My free goose

[rarely bored]

background: The local feedstore had 3 geese which were special ordered for a client. When the geese came in, the client refused them and the geese remained at the feedstore. When nobody bought the geese (months later) the feedstore held a raffle in order to find the geese new homes. In order to be entered into the raffle all you needed to do was spend $10 -- which isn't hard to do when a bale of alfalfa is close to $20!! So, I tossed my name in the hat and was blown away when they pulled my name. Growing up my mom always said, geese were mean, so it took a little bit of work to overcome the knee jerk reaction, and I'm so glad I did. The feedstore told me the goose was an Buff Tufted Goose. Well, it only took one picture of a Buff Tufted Goose to convince me, the feedstore didn't get what they thought they did. I'm thinking American Buff.

We named the goose, Gerrymander, mainly because we have a cat named Filibuster.

Here are a few pictures of the dear. We are enjoying 'him' a lot more than I ever thought a goose could be enjoyed.

 

[gryeyes]

Kinda looks like a Toulouse goose to me....

But aren't geese NIFTY??? They are so much fun to watch! You can SEE them think things through! They like to play with things, too.

I have a Toulouse pair, Kate and Angus. They aren't sexually mature yet, but they are definitely a couple. Angus is really laid back in temperament while Kate is a bit more bossy and controlling.

Wait until your goose gets the Zoomies! Running at top speed, flapping wings and honking just for fun.

 

[justbugged]

I know that geese are better watchdogs than dogs are. Congratulations on your getting your goose.

 

[OvertheHenHouse]

OK, full disclosure - I was attacked by a goose once because s/he wanted my lunch. My bad for trying to take five next to a lake. So I'm not predisposed favorably towards geese, but having said that, wow - what a beautiful goose! I'm so glad I stumbled on this post. And I love his name...

 

[geepy]

Are you sure it's a he?

 

[Rosecomb-Ryan]

Quote:
Not a Toulouse.. A American Buff

 

[rarely bored]

Quote:
nope. We have no idea, but calling him/her, "it" doesn't sound nice.

Hopefully he will lay eggs in the spring and we will know for sure that he isn't a he. Eggs or not, we like "him."

Quote:
lol, I'll go look up Toulouse... I've spent more time playing with Gerrymander than looking at pictures. And YES, They are NIFTY! If I knew this a long time ago, I would have wanted one. Gerrymander has been the best surprise in a long time! "He" helped me pull clover out of my garden today - I love it!


Thank you for all the kind words! OvertheHenHouse, I'm sure Gerrymander would not attack you if you took a nap nearby. He might honk at you though.

 

[OvertheHenHouse]

Yeah, but what if I had ... food ... ?!?!

 

[rarely bored]

Quote:
Not a Toulouse.. An American Buff

Looked at some Toulouse pictures... I agree he looks like a Toulouse, but the Toulouse is grey where the American Buff is the buff/tan color, yes? Gerrymander is very Buff.

 

[geepy]

I think your he is a she, no curly tail feather.
Now, I'm not a goose expert, but I think you might get some eggs (awesome for baking)