Stupid Question

[shelleyd2008]

I don't have any geese (yet

) but there really is no 'better or worse' between ducks and geese. Ducks are omnivores, and geese are herbivores, so if you want pest control---go with ducks; weed control--go with geese.

And ducks are very clean animals, always taking a bath when given the option. Their poo is a lot more runny than chickens, and they like to make a wet part of your yard into quicksand, but other than that they really aren't that messy!

 

[Cara]

I've never been attacked by a duck, that makes them better than geese

They can be quite noisy, but nowhere near as obnoxious as geese. My husband and I cannot have a conversation outside because of the noise our pair of yard geese make. Ducks don't hiss at you either!

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
Oh yes! I forgot about the attack goose thing! I'm hoping mine won't be like that, since I'm getting american buffs. They are supposed to be more gentle?

 

[FrenchHen]

I'm curious about getting geese to weed the front lawn then sell at holiday time. Do they need much feed?

 

[greenrootsmama]

I'm confused about feeding the ducks. I read somewhere that you can give them chicken starter but then another site said never to give them chicken feed because they have different nutritional requirements than chickens. Can someone explain this?

 

[Cara]

Some medicated starters are not good for them, so I avoid all of them. We have Pekins which grow a bit faster since they're meat ducks, but they do well on unmedicated starter or a 24% starter as ducklings, and once they are big enough get Flock Raiser or layer pellets. They love to graze too.

Geese can get by here on grazing alone in the summer (and cleaning up any feed the horses drop!). In the winter they have some alfalfa hay, with a cup or so of sweet feed a day. I'd imagine if you live somewhere more green they could just graze, once they're big enough. We give them starter while they are goslings.

 

[nettie]

Quote:
This is every moment of everyday for my ducks... I can give them their food, and two minutes later they are quacking at me again to give them more.... I think i have pigs, not ducks!

 

[Buster]

I found out through experience that 5 ducks waste more food and poop more and make a bigger mess than 40 chickens combined. They are neat to look at and forage better, but I got rid of my ducks.