I'm assuming you are asking about imprinting because you want a loving goose/duck that will live closely with you. I have experince with this matter...
Ther are three options when it comes to imprinting...
A.) The baby duck is hatched by another animal, an d imprints on that animal. It will not be very tame and will probably be afraid of humans.
B.) The baby duck imprints on humans, but lives closely iwth other ducklings while growing. It learns to trust humans and maybe even like them and be friendly with them. these ducks can be very sweet and even cuddly, while others will have nothign to do with humans. This is best for animals expected to forage, live on a pond, live with other animals.. etc.
C.) The baby imprints on humans and becomes attached and dependant on an individual. It's handled a lot, talked to alot, and should be raised by itself. It will then think it's human, and will expect to be treated like one.
An imprint is not just simply seeing a human and thinking it's mom. while It does matter what is present during the hatching or right after, just being exposed to a baby fowl at hatching does not gaurentee a baby goose will imprint on you. ... (They immediately imprint on a species, and seem to imprint on an individual later depnding on the handling) Ducks, as well as geese, don't really recognize faces until after a week or so, but they will learn your voice quickly.
At one week old (option C), my baby ducks have quickly learned that i am not scary and will calm down if i talk to them (they came from a hatchery where they were incubated and saw humans). You have to handle them ALOT. Picking them up often and cuddling with them is a must. If you keep many babies all at once, it seems they learn to rely on each other rather than the human. I've had two babies at a time, who are in seperate boxes, but came see each other thorugh a plexiglass wall. They spend some time together, but they spend a lot of time with their "humans".
Since my ducks live in a small townhouse and often spend time inside, i made sure they imprinted. Imprinting/raising a very tame animal is very time comsuming, and should only be done by someone with lots and lots of patience and time. If you work all day or go to school all day, imprinting a goose or duck on yourself is cruel. You have to spend a LOT of time with that baby, including letting it sleep somewhere where it can see you. When it can't see you, it will becomed frightened and peep loudly. Also, if you are gone for more than a cuple hours, they baby will assume you died in the wild and will grieve over you. this causes an unbeliveable amount of stress on an imprinted duck (they will stay this way when they grow up... my two older ducks get very upset if we're gone for long...).
If you want an animal to live in your home (either part or full time), not only should you imprint, but it takes an incredible amount of patience and love. Having two ducks in my house is a lot like having two year olds that never grow out of it.
If you want your duck/goose to live outside in a barn/pen/coop/pond with other animals(option B), i do not reccomend imprinting! and you should raise a few babies together. Go ahead and handle them so they like humans, but let them stay together always. If an animals is too tame, you run the risk of it walking up to people that are unsavory, or getting snatched by a predator easily.
A duck or goose are capable of being loving pets, but it is a very time consuming process. I have two of the most spoiled ducks in the world who wouldn't have life any other way. they hug and like to be held. They get upset when not in our presence.. I DO NOT reccomend this for a beginner at water fowl, or any one with a heavy schedule. Before attemping to raise any waterfowl that is to live very closely with humans, you should do tons of research online, and also buy the book "Duck! There's a goose in the House" by Nancy Townsend... It is the ONLY book on this matter that is absolutely necessary.
