Geese & Chickens - Can they live together?

[worryhorse]

OMG!!! How terrible! I am so sorry for your losses! That's so sad.

The only thing I can think of is that my chickens and geese are not in any type of "run". We have a small pasture (just under 1/4 acre) that they are loose in each day. The chickens simply move away from where the geese are if the geese get honery. But they do ALL surround me, 5 geese, 12 chickens and now 3 ducks, as I throw out treats to them. (veggies, crackers, bread crumbs, etc...) The chickens arrive first, then the geese come over and the chickens simply move away some so that I can toss to them while I drop things right in front of me for the geese. As for the ducks, they just kind of hang out on the edge of the group and wait until something falls in front of them or everyone else has had their fill. They are very dignified little guys.

Just after dusk all the chickens go in on their own to their pen to roost. If the geese and ducks have not already put themselves up, they readily go into their respective pens while I am closing the chickens gate. Then I close their gates on my way back to the house. I'd say that maybe I am just lucky, but in my neighborhood there are several yards with mixtures of geese, chickens, ducks, turkeys, and guinea fowl. But as in mine, they are only together in the yard (1/4 acre or more). If they are in any pen, run, enclosure, etc.. they are kept separated. I only put them up then because of night roaming dogs or coyotes.

I think my recommendation would be to not keep your barnyard fowl in ANY type of enclosure together, no matter how large. Only outside where they are somewhat loose and can easily identify territory in the yard and move away from each other if someone else gets aggressive for whatever reason. (food, mating, babies, etc...). For many species of all types, if the submissive animal can not retreat from what the agressive animal perceives as their "space", the agressor will perceive it as a challenge and attack. And unfortunately, the submissive one had no desire to fight, no desire to challenge, they just couldn't get out of the other ones "space".

Just in case it comes up, although they are technically loose, none of my birds ever leave my property. We have a small fenced backyard that shares a fence with their pasture that two of my hens will hop into to meet me at the backdoor in hopes of getting treats before anyone else, but that is the extent of their wandering.

Again, I am so sad for your experiences and your loss!

 

[muslw4]

My mother has a Sebastopol and Tulousse goose. They are both in with chickens, guineas, and call ducks oh and a peacock. They seem to get along fine. they do have a lot of area and then she opens the pen so they can free range during the day. THe tulousse goose is awesome. never went after anyone. Now he has adopted some baby call ducks. he really watches over them and keeps the dogs or anythign else for that matter away. he does let my mother get close though. the Sebastopol is beautiful, white with blue eyes but man I don't go near him. He got me once and wouldn't let go until the dogs went after him and nipped at him. then he let me go and went after the dogs. Mom got him when he was full grown so who knows his background. Maybe a baby would be a bit more docile, but then they are geese. Just don't trust them.

 

[[email protected]]

I think they should be in different enclosures

 

[rouenedmylife]

I'd say yes I have a pair of white chinese geese and three ducks and after abit of a nightmare trying to brood them together with the geese knocking over the waterers and flooding the brooder killing three of my silver sebrights once I got them outside they are fine now the geese and the ducks mostly keep to themselves occasionally giving the chickens a gentle nip when they try to take there food but otherwise they keep to themselves

 

[sydney13]

I have 2 geese and a duck who live with all my chickens. I have to say, the geese do a lot better with the chickens than the duck does. Sometimes the duck will get in squabbles with the dominate chickens. This causes the two geese to come charging, making a real racket and they will not stop till the duck and chickens stop there fighting. The geese are good to have around because they feel it's their duty to keep order in the flock. They will not tolerate fighting between birds, our dogs coming to close to the chickens (the dogs would never harm the chickens but the geese remain wary of them), or any unusual behavior. One day a hawk flew down and attacked one of the chickens. Luckily our goose was there and she scared the hawk enough to fly off the chicken (chicken ended up making a full recovery thanks to goose).
Our female goose, Delilah was raised from a gosling along side the baby chickens. She always gets along well with the chickens and seems to be slightly bonded to them. Once Delilah got older she went broody and we gave her a gosling. The gosling, Dudley is a gander and get along okay with the chickens. The only problem he has is with our silkie chicken. She is a lot smaller than he is and has very puffy feathers. Dudley sometimes goes after her feathers and will pluck them out if she is not paying attention. Deliah went though the stage of pulling the silkie's feathers out too, so I'm betting this will just pass with him. Something about the poofy silkie feathers is irresistible to the geese.

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

I have a Pilgrim goose with my chickens, ducks and guineas. Everyone gets along fine

 

[michael 101]

yes

 

[Orcae]

We have a different species of goose (African/Chinese), but they attack any animal that gets close to them - especially chickens and cats.

 

[LarissaBuffMom]

I am very new to raising chickens and I am about to get some geese this week, I have been thinking of how I could put my chickens and geese in the same coop at night. From what I have read here it sounds as if I watch them well enough and maybe place a privet home for the geese in the coop( witch is an old shed very large) kind of like a little stable they should all get along RIGHT?

 

[GardenerGal]

I have a 12'x20' barn that has two stalls and an open area with free-standing rabbit hutches (used as brooding coops for hens/chicks, and as "sick bay"). The larger stall has a ramp going up (the barn is built into a berm/hillside) into the covered chicken run, which in turn has a latched predator-proof gate that opens into the large waterfowl pen.

Every night, the chickens fly up into the rafters and roost for the night, and the waterfowl come in from their pen, through the run gate, and down the ramp into the stall where they spend the night.
Every morning, the waterfowl go back up the ramp, through the run gate and into their waterfowl pen where they spend the day, and the chickens fly down from their roosts and have full use of the barn and chicken run all day.

It works.

It's really important to give both groups their "privacy," and especially separate feeders and waterers. At night, the waterfowl have a bucket of water and a little food to tide them over early in the morning. I remove and clean out the bucket and food when they go outside every day. I don't want the chickens to get into the water that geese and ducks muck up with who-knows-what (I swear, even with the stall full of clean shavings, they manage to find something yucky to dabble in their water!!!).

Anyway, maybe something in that will be useful to you.

I am very new to raising chickens and I am about to get some geese this week, I have been thinking of how I could put my chickens and geese in the same coop at night. From what I have read here it sounds as if I watch them well enough and maybe place a privet home for the geese in the coop( witch is an old shed very large) kind of like a little stable they should all get along RIGHT?