at least it's what I've seen here. May be different for others even with lots of space. Individual bird personalities play a big role as well.

Individual personalities does have a huge factor. Plenty of room and such here, but ducks didn't give a crud about what chicken space is and take over what they want. Only 1 chicken would stand up to them but the ducks were relentless. Maybe the tribe was too strong as an individual unit.

A new friend had to dispatch turkeys even for going after their dog. And killed one of their hens. They actually dispatched all aggressors and have 2 more docile turkey hens who now kind of protect the others and are OK among her free range flock.

I'm sure it can be done and many do it. I'm usually the one to buck up against what they say "can't be done" just to prove it can. But with the learning or experience I've had, it just isn't worth my time or energy to house certain species together. Especially when for a few more $ or time I can keep them separate and still enjoy them all with out the drama. But I'm at a different point in my life than I was even last year. And who knows what the next year brings!

 

[Iain Utah]

My geese, ducks and chickens all run together and get along wonderfully. Like other posters, they free-range 24/7 with access to going inside barn, and have plenty of space and multiple watering holes, and they have distinct subgroups. Also, while my goose/gander ratio is 50/50, I only have 1 drake per 4-5 ducks, and 1 rooster for my 13 hens. This way, everyone is happy and no cross-species mating.

 

[Pyxis]

My geese, ducks, and chickens all live together as well. Ducks and geese get along fine in my experience. The geese definitely make it clear that they are the dominant ones, but otherwise they're all fine. I have a gander that loves my Call ducks and lives with them and they all do very well together.

I noticed you said you were thinking of getting a goose, single, when you made the thread. Geese are very social animals, and if you want geese, you need more than one. One single goose does not cut it. They are much happier with friends of their own species. I had a single goose for awhile, and even though I had ducks and chickens, she was still very lonely. As soon as I got more geese, she bonded to them immediately and they are now inseperable.

As far as noise goes, geese can be noisy. Some breeds are more noisy than others. Chinese geese, for example, are a very noisy breed. All geese will alert when they see something they don't like, or if they see something exciting, etc. Mine call loudly to me and each other whenever I go outdoors, then settle down afterwards and are pretty quiet. Their normal speaking voices are quiet, but they are loud when they alert.

You might want to get two females, if you don't want goslings. Ganders can get aggressive towards other birds and humans during the breeding season. My adult gander is a sweetheart and is never aggressive, but I have a very docile breed and he's always been that way. I'll be waiting to see if his son is the same way when breeding season hits this year.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Like other posters, they free-range 24/7 with access to going inside barn,

Sorry no such thing as free range 24/7 predators' dinner here. Everybody gets locked up at night or face eminent and rapid depopulation. All feed also gets collected.

Sun up until sun down, definitely though. Predators lurk then too, but it's a risk I take. Had a hawk start watching my flock and stayed at least a couple weeks!
I was fortunate enough to be able to keep watch and act as shepherd to my flock very constantly. And it's still patrolling skies close by so... If it decides to come back and stay I might have to consider not free ranging for the first time in about 8 years. But new things happen all the time... ya roll with it.

@Fuzzbutts I hope your adventure is great fun.