Okay so I just started to incubate duck eggs and I have a few questions.... 1. How long do ducks live? 2. How long do geese live? 3. Which are more docile? 4. If you where to get a surrogate to teach the ducks or geese to fly south, will they come back to me, if alive? 5. I already asked this in another post but why I am here....Can waterfowl protect other chicks or animals?
Quote:a. I butcher all of mine at about 6 months. I do not know .. b. Geese can live for a long time. 25 years is not unheard of.. c. If you mean which is more likely to chase you,, geese will come after you more likely than a duck d. they are not too likely to fly south. It is remotely possible they would come back.. don't wait up for them, though.. e. not too likely..
I just want to take a shot at #4: I am in NC which is the winter home of many mallards. I had a mixed flock which included a pair of East Indies. A pair of dogs broke into my pen and killed all of the non-flyers and the drake of the East Indies pair. The duck excaped and was spotted returning home (looking for her companions and mate?). Since there was nothing there for her she went to a local pond and joined up with the flock there. This flock disappears every spring and reappears in the fall. Where they go is unknown but it is assumed that they migrate like other mallards. The guy that owns the pond insists that it is the same flock that returns to his pond each fall. To keep this short the East indie disappeared with the flock and returned with a flock. A black duck with all those Mallards sticks out like a sore thumb! I hope this is a part answer to your question.
Quote:I'm not an expert but here is my experience... 1. upwards of 10 years but predators usually shorten their life expectancy significantly. My oldest duck was 7 or 8 and extremely healthy. Something got him though. 2. Some breeds can live up to 40 years. Mine did not. One got attacked and one died of botchellism 3. They are both very personable. IME, geese are not mean at all. Ducks are much more skidish and a goose is more likely to let you pet them. I LOVE geese (well ducks too) but I think a goose can be more of a pet. 4. You would have to get a breed that can fly. Otherwise, I don't know 5. A loud goose can offer a small buffer of protection to "sound the alarm" and make a big ruckus that might deter a predator that is not very determined anyway. hope that helps They are both very fun birds
