Goose lovers – please help!!

[psue]

Celtic.. is the family all better now?

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

oh heck no, lol, this is the crud that keeps on giving. The kids are doing fine. I am still congested and hubby has head pressure and congestion too.

 

[psue]

school should send home homework NOT crud. Get better soon!

 

[Iain Utah]

Thanks for the wonderful compliments! Gimpy is a major sweetie. He has such a baby mentality and it is clear he has been so used to being beat up, it is taking him a long time to realize that he is in a safe place now. But each day I see a teeny bit more confidence and personality emerge. He is quickly becoming one of my favorites!

Shellie, love the picture! That is a serious pile of eye candy! Sorry you are not feeling better... a chest cold has been kicking my butt too for the past 5 days. Hopefully we are both turning the corner and will be back to 100% by next week.

 

[Iain Utah]

Berner, Assuming it is not too short of notice for you, I am very excited to report I may be able to ship your gander this upcoming Monday! My post office is checking for possible layover locations that would affect shipping, but the weather forecast is looking good for both my area and yours. I will get you a shipping cost total hopefully by the end of the day.

 

[Iain Utah]

Wonderful news! My vet, Scott Echols, called this afternoon to let me know the test results are back and all birds are negative. The quarantine is being lifted this afternoon and the birds are ok'd for leaving the state.

While talking with him, I told him everyone (including myself and feed store owner) were quite surprised about flockraiser/oats being his preferred grain supplement over mazuri and asked him to do some follow up research, which hopefully he can find time to do. I had him send me pics of the foraging boxes, which he did. Note in the background is a tree trunk with holes drilled in it to stash grain as well.


The other foraging item is a hanging deer feeder. While he has a homemade style, here is a link to a commercially made feeder to give you a visual of the concept: http://www.moultriefeeders.com/productdetail.aspx?id=995882

But overall, he also emphasized (again) that the BEST thing you can do for geese (nutritionally and mentally) is to keep them on grass. If you keep them in a small non-grassy pen, then buy sod for the pen, even if you are replacing it every couple of weeks.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Wonderful news! My vet, Scott Echols, called this afternoon to let me know the test results are back and all birds are negative. The quarantine is being lifted this afternoon and the birds are ok'd for leaving the state.

While talking with him, I told him everyone (including myself and feed store owner) were quite surprised about flockraiser/oats being his preferred grain supplement over mazuri and asked him to do some follow up research, which hopefully he can find time to do. I had him send me pics of the foraging boxes, which he did. Note in the background is a tree trunk with holes drilled in it to stash grain as well.


The other foraging item is a hanging deer feeder. While he has a homemade style, here is a link to a commercially made feeder to give you a visual of the concept: http://www.moultriefeeders.com/productdetail.aspx?id=995882

But overall, he also emphasized (again) that the BEST thing you can do for geese (nutritionally and mentally) is to keep them on grass. If you keep them in a small non-grassy pen, then buy sod for the pen, even if you are replacing it every couple of weeks.

What is the purpose Iain to keep them busy? of the foraging boxes? and great news about quarantine being lifted.

 

[Iain Utah]

Thanks! The state vet called me after my vet did to officially inform me quarantine is lifted and to let me know that my NPIP number will be issued on Monday.

Scott Echols says it is unnatural for birds to live in small hard-packed floor pens and be fed large servings of grain in a bowl. He says that the two biggest problems he sees is that birds are overweight and develop issues from lack of mental stimulation. He came up with what he calls "captive foraging boxes" when trying to create more natural environments at aviaries and zoos he works with, and would love to see backyard owners who are unable to provide large grass yards for their geese use these foraging boxes. The boxes give them mental stimulation and also decreases tendency to sit and wolf down a big bowl of grain in two servings per day.

FYI, his biggest complaint is about people who keep waterfowl indoors. He says he sees it more with ducks than geese, but it really bothers him a great deal.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Thanks! The state vet called me after my vet did to officially inform me quarantine is lifted and to let me know that my NPIP number will be issued on Monday.

Scott Echols says it is unnatural for birds to live in small hard-packed floor pens and be fed large servings of grain in a bowl. He says that the two biggest problems he sees is that birds are overweight and develop issues from lack of mental stimulation. He came up with what he calls "captive foraging boxes" when trying to create more natural environments at aviaries and zoos he works with, and would love to see backyard owners who are unable to provide large grass yards for their geese use these foraging boxes. The boxes give them mental stimulation and also decreases tendency to sit and wolf down a big bowl of grain in two servings per day.

FYI, his biggest complaint is about people who keep waterfowl indoors. He says he sees it more with ducks than geese, but it really bothers him a great deal.

These forage containers have lids do the geese stick their heads under the lid and lift it? very interesting info. Thanks for sharing. only problem I see using something like this out of doors is the feed getting wet. but They could be mounted under feeder roofs. I have them scattered around to keep the feed dry. Congrats on getting your NPIP number too.

 

[Iain Utah]

Lydia, that is exactly what they do with the forage boxes.

Time for new pictures of the adults. I really tried to capture the greys the most, so Berner and Lightning can see their new babies! If you look closely, the blue zip ties are the boys. Can't say which one is going where, but then again I can barely tell them apart so they must all be great. As you can see, some have been filling out faster than others, but I am positive that with continued proper care, they will all be huge fatties by next spring.