HELP! Goslings attacking Ducklings

[JoserMum]

Sorry. Typo. Meant sexed birds.

Bummer. Well, I'd definitely keep them separated for now. Or at least remove the offending goose, and maybe a friend for it.

What are you feeding these guys?

I have had geese, standard ducks, and call ducks all in together with no issues, but others have had major issues with the geese tearing up their ducks. It really depends on breeds, your setup, and the birds themselves. Do you have a pic of their brooder?

Yeah I’m thinking separation is our best option. I’m bummed because I had this idea they would be happy together. They get regular duckling/gosling feed and I’ve started cutting it with oats. I also give them greens as a treat. They graze from about 11 am to almost 9 pm right now. I’ll attach a brooder pic. I’m aware it’s gotten too small, hence moving them outside for most of the day. I’m hoping once they’re permanently outside they’ll at least be able to tolerate each other. I worry because they were meant to share a coop at night, now I have a bit of anxiety.

 

[ChickenWhisperer101]

I’m having a similar issue with my gosling picking on my chicks feathers. It’s not really mean to the other gosling but it is to the chicks. The other gosling is nice, I even put it with my bantam chicks for a bit earlier while I was cleaning the brooders and they were fine.

Do you have pictures of the ducklings?

Here’s my injured chicks. I found 2 pecked ones the day before yesterday and 2 more today, but only have pictures of these 2. I separated the gosling and I’m gonna try to reintroduce it in a few days to see if it helps at all.

 

[Conan]

That’s a good idea. I will do that first. I love the geese so much…I’m hoping they’re not all bullies.

I loved mine too. I had American buff geese, and they were the sweetest birds. Little call ducklings actually picked on them! Lol.
Hopefully once you get them settled in their new space, they will mellow. I do hope you don't have a bunch of boys, though. That will go poorly when they mature as they will likely try to breed your Pekin hens. Just a heads up there!

 

[Conan]

Give them more space and very likely the problem will go away. They are overcrowded and bored, and there is not enough space for the ducklings to get away.

It sounds like the last instance was outdoors in their yard setup, not in the brooder.

@JoserMum, do you have a pic of your outdoor setup?

 

[sourland]

It sounds like the last instance was outdoors in their yard setup, not in the brooder.

@JoserMum, do you have a pic of your outdoor setup?

Once aberrant behavior is started it generally continues. Very common for adult geese, especially singletons, to adopt ducklings or goslings. It's a very different behavior than that expressed by immature birds.

 

[Conan]

Once aberrant behavior is started it generally continues. Very common for adult geese, especially singletons, to adopt ducklings or goslings. It's a very different behavior than that expressed by immature birds.

Percy wasn't a single, lol. He has a girlfriend. Her eggs weren't fertile, and she really wasn't interested in the babies that weren't hers, but he did a good job with them.

I understand that the behavior is different, just pointing out that each bird is different, and that gender isn't always the issue when it comes to aggressive behavior.

Also, 6 geese to 8 ducks might not be the best ratio, especially if space is an issue. That's why I'd like to see a pic of the outdoor pen they're in.