Ducks and a goose

[triengelhardt]

About a year ago last spring we got 3 ducks and 2 geese. 1 goose got sick and passed away about a month in. The others were raised together. We built them a small house and a large cage, and they have a pretty big pond. We let them free roam most of the time. We then decided to get 2 more ducks and we started introducing them as soon as we could. But we kept them inside until they were old enough to live outside since it was starting to get cold at nights. They never really seemed to completely get along, they would stand and swim together but you could kinda tell they weren’t part of the group. Over the winter both of the new ducks disappeared, we don’t really know what happened. But our best guess is that the goose didn’t protect them like the others and let a predator get them. So we were back to 3 ducks and a goose. Well today the goose got hit by a car and passed away. So I guess I’m wondering what we should do. I don’t think the ducks will survive on their own without a goose to protect them since we have so many predators around but I don’t know how to make another goose think he’s a duck and protect the ducks let alone have the ducks accept it.

 

[nuthatched]

Get a fence or dogs.
Geese will not protect anything that's not a goose. That is a myth. That want away from a predator too.
They might not ever protect other geese.
It's bad for a goose to be the only goose, there should be atleast 3 geese and if you have a flock of geese, they won't give the ducks the time of day.

 

[nuthatched]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...d-goose-and-why-you-should-not-get-one.77508/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/things-to-know-before-raising-geese.77623/

 

[KathiQuacks]

Sorry for your losses

What are / were the genders of your ducks and geese?

How did your goose get to the road? Do you not have good fencing?

I would not allow my ducks to free-range, or not have ducks at all, if the predator population was that high, at least not without ample protection.

From what I’ve read, geese can’t actually “protect” the flock. The most they can really do is make an alarm call to warn you / warn the flock, or potentially scare a predator with their size. In a real fight, the goose will lose. A good defender would be something like a live-stock guardian dog, like the Anatolian Shepherd or Great Pyrenees.