What are the friendliest ducks and geese?

[RanchHens]

Hello All,

I am fixing to place an order for some female Rouen ducklings. These ducks will be pets foremost, and I have been told that these are the friendliest ducks.

I am also interested in some other breeds of duck, or even a goose, with quiet and friendly dispositions being the most important trait. We have something like 75+ laying hens so the last thing on our mind is egg production, and we're vegetarians so we don't plan on butchering any of our birds anytime soon.

We do currently have ducks, but we ordered an assortment and ended up with all the breeds that aren't truly people friendly. They were fine as youngsters, but now that they're sexually mature they are quite fearful of people.

Because we already have male ducks on site I would assume it would be best to only order hens, and I absolutely would not order ganders as I've read and been told that they can be quite aggressive once sexually mature.

So to make a long story short, what ducks and geese are the friendliest of the friendly?

 

[shicks0211]

Cuyogas are friendly, and beautiful. Anconas are pretty friendly..and of course pekin. my runners and buffs along with the others i've mentioned will come right up to me and eat from my hand. in fact if i don't come out and feed them when they think i should..they'll come right up on my deck and look in the window to find me..lol I love the cuyoga so much i've put more in the incubator to hatch more of the lovlies.

 

[Nebraskagirl]

I have two Welsh Harlequins and they are VERY docile and awesome foragers. The breed is excellent in egg laying and they also go broody quite nicely.

 

[Rosie42892]

I LOVE my Cayugas. They are super friendly, and beautiful. My buffs have no fear at this point. Any breed can be friendly, but they have to be handled consistantly and treats are a great bribe!

Any duck or goose breed can be fearful, agressive, or super friendly. It all depends on the specific animal and how it is raised.
Some duck breeds that are popular as being easier to keep tame are Buffs, Cayugas, Welsh Harlequins, Runners, Muscovy and Swedish.
Some Geese that are known to be generally friendlier are Toulouse, Sebestapol, and Pilgrim.

But remember, the way they are raised plays a huge role. If you like the look of certain breeds better, then consider them! No matter what you choose it is a chance, and your dedication will play a big role. Good luck!

 

[RanchHens]

I don't know what could have happened with ours then. Our ducklings were hand-raised indoors, and had a lot of socialization, but they are very anti-social now.

 

[Rosie42892]

That is too bad! Its so heartbreaking when they seem to not want you around anymore. How many were raised together? Many people say that if there are too many then it is harder to keep a relationship with them.

If you like a certain breed, go with it! My suggestion would be to keep numbers low so they bond more to you.

 

[Iain Utah]

IMO, Muscovies are hands-down the friendliest breed of ducks. They are just wired differently than domestic ducks in general. For geese, I think it is not so much the type of breed as it is the raising, but if I had to pick a breed, I'd probably go with well-bred dewlap Africans.

 

[RanchHens]

Well, we decided against getting geese, just out of worry that a territorial goose might become a menace to the ranch guests.

I decided to stick with two Rouen hens, since it seems like the larger your group of ducklings the less they seems to bond with you.

We will have three, since we're hatching one duck egg from our own little wild flock, so maybe they'll stay a little tamer than the first batch. Would ya'll recommend keeping them separate from our current flock tell they're fairly mature? I would think that that would help insure that they stayed tamer than the first batch.