ducks, chickens, .. and geese?

[marvun22]

i sorta want some geese but i have a couple questions first. 1, are they as mean as some of the stories i've heard about them. 2, i have a 16' x 16' coop i will have 15 chickens ( 7 bo, 3 rir, 2 nh, 1 ba, 1glw, 1ee) soon to be 14 ducks ( 3 mallard pekin cross, 2 khaki campbell, 2 pekin, 2 rouen, 2 buff, and 2 indian runner) and i was thinking about buying just 2 geese, would they fit in the space fine. 3, this relates to the first question, would they be especially mean to the just the chickens or just the ducks or both or neither. 4, also this is a ratio question, if i ordered 2 straight run goslings, would it matter what i got. if i got 2 males there would be no female to overbreed (they woudnt get desperate and mate the ducks would they). if i got 1 male and 1 female that would be a pair, and if i got 2 females there would be no male to fertilize the eggs (i have no plans of hatching eggs).

 

[gryeyes]

I have a flock of fifty hens, three roosters, 23 ducks, four turkeys and two ganders. I thought they were a pair but now I know they are both ganders; they are both just under 18 months old and grew up together in the flock. I have only just had an issue or two with them now they are sexually mature and there aren't any geese ladies for 'em: one had attempted to mate with duck ladies. They're Cayuga ducks, so they're not small, BUT.... The other issue is the daily mini-fight with each other. No injuries as they are just one-upping each other. Other than that, everybody gets along, they coop up together (well, the ducks don't, so one gander stays out with them all night) and neither gander is mean at all. They are (utility) Toulouse, very laid back and docile for the most part. The coop is 17' by 20' with tons of roost space AND open floor for "ground" sleeping. Be careful you get the more docile breed of geese, because some CAN be downright aggressive. Just remember EVERY breed of goose is territorial, protective and friendly during breeding season.

 

[marvun22]

the geese mating a duck could actually end up being a problem. i already placed my order to get some smaller ducks such as: khaki campbell, buff, and indian runner. but i also was going to get a rouen which is medium and a pekin which is large.

 

[Kevin565]

1. It depends on the individual goose. Some of mine have been friendly while others have been extremely aggressive.

2. Will they just be in the coop at night? That's a nice size coop but that's already a lot of birds. Waterfowl are much messier than chickens. It's going to be hard to keep down the odor in there.

3. During breeding season they will probably be mean to them both and could easily kill them.

4. For your situation I would go with two females or possibly a pair. Two lonely ganders with that many other fowl is asking for trouble IMO.