Backyard Poultry Forum

All this talk about ducks and geese and which is which has got me wondering what is the difference between the two. What makes a duck a duck and a goose a goose?

Geese
- very large, minimum of 4kgs
- both sexes honk
- eat grass and vegatation only
- do not carry diseases that chickens can contract
- very easy to keep, but you need a little space
- digest grass in 20mins
- need to be penned at night
- less messy than ducks
- lay an egg about 5X the size of a chook
- only lay once every 2 days
-only lay for a few months each year
- take 30 days to hatch

Ducks
- range in weight from about 500gms to 4-5kg
- messy unles kept clean and dry using shavings.
- some breeds lay up to 300 eggs per year0
- lay every day
- eggs about 1.5 chook eggs
- eat absolutely ANYTHING (within reason) they love bugs/snails ect.
- males have a curled cluster of feathers on the rump
- males utter a squeky/squark
- females sound like a fog horn
- take 28 days to hatch

Thats about it i think

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If you can keep chooks, geese will be a BREEZE!

And then there's Muscovies. They fit somewhere between the Mallard derivatives of ducks, and geese.

Muscies eat grass, brood for 35 days, hiss rather than quack, like geese are better at incubating their own eggs and are dryer/cleaner than the Mallard duck derivatives. Both Muscies and geese can fly.

I breed several varieties of the Mallard duck derivatives, like Aylesbury and Indian Runners. I've never had an aggressive drake or duck but then mine aren't hand reared. Whereas, once a year during breeding season, geese get aggressive and rightly so, defending their nest. Muscies get defensive while nesting too and have nice long claws to utilise.

Jacquie

Hi, I would just like to add.

that my geese like to eat cobwebs and their occupants,

We wondered what all the banging was at the side of the house one morning and went out to investigate, and it was the geese running their bills, all up and down the base boards, I have also seen them jumpning up and down in the shed and chook house trying to reach the cobwebs just out of reach

They only started this when your ganders came on board ,TOH.
I think they are leading my ladies astray 8)

not that i'm complaining, now I dont have to sweep the cobwebs down as often.
Cheers Raylene

Geese are cleaner? Think I might have to get some geese one day! Ducks are so messy! Lucky I love them Thanks for clearing that up.