Raising Geese and Ducks

If you have the space, geese and ducks can make for wonderful pets and are a welcome addition to any family.


Living with a big lake on the property helps the fertility of waterbirds, and my geese spent most of the day in the water on such a lake.

We also had a small plastic container as we kept the goslings in an enclosed area for the first two weeks, as birds can "snatch" them otherwise.

Some geese are quite nasty and do not seem to like humans, whereas others are quite loving and sit with humans and interact well.

Their biggest danger is at night with foxes, and I would always recommend a few llamas to be in the same area as the geese are put each night.
If you feed them in a pen, they will come back at around sunset and can then be locked up.

They lay eggs regularly at certain times of the year -this photo shows the gosling beginning to hatch, and you can just see it's little head.


Here is a week old gosling!


They are yellow when small and follow their mother around.


They are also good as guards as they make a loud noise when people arrive at the house, and even make loud noises when they see a snake!

Indian runner ducks are prolific egg layers and have the quaintest walk/run -they are a bit like a wine bottle in shape, and are real characters.


They are also easy to look after however must be protected, and locked up at night.



#birds
#pet_care
#fowl
#unusual_pets


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