Getting started with ducks and geese.

Lisa Mancell, National Sales Coordinator at Farmgate gives her advice on the importance of nutrition for healthy ducks and geese.

- Lisa Mancell

As we reach the festive season many of us will be enjoying plentiful and delicious goose meat on Christmas Day or the richness that duck eggs can offer to a festive bake. Well, if you're thinking that 2024 might be the time to add some new feathered friends to your smallholding but you need a 'getting started' guide, then you've found the right place.

The first thing to note for a keen hen keeper is ducks and geese are very different. Hens are quite easy-going whereas ducks can be compared to rowdy teenagers requiring a bit more work especially when it comes to bedtime routines! Geese, on the other hand, can be quite useful "guard dogs" as they will typically make a vocal greeting to any visitors. Differences aside, they will all get on like a house on fire in the day but need separate housing and nutrition.

DUCKS AND GEESE HAVE DIFFERENT NUTRITIONAL REQUIREMENTS TO CHICKENS

Like chickens, ducks and geese need a feed that's suitable for their species, age and breed. Ducks spend much of their time feeding in and around water, whereas geese spend far more time grazing, so you'll need to give them plenty of grass. But their nutritional requirements are very different.