World Wide Webbed: Ducks and Their Unlikely Interspecies Friendships

By Kirsten Lie-Nielsen, Maine Geese are low maintenance, hardy birds who will outlive many other farmyard fowl and are comfortable in a wide range of environments. You can keep geese in a large flock, or have as few as a single goose. A male goose, or gander, will mate and bond for life with one or more females. If you have more than one gander, a ratio of three geese to a gander keeps the flock harmonious. In a flock with only one gender, one goose will express dominance and assume the “gan

By Steve Edwards – The term “pastured poultry” usually brings to mind some type of free-range chicken enterprise. Chickens can be free-ranged for meat or egg production, but you can also use this approach to raising geese and ducks. Pastured poultry models utilize the now famous “chicken tractor” (with variations thereof), the Joel Salatin style “eggmobile” or simply turning the birds out on old-fashioned pasture. Pasturing poultry is nothing new. In

When young birds hatch, they quickly learn to stay close to a protective carer. This phenomenon is called imprinting. But do all birds imprint? What about domesticated poultry? Imprinting occurs in all bird species that have good eyesight and mobility within a few hours of hatching, which is the case for all domestic birds apart from pigeons. As ground-nesting parents are likely to lead their family away soon after hatching to avoid predation, the young quickly learn to identify and fol

“Can chickens and ducks live together?” is one of the most common questions I get from readers. Since I’ve been raising my chickens and ducks in the same coop and run for years, my answer is always yes, but I do have a few cautions if you’re considering a mixed flock. It’s been said that chickens are the gateway to homesteading today. They’re small, easy and fairly uncomplicated to raise. Well, if you like raising chickens, you’ll love raising ducks