My Africans (A close call! 1/05)

[featheredfriendlover]

i love the pics. i love geese. im getting some. they bond so closely to their owners. i love them.

 

[Soccer Mom]

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Hoping for girls!

I'll try and take some close up photos of male and females for you to try and compare. I was going to weigh them this week so maybe you can compare weights with yours.

 

[Puddle Foot Farm]

Soccer Mom, you need new pics of them! I'm going through goose withdrawal at college (yet still planning on next year's flock). But, I miss geese and the silly things they do!

 

[Germaine_11.20]

Thank you soccer mom for getting back with me. I am absolutely in love with these geese.
I love mine and we have hand raised them but the 2 pairs that I bought are actually friendlier, I don't know why. They will eat cracked corn out of our hand but mine will only come over if I have romaine lettuce for them. The stinkers.
The only difference I have noticed in them is that one is farther ahead in feathering out than the other. One has it's mohawk still and little tiny feathers sticking up (looks like dandelion fluff)
I was worried about them getting along, but my two have plunked themselves outside the big africans pen (I am keeping them in there for a week or so until they realize that this is home and we are the ones that feed them now)

I have chickens and ducks but the geese are the keepers of my heart.

 

[DiVon80]

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[Soccer Mom]

As promised, I finally got around to new pictures. I had great intentions, but a nasty upper respitory infection put me in bed. Blech. But Friday I went out and took new photos. It's amazing to me how different the birds are starting to look. They really are individuals. I wondered how folks looked at their flock of RIR and could tell individual birds, but there are subtle (and not so subtle) variations on color, head, and body--not to mention the personalities.

Just look how different they are in this photo (and OH have they grown!)

I took a lot of photos of heads for rustyswoman. You can see that most of my geese have developed bumps on the tops of beak and have started devloping dewlaps.

This sweet boy in the pic below is Beauregard. He has one of the loveliest personalities, but sadly his coloring is less than ideal. Not only does he have a lot of orange on his beak, but his colors just seem muted and his feet are also a yellowy-orange. But like I said, he's a sweetie and I'm not intending to be a serious breeder. These geese are just for my own enjoyment.

I had a terrible time getting photos yesterday. After all the rain, all they wanted to do was groom themselves! I have a zillion photos like this:

I also have plenty of photos of my donkeys hind end. He wanted a scratch while I wanted to take photos.

This is my handsomest boy, Schnitzel. Is that a gorgeous face or what?

And he knows it.
He simply has a majestic bearing and is very protective. He is frequently the last one in at night.

I have a long ramp up into the Casa De Goose and everyone knows when I come out in the evening to file in. I simply rap on the pop door and say "everybody in!" but they expect me to stand at the entrance and wish everyone goodnight. Each goose has to pause and say a few words before ducking its head and entering the coop. I politely respond "goosegoosegoose" and pet as they go in. I feel just like a stewardess saying "buh-bye now. Buh-bye. Have a nice flight."

But sometimes Schnitzel doesn't want to come in. He turns his back and stands in the middle of the run in perfect guard posture. As if I would let him stay out all night and guard the place. Some nights have to go pick him up and place him on the ramp before he condescends to abandon his post.

What a boy. And Bratty Girl was absolutely hysterical the other night when he wouldn't come into the coop. She kept trying to bolt out after him and was inconsolable until I carried him inside. Could she be sweet on him already? I have no idea if that is possible.

Now on to some of the girls: meet Puddles. To put it politely, Puddles is nuts. Don't believe me? Ask any of my geese. The girl can clear a pool in seconds. Other geese swim or bathe. For Puddles, swimming is a contact sport. Nobody loves a pool more than this gal, but her antics are insane. Ever seen a goose swim upside down? I gotta get a picture of her sometime. She does this thing where she swims on her side and goes round the perimeter of the kiddie pool, flailing wildly. It gets everyone out of the pool in no time. They form a ring and stare at her in horrified fascination, but no one is willing to stay in the pool for long with Puddles, except occasionally her best bud Wheezie. Nothing upsets Wheezie.

Oh, and Puddles sleeps like a dead, broken bird. She's so weird.

Brat has gotten better with her boundaries and no longer picks at my clothes and feet as much, but she is still intensely social and loves petting and grooming more than the others. She's got some funny coloring--a white spot under her chin and a slash of yellow down her beak.

Once again, here is another comparison photo of a male laying next to a female. Look at the difference in sheer mass.

Okay, now I have questions from those who have been down this path before. How do they recognize breeding season? Is it temperature? Amount of daylight? Simply chronological? Does anyone know? I'm wondering because I'm down here in Texas where winters are mild and spring comes very early. Does that make a difference?

Also, how early do they begin pairing up? Some of my geese seem to prefer certain other members of the flock to hang around--not just limited to gender roles. Sometimes three of my ganders hang together.

Two months! I can hardly believe it.

 

[jojo@rolling acres farm]

Thanks for sharing...those are some of the neatest pictures and descriptions of personalities/antics I've ever enjoyed! It is obvious you delight in your geese - and that' exactly how it should be.
I think its really neat that you're having such a great time with them. Hope you keep us updated from time to time.

 

[Cottage Rose]

BEAUTIFUL geese!

Thanks for the update!

 

[Cottage Rose]

PS
You will know when the breeding season is upon you when your sweet boys start hissing at you and start fighting with each other.

 

[Duck Keeper]

Awww!
I miss having geese...

And lol at using ICHC for hosting your pics.