Just a post holiday update. Sadly, two males have been rehomed. Schnitzel and Gazpacho are gone. I really miss Schnitzel, but he was being so picked on. I wish I could say I missed Gazpacho, but he was such a problem child that things are much calmer without him.
I had a scary moment this week. First, it has been a bad week. I've lost 3 hens to hawks and my chickens are on lockdown until we can put netting over their pen. They aren't happy with me. Three days ago I had just found the carcass of one of my little Polish hens (and I had just seen her alive moments ago!!!!!!) when my DH came running up from the back pasture to tell me that one of the geese had been kicked in the head by a donkey.
They had gotten in a bad habit of harassing the donkeys at dinner time, trying to get into the sweet feed. Worse still, the goose kicked was Wheezie, my favorite girl! DH said she was lethargic and bleeding from her nose, so he picked her up and warmed her under his jacket and placed her in the Casa De Goose where it was warmer and quiet. I went down to get her and bring her into the house. I didn't think I could do much other than take her up to the house and make her comfortable. I went down there and sure enough, I only had 5 geese at the gate. No Wheezie.
I went into the Casa De Goose, calling out to her. Wheezie ALWAYS answers. She can't seem to help it. If you call out "goose!" she honks in return. So I go in calling and there is only silence. I was terrified she would be dead. Instead I found nothing. Just DH's jacket with a small amount of blood. I go outside calling and I hear her.
The little toot was in the middle of the pond. She kept diving and washing her head and she would NOT come out. The other geese came running and Wheezie's mate, JR swam out to her. 3 days later she has a slight lump on her head, but acts just like herself. Yesterday she was so feisty that she flew over the fence to see me when I came down to feed. I'm so relieved that she is fine--and I'm locking the geese out of the donkey's pen at feed time.
