Need help! I have three ducks and would love a goose

[Aellister]

Hiya anyone/everyone.

I need some help please.
I have three darling ducks, two female Perkins, and an Indian runner drake. I have a secure garden but am worried about birds of prey . I'd love to introduce a goose to my little flock. Not just a security guard but as a pet. Im not sure whether a gosling or an older goose would be wise? Also whether to get a female or male?

If anyone would help that would be amazing. Thank you all.

 

[orloffer]

I, knowing nothing about waterfowl, would guess that you would want a female goose, as a male might attack your other birds. I am not sure about your other questions, but hopefully someone else with more knowledge will be able to help you.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Geese do best with more than one. They don't speak the same language as ducks so it wouldn't be part if a community

 

[Trisseh]

My goose was a great companion/alarm system for my ducks - until she matured and started laying. Then those ducks were no longer her friends. A goose will not stick their neck out for the ducks. A goose will take care of the goose. Mine was raised with my ducklings from tiny babies, she was at the bottom of the totem pole until she matured, then she had to find a new home with more geese like her. They tolerate other species but they don’t bond with them the way you might think.

 

[Aellister]

I, knowing nothing about waterfowl, would guess that you would want a female goose, as a male might attack your other birds. I am not sure about your other questions, but hopefully someone else with more knowledge will be able to help you.

Thankyou

 

[Aellister]

My goose was a great companion/alarm system for my ducks - until she matured and started laying. Then those ducks were no longer her friends. A goose will not stick their neck out for the ducks. A goose will take care of the goose. Mine was raised with my ducklings from tiny babies, she was at the bottom of the totem pole until she matured, then she had to find a new home with more geese like her. They tolerate other species but they don’t bond with them the way you might think.

Bugger. So basically I shouldn't get one? That's a shame

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Bugger. So basically I shouldn't get one? That's a shame

You could get two or more. But it's like sticking a French speaker with a Korean speaker. They just can't really understand each other.

 

[Trisseh]

You could get two or more. But it's like sticking a French speaker with a Korean speaker. They just can't really understand each other.

Exactly this!

Although if you want a pair purely as an early warning system, have at ‘er! Just beware that even the nicest ones are awful during breeding season, so you need provisions to prevent any issues during that time. my girl, although she was the lone goose, was extremely protective of what she deemed “her” nest and stole the ducks eggs and beat them up if they came near the nest box. She went into her own accommodations until I found a new flock that she could join. Some individuals may be more tolerant than others, I wouldn’t know, but she certainly wasn’t.

 

[Aellister]

You could get two or more. But it's like sticking a French speaker with a Korean speaker. They just can't really understand each other.

t
that's fair enough.

 

[Miss Lydia]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/reasons-why-you-shouldnt-keep-just-one-goose.1220102/