Why don't my geese like my ducks?

[bock]

I have 1 Brown Chinese goose, 1 White Chinese goose, and 10 ducks. They are all 20 weeks old. Ever since they were 10 weeks old they were around my other 6 ducks who are all between 1 and 3 years old. Now that they all free range together the ducks get along great, but the geese are a different story. Every time the older ducks get within reach of the geese they grab on to their wings and thrash them around. I tried to put them in the night pen together for the first time last night, and the geese had the 6 ducks pinned in the corner, and they were biting them. They are around each other all day, so why don't they just get along? What can I do to get them to like the ducks? I was going to get more geese next year, but now I am worried about my ducks getting bullied. Thanks for any suggestions!

 

[zazouse]

They like their space, and their space is where ever they want it to be.

They are just doing what geese do.

 

[bock]

Very pretty goose.

I guess so, but they don't mind being near the 10 ducks they were raised with. And they purposefully go after the ducks, whether they were near them or not. I guess they just need time to get used to each other. Thanks!

 

[CMV]

My geese and ducks never were able to get along. Specifically, the ganders were never able to get along with the ducks. They would routinely attack their smaller mates to the point where I feared the ducks would be killed at any moment. Space was not an issue where I am. They had more space than they knew what to do with. They just never were able to be housed together. I ended up culling the geese that couldn't co-habitate with the ducks.

Since I did the last round of culls, I am left with a lovely Toulouse goose that leads my flock of 10 ducks. She has taken over the leading role of the flock and things have never been more peaceful. She never beats up the smaller birds, and in fact seems to have taken on a mothering role to the new ducks I brought in. She will occasionally nip or hiss at ducks who have overstepped the bounds, but that is the extent of her aggression. No more running into the duck pen to pull an attacking gander off a torn apart duck. No more injuries. No more bites (OUCH!!) for me when stepping in to stop a ducky massacre. Just peaceful, blissful quiet and a happy flock.

 

[bock]

Wow, maybe more geese wouldn't be a very good idea then?

Thanks, at least I know my geese aren't the only ones.

 

[zippy3]

I started out with 3 White Chinese Geese and 10 ducks that all grew up together (7 runner ducks and 3 Cayugas). They all got along fine until teenage-hood. Two of the geese and two of the Cayugas turned out to be male. The drakes strutted around like the cool bachelor pair that they were and tried to woo the hens...but they didn't cause nearly as much trouble as the two ganders! Since we couldn't really tell the two ganders apart, we marked their tails with Sharpie markers (blue and red) and watched them for a few days. The most agressive one turned out to be "Red"...he would nail down the ducks and nearly drown them in the stock tank trying to do his manly thing or pin them to the ground with his bill or even stand on their necks. "Blue" was nicer and hung out with the goose the most, (I figured they may have already decided to pair up), so "Red" was sent to the freezer along with the two drakes when they were between moltings.
Peace decended mostly...I did seperate them in their night-time house for about a month...I put up a temporary chicken wire division...geese on one side, ducks on the other. They would get along fine during the day but poke at each other at night. Space issues. But after they got a bit older, I tried leaving them together at night and it has worked out. We have serious predators where we live, so leaving the geese out at night was not an option.
Occasionally, the gander or even the goose still go after a duck, but not very seriously...after watching them pummel the duck, everyone seems to be OK, so I decided to not interfere anymore. It works for my flock.