Goslings of 2014 Hatch-a-long

[Starfire669]

Doesn't sound heartless at all, to me. I've had a knee problem for quite a while that devastated me because I couldn't do what I loved anymore - which is dance (thus the explanation to my username). And it has really hurt BECAUSE I don't have answers. I don't know what's wrong. They said it showed signs of "degenerative arthritis" which was back in my late 20's. I believe I was too young to have arthritis THAT bad (my knee had actually gone out MANY times before they even gave that diagnosis). Even worse, the FIRST diagnosis said "nothing wrong" after they did mere X-rays, and tried to send me to physical therapy. I was angry because they sent me to physical therapy after saying "nothing wrong" with the possibility that I could cause more damage without them knowing what the issue actually was.


So I can completely understand that, even if it's not on the same level. Answers REALLY DO ease your mind a lot more than knowing something is wrong, and not knowing what or why!

I hear about injuries forcing you to give up what you love, i too love dancing and other things i canno longer do. I have titanium rods in my spine. The pains started in my legs, not my back and doctors were like, you have really bad shin splints. Then I started falling, till finally my entire body locked up and I had to be rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. I had to be injected with muscle relaxers or i would have shattered my own spine from how i was arched backwards. They finally, after 5 Years discovered I had a bad disk that was collapsing into my sciatic nerves. I ended up having a spinal fusion of L5 S1 to save me from being in a wheel chair. I was 25 at the time with small children. I have some minor permanent nerve damage and the doctor who performed the surgery placed a screw wrong and it rubs a sensory feedback loop causing pain with every breath I take. There is no way to move the screw. Now 10 years later I am told mt L4 is going because of all the increased pressure from L5 being immobilized. I'm holding off as long as possible, the odds for my 1st surgery was 10% chance of death, 30% chance of paralysis. The second surgery that climbs to 30% chance of death and 60% chance of paralysis according to my doctors. They have me on some seriously strong pain meds, muscle relaxers, and anti-inflammitores, but those caused me to have bleeding ulcers. So this 1 thing has spiraled to take control of my entire life and there are times it really gets to me. I try to be strong for my kids and my mom (who has brain cancer and her pain is much worse than mine). I actually went to school and took immunology, and anatomy and physiology to get answers, they helped. I think I now know more about my condition than my doctors do, I make them let me read my own CT scans and MRI's with them. Lol. I carefully track my backs degeneration and make my own, informed decisions, cause some doctors are quacks and some are plain stupid.

Sorry for the ramble, hope you find out what is happening with your knee so you can get back to enjoying life!

 

[livininbrazil]

If you can't pair them up, for space reasons, should you separate the females once some start sitting? Will the females fight over the nests and goslings? Would it be possible to maybe hatch some goslings and give each mom goose a couple babies to raise? Or will that not work?

The only problem with the females is that sometimes they want to share a nest, and that can result in lost goslings. They don´t tend to fight over nests and goslings...they just quietly and subtly steal eggs or gozzies away.
You certainly could hatch some gozzies and slowly introduce the gozzies to the geese. If they´re not penned in pairs, your biggest problem is likely to be fighting ganders. Geese are pretty easy.

 

[8GeeseALaying]

Im glad it doesnt sound that way, there are so many who doesnt understand and couldnt let it go. Im not an emotional person. I have more sympathy for animals than i do most people :/

So sorry to hear you cant dance anymore. Its devastating when you cant do what you love. What kind of dancing did you do? Could you ask to get a knee replacement? I know its not the same and i hear they arent much better, but you never know? They may not do it if nothing is found though

 

[8GeeseALaying]

Brazil, the more i look at your mixed geese the more i think my little one will look like them. Hes not lightening up as he ages like the one i had last year did.

 

[Starfire669]

The only problem with the females is that sometimes they want to share a nest, and that can result in lost goslings.  They don´t tend to fight over nests and goslings...they just quietly and subtly steal eggs or gozzies away.  
You certainly could hatch some gozzies and slowly introduce the gozzies to the geese.  If they´re not penned in pairs, your biggest problem is likely to be fighting ganders.  Geese are pretty easy.

Thanks, I'd like to keep everyone happy and keep the peace in my yard. And the geese laying into each other will definately make that much harder. I will most likely pen the sitting female with her mate to prevent egg/gosling stealing and if I hatch some in an incubator give those to the non mated females if they are also feeling mothery.

 

[8GeeseALaying]

I had 3 extra ganders this year, they were yearlings and they were causing so much trouble that the next day after i seperated them, my geese started laying. Coincidence? Maybe? I like to think so. I believe they were catching the females getting on the nest and trying to breed them being inexperienced and all. They were agrivating the girls too much

 

[livininbrazil]

Brazil, the more i look at your mixed geese the more i think my little one will look like them. Hes not lightening up as he ages like the one i had last year did.

My mixes, I don´t know what breeds they have in them, but the place they came from had predominately pied/saddleback European-type geese, with a very few greys, and a handful of chinese, so I suspect that somewhere in their background, mine may well have some asiatic, but it´s very slight amount, and at least 4 generations back. Otherwise, they´re just common old pied geese (even the white one, which has to be pied, but doesn´t show it) Interestingly, she hatched pure yellow, no dark fluff at all. Which i thought is an asiatic thing.

 

[Starfire669]

I had 3 extra ganders this year, they were yearlings and they were causing so much trouble that the next day after i seperated them, my geese started laying. Coincidence? Maybe? I like to think so. I believe they were catching the females getting on the nest and trying to breed them being inexperienced and all. They were agrivating the girls too much

So next season my yearling ganders might do that to my ladies? Guess I won't have any nests to worry about. If the ganders start doing that I will pen them away from my ladies. I'll just buy an incubator and try hatching the eggs I get from you 8.

 

[livininbrazil]

I had 3 extra ganders this year, they were yearlings and they were causing so much trouble that the next day after i seperated them, my geese started laying. Coincidence? Maybe? I like to think so. I believe they were catching the females getting on the nest and trying to breed them being inexperienced and all. They were agrivating the girls too much

I once had a young muscovy like that towards the geese, poor geese were terrified of him. He moved home.

 

[Miss HennyPenny]

So we have some feathers now. What colour is that?