Housing ducks and geese together

[SaraR]

I'd love to hear people's experience of housing ducks and geese together!

I've got a muscovy trio and am looking to get a trio of brecon buff geese next year. For the sake of space and warmth in winter I would love to house them all in house, but I have read mixed views on this. Is it down to see if they get on well or not, or is it not worth risking it?

Grateful for any thoughts on this!

 

[dorsetduckowner]

I must say that I have never housed ducks and geese together, I cannot see why it could not work, but I would be interested to hear from people who have had experience....
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[Chuck]

Very risky. I have both and while they are OK out to free range, they could not be shut up together at night or the Muscovies would be killed.

 

[foxy]

Very risky. I have both and while they are OK out to free range, they could not be shut up together at night or the Muscovies would be killed.

I agree with Chuck, keep them separate geese are very territorial and can be aggressive. They are both hardy, and as long as they have deep straw they will be fine. Muscovies are very hardy and if allowed will sleep out in all weathers.

 

[ducksgeesechooks]

My experience has been totally different from the previous posters. Two factors that may be what has made a difference with my geese and ducks - My two geese are considered docile breeds, american buff gander and brecon buff goose. Also, my geese and ducks were brooded together; have been together from day one. In fact, I don't think my waterfowl were even two weeks old before my goose Lucy took over the job of mothering the ducks and she still mothers them.
I did add a pair of call ducks to the waterfowl coop a few months back and my geese aren't crazy about the pair. The call ducks have their own crate within the coop that they sleep in at night and a tractor during the day. When we are outside with them to supervise we do let the call ducks forage with the other ducks and the goose pair, but we do keep an eye out for any posturing by the geese. Fortunately geese are smart (like feathered 2 year olds). Mine know the meaning of the word "no". If I see one of the pair posturing, sticking that neck out and heading towards my call duck pair with that look in his/her eye, I just point my walking stick and tell them no. They get the message.

A small example of my gander with the ducks:

 

[dorsetduckowner]

Your ducks are beautiful! What do you mean by keeping them in a tractor during the day?

 

[ducksgeesechooks]

Your ducks are beautiful! What do you mean by keeping them in a tractor during the day?

My geese and ducks spend their days in our fenced (house) yard; it's roughly an acre. I don't trust the call ducks to be left alone with the other ducks and geese, not only because of fear of the geese hurting them, but also because of the calls small size I am afraid of aerial predators snatching one of them up. I made them a simple tractor that keeps them safe from both aerial predators and the geese.
I first made a 10 ft. long by 3 ft. wide frame out of PVC pipe and fittings all glued together at the joints and then wrapped the whole thing in chicken wire. It's lightweight, so easily moved from one place to another, has room for a tiny little pool and plenty big enough for the pair of call ducks.

 

[dorsetduckowner]

Ahh I see, but why is it called a tractor? A tractor in the UK is a large farm vehicle not an animal run.....

 

[ducksgeesechooks]

Ahh I see, but why is it called a tractor? A tractor in the UK is a large farm vehicle not an animal run.....

I know, I was confused by the term at first too. Honestly, I don't know why it's called a tractor. Perhaps because some of the larger ones require a tractor (the vehicle) to be moved? Yes, here in the US a tractor is a farm vehicle of which we have two.
I searched my computer yesterday for a pic of the tractor I made for the calls, but can't find one.

 

[SaraR]

Thank you everyone for your comments! I don't think I'll risk it and instead house them seperately, being shut up in a small space is obviously very different to being outside where they would be able to avoid eachother.

I spent all weekend out in the garden with the ducks (and dogs) and by midday yesterday the ducks were comming up to me to see what I was up to. They already put themselves to bed from their run and they have just about figured out that getting into the run at night means a treat.

 

[Marigold]

Obviously very intelligent and co-operative little birds!

 

[SaraR]

Obviously very intelligent and co-operative little birds!

I think it's because the farm we got them from seemed to house most of their birds together in parts of a barn, so they were probably trained to go in at night from the start. They did seem a bit confused at first, as to why there were no other birds around.

 

[Tim]

I keep my ducks and geese housed separately because the geese will grab the ducks feathers if they get too close.

As I understand it, a chicken tractor is usually a term used for a portable run and house that can be moved along a stretch of vegetable garden. The chickens will clean up the ground, eating leftover greens and so on as they go, scratching up the soil and maturing the ground as they go.

Some tractors can be built using raised beds with railway sleepers on the sides and the tractor slides along these but others have wheels to move them across open ground.

 

[Adrian Kelly]

In my experience there will usually be no problem, one thing is for sure a muscovy will not be killed by a goose if they are shut up together. Muscovies are as strong if not stronger than a goose so there is no harm putting them in together for one or two nights on a trial basis .

Geese get more aggressive during breeding time so you might want to seperate them then and obviously if your breeding them its a lot easier for them to be seperated.
But honestly when i was more naive about birds i used to put half grown khaki ducklings in with white geese with no problem at night. But it all depends on your situation.

 

[SaraR]

In my experience there will usually be no problem, one thing is for sure a muscovy will not be killed by a goose if they are shut up together. Muscovies are as strong if not stronger than a goose so there is no harm putting them in together for one or two nights on a trial basis .

Geese get more aggressive during breeding time so you might want to seperate them then and obviously if your breeding them its a lot easier for them to be seperated.
But honestly when i was more naive about birds i used to put half grown khaki ducklings in with white geese with no problem at night. But it all depends on your situation.

I've worried that their would be problems with the drake and a gander. Obviously it would be more likely to be a problem when in a confined space as they would have plenty of space to separate when in the garden.

I will probably have to get a new house for the ducks next year anyway, but I don't want to buy something that's big enough for all birds and then have to get another house for one lot and end up with two houses, one of which would then be too big. If that makes sense. I guess one option would be to get a garden shed of an appropriate size and then maybe put in a low dividing wall if needed. But I really want something that is quick and easy to clean and have a pophole for the birds to access their run, so I am leaning towards buying a purpose made house (or two).