temperament

[sayyadina]

At this point, I'm planning on getting 2 female African geese next spring with my ducks. However, my father is somewhat resistant to this, since he's heard that geese can be really mean.

I want geese to help watch over the ducks, since we do have a family of bald eagles in the area, and I've heard that geese can be used as guard animals. I just like the look of the African geese, and I'm hoping that by getting females there'd be less chance of aggression, like there would be with males.

I've heard that by handling them frequently & respectfully when they're young can help them become more friendly, at least towards their 'flock' of humans.

My dad's also a bit intimidated by larger animals, and geese are pretty big birds, but he doesn't have any issues with our alpacas, with the largest around 195lbs.

 

[Soccer Mom]

I love, love, love my Africans! I could spend all day out watching them. I don't have any aggression issues, although mine are just 3 months. Two girls shouldn't be a problem at all. Your dad will love them as babies. They are the most personable babies you will ever have.

 

[Lund121671]

that would be fine. I would also get a couple of baby ducks to raise along with your new baby geese. That way geese/ducks will be grown together and when you put in with all of your ducks there will not be a problem with iether of them being freaked out by the other.

 

[Cottage Rose]

I would just recommend you get them as day olds so they bond to you.
Although concerning raising goslings and ducklings together...I once raised a lone gosling with a few Muscovy ducklings that tend to be very skittish even when raised by me from birth, the gosling while at first bonded to me took on the timid duckling traits.
But possibly if you have a higher ratio of goslings to ducklings they won't take on the ducks traits??

 

[sayyadina]

Thanks.

I'm getting 15 ducklings, so there will be more of them then the goslings. And everything I'm getting will be day olds.

One thing I'm a bit concerned about is the size difference between the goslings & ducklings (runners & welsh harlequins), and the goslings accidentally squishing a duckling.

I'm thinking that my brooder will have 2 halves, with a clear plastic/glass piece between so they can see each other. And I could take it out to give them more space when they get bigger.

I know we both want the ducklings, which is why I'm getting so many, but we're not sure about how the goslings will work out, so I'm just getting 2 with the hope that it would be easier to re-home only if it came to that.

 

[rainplace]

my ducklings use to try to get under my single gosling like she was a mother. I didn't have any squish problems.

 

[CMV]

Geese are a lot of fun as babies- much more interactive than chicks or ducklings. They outgrow their brooder much more rapidly than you will anticipate, unless you have had them before and know how fast they grow. Seriously, I used to look at my goslings and ducklings in the morning and swear they had doubled in size overnight.

I have Africans and I have a few issues with them. They are LOUD. My males can be heard from a mile away- no joke. They don't carry on all that often, but they can be very noisy. One of my males has started being aggressive although all the geese were hand-raised. He was always out-going, but he has gone from adventurous to just plain mean in a short time. My other Africans are very sweet, but still protective of their smaller coop mates (ducks).

I had a duck get a broken leg from being stepped on by a goose when both were about a month old. It was an accident- the goose jumped out of their house and landed on the duck who was standing underneath him. That's the only injury I have had with 4 ducks and 4 geese sharing space.

I like both the ducks and the geese I have. I don't anticipate getting any more geese, but I am not sorry I have them. They are useful to have around in small numbers. I hope my candid opinion has been helpful.

 

[rainplace]

the brooder, I forgot about that. the gosling outgrew the tub I was using way quicker than the ducklings. It was because of how fast she grew that they had to go to the bathtub.

 

[sayyadina]

My brooder is going in one of our barns, so I do not think I'll run out of space.

How big should a brooder be for 15 ducklings & 2 goslings? How many heat lamps, feeders & waterers would they need?

The barn isn't heated, and when they get here in late May/early June it can still be cold in the evening. The doors are all pretty solid and do lock securely.

Also, is a stonedust floor okay, or do I need to have something over it?