Got Goose; now unsure- help!

[BlessedChaosHomestead]

What happened to the ones from last year? Look on your state forum you might find someone who has Runners.
I'm next door in NC but so far no Runner eggs this year. I have Muscovy that are standing at the ready to incubate. lol

Those 2 are the ones mentioned above. Lol
Vanilla, the Drake, solitary confinement most the time. Chocolate, hen, finally not scared of the 8-10wk old fawn runner ducks. (But still the geese & her don’t get along.)

We just were wanting another chocolate runner or even a blue. As vanilla is a fawn and so are the younglings.

But…lol I’m just as bad as hubs…I brought home 4 more ducklings today. Lolol

 

[Miss Lydia]

There must be a duckling store right close to you

 

[BlessedChaosHomestead]

There must be a duckling store right close to you

My local Co-Op and TSC had them this week. Lol
Within an hrs drive I have 2 Rural Kings, 4 Co-Ops, and like 4 TSC and at this time of year they’re all getting stuff. Lol my local ones are only like 10-15min away.

 

[BlessedChaosHomestead]

Hey @Miss Lydia
Since you know sooo much, hope you won’t mind another question.

We are having some integration issues w our geese and other flock members.
Geese are afraid of chickens some; no big deal.
Geese hate the Drake. (Works fine for now because he is so hormone crazy.)
Geese tolerate the hen some.
The 3 young runner ducklings have to be separated from the geese because they think they’re geese; or geese think they’re ducks. Either way they are a unit. The 3 ducklings don’t want to share the pool w the hen. They do allow her closer to them now.
But we are having to keep the geese in the front yard by our chicken tractor, away from the coop.
Yesterday the geese where in visible distance from the coop and the ducklings stood in the pool most the day. When we finally put the geese in the pen for bed; quickly they all joined up and would stay as a group through the whole pen. But when they do that, they shun the hen!

2nd issue which honestly is the biggest because time might fix the others. (Except incorporating the Drake later on.)
The 2 white Chinese geese do not want us to touch them. And they have been handled since we got them. They scream bloody murder, run away and then when they’re picked up they scratch us!
It’s getting to the point that we are discussing trying to maybe find another African Brown & sell the two because they have to be able to be handled. They have to come to us if they escape because of our dogs for their safety. And we also have small children, I can’t have them wanting to be aggressive because they don’t want them near them.

Any advice??

 

[Miss Lydia]

What is the hen? a chicken? explain why you don't want the Ducklings and the geese together?

Most geese don't really want to be touched or picked up so i really don't know what to tell you about that except do what you feel is best for your family. I walk behind my goose into the coop and pick her up there that way I don't have to chase her and make matters worse. You might try using treats to train the geese to come to you and once they are used to being rewarded they may just run to you if danger is happening.
I never allowed my grandkids inside the property with my geese unless I was with them actually the geese never showed any aggression when the kids were with them mostly curiosity. But you might let the kids carry a pool noodle with them just in case they need to keep the geese away. I have heard they work great and getting their attention. Not to hit them but to use to keep the geese at a distance.

 

[BlessedChaosHomestead]

What is the hen?

Hen duck. (Are they called something else.) She's a chocolate runner duck.

a chicken? explain why you don't want the Ducklings and the geese together?

We want them all together. But the younger ducks & geese stick together away from the other ducks. As if it's a clique. The younger ducklings don't want anything to do with the female duck, but want to be with the geese.
Aside from eggs, getting more female runner ducks was so the drake has more & Chockie (the female we have) has some more friends. lol It's not going well on that part.

Most geese don't really want to be touched or picked up so i really don't know what to tell you about that except do what you feel is best for your family. I walk behind my goose into the coop and pick her up there that way I don't have to chase her and make matters worse. You might try using treats to train the geese to come to you and once they are used to being rewarded they may just run to you if danger is happening.

I see. Honey doesn't mind it too much. Tonight s/he followed hubby to the coop because he was holding a screaming Maple. lol Honey is definitely a guardian to the ducks & geese.
Seems they'd at least be comfortable enough with us petting them, instead of running from us though.
What treats do they like? They won't take grass from us. lol Or lettuce.

I never allowed my grandkids inside the property with my geese unless I was with them actually the geese never showed any aggression when the kids were with them mostly curiosity. But you might let the kids carry a pool noodle with them just in case they need to keep the geese away. I have heard they work great and getting their attention. Not to hit them but to use to keep the geese at a distance.

I just want them to be able to trust them enough to not worry if I have to send a child in the coop/fence to do something.
(Granted I can't do that atm, our rooster has a thing against some of the children or their shoes/boots. lol Have a video of him attacking my one child's boot. Smh.)

 

[Miss Lydia]

Yep sometimes roosters can be right up there with ganders as far as being aggressive.

My gander loved whole corn as his fav treat and since he only got it as a treat I could get him to do just about anything for some. My goose loves dry dog food [small bits] and dried mealworms. She's also very fond of romaine lettuce. You'll just have to try different things until you find the one that works.

I could pet Sam on the head when not in breeding season, Missy has never wanted me to touch her and she has been here since 4 months old but she was also raised by geese in a pasture before I brought her home so she didn't get that human contact when young. I respect that she doesn't want to be touched. If I have to check her out for some reason Once I get her in the coop and pick her up she goes limp. lol

When i brought Missy home I had to block Sam from being able to see the Muscovy since he had been bonded to them for 5 yrs before I got Missy, so you can keep the ducklings and geese from seeing each other until the ducklings bond with your Runner then let them all be together. It takes time. I wouldn't let them be together at all if you want the ducklings to bond with the Runner.
I will say again and I don't know the ages of your children but letting them be inside with the geese isn't a good idea without an adult. You said Honey is guardian and if Honey turns out to be a gander then he will do all he can to protect Maple and that could mean biting one of the kids. Ganders take their responsibility very seriously. Let them be around the kids when you are with them so you can interfere if Honey gets too protective. Pool noodle> I use a metal pole [thin] I tied predator tape to the end and if any of mine get out of hand I bring it out and wave it boy they fall in line then. I rarely have to use it since I lost my gander in 2022. He was my problem child. Love him and sure miss him.

 

[BlessedChaosHomestead]

@Miss Lydia

Thank you for all your help on this.

Little Update:
1. 2 of the 3 runner ducklings are drakes; so they're up for sale. lol The one female has finally accepted our adult, unless her brothers or the geese arrive in the pen. lol (Now we have 6 others to blend in; at least the females. Plus the 3 babies in the future. lol)

2. We have decided to sell the geese. Honey has started being a bit aggressive for no reason to our children & bit our youngest the other day on the nose. Again no reason. Which really upset our youngest because our animals are their fav. lol Helps take care of them even at their young age. The 2 white ones still are terrified of being held or touched.
Maybe in the future we can get some more, but not till children are older. I loved how they just ate the grass. We would just move them around our front yard. A few more & we wouldn't have to mow too often. lol (They have supplemented feed also, wasn't starving them. lol)
I took some photos of Honey trying to bath in it's 1gal bucket this afternoon. lol If you'd like to see them, I'll link them.

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[Miss Lydia]

I'm so sorry it hasn't worked out with the geese and the drakes. Have you posted on the Tenessee forum?
They can be a handful that is why I was telling you that you have to be careful with geese and young children. They are very protective. and when young and feeling their oats they can really become aggressive.
I hope you can find great homes for them all.

 

[Jeloniw]

Hey, I raised goslings with chicks this year with the same intention. I also had the same problem. I had two goslings and was able to separate them. They later were able to integrate in a larger run but it was mostly because the chicks had enough room to avoid the goslings. Once the goslings were around 4-5 weeks, I started do supervise grazing sessions with my adult chickens, and they integrated with the adult birds beautifully. The chicks are still in a brooder box and are so tiny compare to the goslings who are adult chicken size now. I had concluded that brooding the babies together isn’t necessary or really good for either side. I think the frenetic move you the chicks was stressing the goslings out. Anyway, I just want to post that I had a happy ending integrating my guard geese. They are both attached to the flock even though they are devoted to each other (and us). So fun. Absolutely adore my geese.