Ducks versus Geese -

[Oregon Blues]

What kind of damage / reaction? That's interesting that it would be from making ethanol. Isn't corn used to produce ethanol? I wonder what would be the difference.

It was in the Waterfowl World column in The Poultry Press. All I've got is that it causes ducks to waste away in spite of being well fed. A necropsy done at Penn State University showed kidney failure. Penn State has seen several of these with ducks fed "ethanol byproducts". They are following up on it. So far, no hard scientific proof.

 

[LilyAshley11]

Geese have many pros over ducks- they don't instantly turn every water source to mud, they can keep thier house fairly clean, you can brood them inside longer, ....Gosh the list goes on and on. Don't get me wrong- I won't be giving up ducks anytime soon. Geese are just different. They're more like dogs that poop grass clippings. Or toddlers with lawnmowers. They're emotional, hormonal, and the bond you get when you raise them from babies- nothing like it.

I prefer ducks, they are more cute

 

[Trav5787]

With all the talk about how relational geese are I can't help but share our experience.

We got the goose on accident from Atwoods. I thought it was a pekin when I quickly picked it out of the bin. It wasn't until later that we realized it was a White Chinese goose. It has definately been the most affectionate of the birds I have. This pic is my 3 year old and "Buckshot" (He named it).


I have a video of her going nuts when she was a gosling whenever my son would leave the side of her pen.

I will be ordering a pair of American Buffs next spring. lol

 

[rainplace]

Regarding geese and hotwire. They only hit it once. We had some of our geese that lived in the pasture with the cattle. They quickly learned about the wire and avoided it, learned how to go under it, or how to go through the cattle fence instead. One of my geese had some issues with her one of her eyes, she didn't want to go anywhere near a fence because she couldn't see it properly. I kept a gate open for her and that worked. When her eye healed she was fine with the fences again.

They respect poultry netting too.

 

[Wynette]

Thanks so much for all the feedback on hotwire. This just may compel me to try it with geese in the spring - my setup is such that...well, here is a pic:



Okay, so this is my new barn - it's not "in use" as of yet. You can barely see the gate to the right. This is the east side, and that's the side my chicken runs will go on. I could put a "pophole" door on the back of the barn (south side) and build a smaller pen inside the barn, and they could come & go as they pleased. Pasture is huge, and I don't think the horses would bother them...I wonder about the mini donkeys, though. Anyway, if this would work, it would be super easy to do! Oh, that's my Rudy in front of the field - he's my sweet mutt boy, napping with his sister:



Okay, sorry, I just have to add this cute puppy pic of him back in 2010 - tell me this ain't the cutest puppy you've ever seen!



No? Okay, how about THIS pic:



Sorry, guess I'm on a Rudy kick today!

 

[Diamond88]

What adorable dogs! Rudy and his sister look so sweet.

 

[Wynette]

Thanks, Diamond! I am admittedly smitten with those silly dogs!

 

[1MrsMagoo]

Thanks so much for all the feedback on hotwire. This just may compel me to try it with geese in the spring - my setup is such that...well, here is a pic:

The decision to get geese didn't take too long. Now all you have to do is decide which breed or breeds of geese you are going to get.
You certainly have the room: That is a very nice barn.

Oh, and Rudy and his sister are super cute!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Thanks so much for all the feedback on hotwire. This just may compel me to try it with geese in the spring - my setup is such that...well, here is a pic:



Okay, so this is my new barn - it's not "in use" as of yet. You can barely see the gate to the right. This is the east side, and that's the side my chicken runs will go on. I could put a "pophole" door on the back of the barn (south side) and build a smaller pen inside the barn, and they could come & go as they pleased. Pasture is huge, and I don't think the horses would bother them...I wonder about the mini donkeys, though. Anyway, if this would work, it would be super easy to do! Oh, that's my Rudy in front of the field - he's my sweet mutt boy, napping with his sister:



Okay, sorry, I just have to add this cute puppy pic of him back in 2010 - tell me this ain't the cutest puppy you've ever seen!



No? Okay, how about THIS pic:



Sorry, guess I'm on a Rudy kick today!

What a face.

 

[Triplell]

I do have a question, I have three toulouse geese. One in one pen and 2 in another, they all are in with ducks. I just hatched out 11 ducklings and would the geese adopt the ducklings? I think I have 2 ganders and 1 goose and they are molting purtty heavy right now. Should I give a try? Please help as I really don't want to brood inside the barn again. The ducklings will be a week old on the 13th.