Getting more ducks, what about geese?

[Weeg]

So, I have been planing to revamp the HORRIBLY muddy run and the way to small coop in the summer. I am getting excited about it because I feel so bad for the birds, but they will survive until summer. I am not excited about thinning out my old birds though. I want new young hens, and I will only have room if my 5-8 year olds go. I can't keep them all sadly.

I have made a list of all the exciting chicken breeds I want, and how I am going to get eggs, and then, I thought about it, and am thinking about maybe just having a few chickens, and then getting lots more ducks instead! I think I like the ducks better, so its a thought. We also have a lot of predators around here, and I have heard that geese can stand up to a fox, so was thinking maybe they can help some with security.

How would it work to just get one goose, and have it live my my ducks? I would get a female of course, but would I have to get two? I could probably still do two geese though. Would I worry about my drake mating her? I really don't know much about geese, so any info on there relationship with ducks, and other things I would need to know is appreciated! I have not committed to it the idea yet, just thought about it. Tell me what you think! Thanks!

 

[3xhhheather]

A goose is kind of like a rooster, a great alarm system & can offer some protection from aerial predators. Ours alert me to any hawks or black vultures, but I still have to go out & be big mama. I would not think they could handle a fox. You’d have to get at least 2, even if they’re with ducks or chickens it wouldn’t be “their flock”. Females are quieter and tend to be friendlier especially if you handle them a lot when they’re young. You wont have to worry about your drake mating with the goose, that would take an extremely determined & fearless drake. Geese do need quite a bit of room though to truly be happy, they’re crazy curious like toddlers, have big personalities. I looove mine even when they’re being jerks.

 

[Weeg]

A goose is kind of like a rooster, a great alarm system & can offer some protection from aerial predators. Ours alert me to any hawks or black vultures, but I still have to go out & be big mama. I would not think they could handle a fox. You’d have to get at least 2 even if they’re with ducks or chickens, it wouldn’t be “their flock”. Females are quieter and tend to be friendlier especially if you handle them a lot when they’re young. You wont have to worry about your drake mating with the goose, that would take an extremely determined & fearless drake. Geese do need quite a bit of room though to truly be happy, they’re crazy curious like toddlers, have big personalities. I looove mine even when they’re being jerks.

Awesome thank you! I wouldn't expect them to fight a predator exactly, but alert and maybe discourage a predator. How much room of run space do I need per goose? I have a good sized run I think, and will open up more space this summer, since I will be taking the divider out because eI won't have nearly as many chickens. I have heard that drakes can mate with hens, so I just had to amen sure though I knew wit was unlikely. Thanks for the info!

 

[aart]

I have been planing to revamp the HORRIBLY muddy run

Ducks aren't going to improve that scenario.

 

[Duckbreeder2020]

Please don’t get geese and ducks. I have that down at my pond and we had to get rid of the geese because it broke one of my ducks legs. Get just ducks.

 

[Trisseh]

I’ve seen a lot of conflicting information out there, and all I can go by is my own experience.
I got a gosling that was the same physical size as my ducklings in spring 2019, thinking if it grew up with the ducks, it should think of them as its flock and protect them, right? Nope. They speak very different languages, and don’t seem to understand each other at all. Their body language is completely different, the sounds they make mean completely different things... their dietary needs are different although geese can eat strictly feed, they’d much prefer grass, grass, and more grass. (And all veggie plants they can get ahold of.)

Turns out my little gosling was a goose, she started laying eggs. Yay, right? Nope. She became extremely protective of her nest, which was the communal nest, and beat the tar out of the ducks when they tried to go lay their eggs in there. (Yes, my ducks actually lay in a nest box.) they’d lay them wherever, usually somewhere filthy, and she would go steal the eggs and add them to her stash. If I went to collect eggs, she would hiss and carry on, and sometimes attack me. Since she lived with them, I didn’t have anywhere to separate her so she had her own space, and no other goose to keep her company.

As for protection... this goose was only in it for herself, no way she was going to look after the ducks. Lol. She would lead them off across the pasture, and when she got far enough, she would take off running and half fly/ half run all the way back home, leaving them stranded. I never once heard her alarm when there was a predator around. My drake did a much better job, and would herd the duck hens toward shelter. Half the time the goose didn’t even look at whatever scared the ducks. (Dogs, barn cats, foxes...) people that came visiting however, now those were scary.

I rehomed her this spring to a lady who had a gaggle of geese; last I heard, she had appointed herself the matriarch of the gaggle and lorded it over all the others.

as for your run, ducks tolerate wet/mud better than chickens do, but they often just create more mud and wet areas. Your run will definitely not improve by adding ducks, unless you’re addressing the cause of the mud and somehow fixing it, preferably before ducks are put in it. I’ve got a communal yard for all my birds but when it rains or during the wetter seasons, the chicken run gets closed so the ducks don’t go make it into a mud hole. It gets better when the weather turns and they can free range for longer each day, of course.

 

[3xhhheather]

Awesome thank you! I wouldn't expect them to fight a predator exactly, but alert and maybe discourage a predator. How much room of run space do I need per goose? I have a good sized run I think, and will open up more space this summer, since I will be taking the divider out because eI won't have nearly as many chickens. I have heard that drakes can mate with hens, so I just had to amen sure though I knew wit was unlikely. Thanks for the info!

I know people have posted on here that keep their geese in small gardens, so I think there is some flexibility in size of space. I have the room on my property so they're in a pen that's 300ft around of electric fencing and they still want out every day to free range. Now a lot of that is because that's how our schedule has always been, free range a bit in the morning, in the pen during the day, and free range in early evening. For the coop they need a minimum of 6 sq ft per bird and I would recommend having a divided space for the geese, especially when they start nesting. Like others have said though, ducks & geese will 100% not help your mud situation (especially the ducks). I'm adding chickens in the spring and they will be in a separate pen & coop because of the mud.