American Buff Geese

[ColtHandorf]

I figured it was every other day. I'll just have to hope she does me and Golly proud. I want to see them with goslings in tow.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I’d enjoy that too. My goose doesn’t lay any longer so I am enjoying everyone else babies

 

[ColtHandorf]

Well we are up to six eggs in the nest and still not sitting on the eggs. I think if she hasn't gone broody by this weekend, I may pull the eggs and incubate them. Just because I don't want the eggs to sit out there and go to waste. I wish I could find an average clutch size to estimate when she might decide to buckle down and make some cuties.

Any advice for integrating the chickens with them? I pulled my Silver-laced Wyandotte hen as the rooster over-bred her and really tore up her back. They bossed Sterling, the rooster, around for a few days but now they don't seem to bat an eye at him. Duchess, the hen however, they despise. She's very submissive and squats for the rooster, me, and the geese, which makes tormenting her that much more fun because she doesn't run away. When the geese have the run of the yard I let her and the started birds out in the breeding pen for some fresh greens and scratching, but then I pen them back up as Golly in particular is just a butt. The younger birds will run and perch on stuff he can't reach them on, but Duchess just lays there and lets him abuse her. I'm hoping when the goslings hatch he will be too busy herding Georgia and the babies around in the big yard to worry about everyone else. I'm not sure why they pick on her so much.

 

[Miss Lydia]

My Toulouse got up to 8 before she went broody so your Buff will probably do 8-9 then start. I try hard to wait the joy of watching the geese raise their goslings is worth it.

 

[donkeydew2farms]

my little American girl was off the nest Saturday morning we got 3 in. of rain temps dropped down to the 40s I ran over the eggs were cold and wet I tried to take the eggs got some of them when a very mad momma landed on my head she clawed me and got some of my hair lucky I was wearing a hood. had to leave the rest she is back on the nest again. I don't know why she was off that long. the eggs I took were fertile they were developing but dead . I will have to wait it out never under estimate a goose momma.

 

[ColtHandorf]

She did not come off the nest this morning before work when I went out to feed so I'm thinking she's decided to start sitting seriously. She is certainly much more talkative now that she's in the house on eggs and can't see the whole yard. She saw me coming and raised the alarm since Golly was napping on the job. He jumped up to see what was wrong and escorted me to and from the feed pan and out across the yard. lol He's so silly.

I'm still not letting the dogs out into the big yard as that is what got her off the nest yesterday to go yell at them. I think I'll get something to block the dogs' and the geese's views of one another at least until the goslings are up and about. Of course now I have to figure out what to do with the fourteen baby ducks that came home with me late last night...

 

[Miss Lydia]

And where did they come from ? Or just you just happen up on some hitch hiking?

 

[ColtHandorf]

Well let me set the scene for you...

I decided to treat myself and drive forty-five minutes into Rockwall to have dinner on the Harbor, on Lake Ray Hubbard, at Gloria's.

https://www.harborrockwall.com/

It's an amazing restaurant that has Latin inspired cuisine from El Salvador. So the roommate and I sit out on the patio overlooking the harbor. The weather is amazing. I've had two mango margaritas and am working on my carne asada with fried yucca, plaintains, and other deliciousness. My biological clock is ticking away watching these adorable siblings/kids at the table in front of us that are there for a birthday party for one of the girls that was turning five.

Anyway I usually like to walk along the lake after dinner before heading back to the car and driving home. We're walking along and suddenly I hear the unmistakable sound of baby ducks in quite some distress. So I scan the water and see two tiny little puffballs struggling against a waterfall getting pushed under and popping back up. I scan the fountain and pools for mom and don't see a hen anywhere. I ran down the steps, across a walkway, and up the other side, through a flower bed to dangle into the waterfall and grab them. I look through all the reeds and shrubs for a nest and can't find one. So I sit there with them hoping mom will show back up. Two drakes fly in to the highest tier of the fountain and ignore the other ten "floating" out in the water.

I can see they are starting to get tired and cold. Their voices aren't as insistent as they were before and I make the executive decision to catch them. I managed to get eight more without having to get in the water. The last two decided to let the current carry them out into the middle of the pool. At this point I desperately need to go to the bathroom so I leave the ducklings with my roommate and run off to the bathroom. As I'm coming back I hear more distressed screaming and peer over the harbor wall into the lake proper and there are two little ones struggling to get up onto this log that keeps rolling over. I get back to the fountain area, kick of my shoes, roll up my pants, and wade out there like a hobbit from the Shire and snatch both of them up. I went back to the lake and see the two little ones managed to get up on the log and are huddled up shivering and peeping miserably. I have no idea how I'm supposed to get them so I scan the shoreline and find a huge piece of smooth driftwood. I climb over the railing, grab it, climb back over and realize I still can't reach them unless I climb back over. So back on the other side I dangle myself off the wall and finesse the floating log about 300 feet down to a pier without dumping them into the water or waking them up. I sent the roommate down there to snatch them on the last push.

So we ended up bringing all fourteen of them home. I just couldn't stand the thought of them drowning without mom to waterproof their feathers. It was quite odd too, because out of the seventeen different mallards I saw they were all drakes. I assumed that's because the hens were on eggs. All I can figure is the hen hatched these out and they got swept up in the fountain and went down several waterfalls and she was either so distressed or disturbed she just abandoned them. I'll post some pictures in a moment.

 

[ColtHandorf]

 

[donkeydew2farms]

good save colthandorf you are going to have your hands full. Sooooooooo cute.