Our Canada Geese!

[HallFamilyFarm]

As of this morning we apparently have two Canada Geese!

Was talking to someone on the phone and looked out our rear Living Room window and below is what I saw. My five year old Daughter thought they were beautiful and so did I! I called the FWS local office asked if we could feed them and what to feed. They said yes....and was ignorant of what to feed. Grabbed some gamebird starter and spread a little around the group and then left a cottage cheese container almost full. Left for town and when we got home the geese had moved on to the local catfish ponds, but about half the feed is gone. Plan on staking out a covered feeder and see what happens. With five catfish pounds next door (25 yards away) and our own baby geese, ducks and chickens, we should be able to keep these two visitors for the season.

Note: The pallets standing by the fence is our garden compost bin, about 20 yards from our home.

THE GANDER!

THE GOOSE!

 

[TennesseeTruly]

I lived in NY until 2 years ago and I lived right on the Hudson River. We had the Canadian Geese in our backyard all the time. I loved them but the local parks hated them because they made such a mess. They actually had a ban on feeding them and all the wild ducks that were at the parks and ponds.

We used to feed them anyway. We always fed them catfish pellets because we used to take those to the ponds to feed the catfish.

Enjoy your new residents. I love them!!

Laurie

 

[alaskaduckgirl]

It is actually refreshing to see someone excited about those geese. Would you like to borrow the 1000+ we get each year?

 

[HallFamilyFarm]

Quote:
These are just two. If 1000 showed up, I would tell noone and borrow a gun! Freezer camp here we come! Who can tell the difference between domesticated goose and wild goose?

Seriously, am glad it is just two. Most of them go to the area rice fields. These may have gotten a bit lost.

 

[HallFamilyFarm]

Our neighbors are back this morning. They arrived just before the kids left for school. They were in our back yard. Even five very loud children did not scare them off. Am wondering how long they have been hiding in the woods, watching us. The goose is forging full time. The gander is on guard, seldom eating. My guess is she is preparing herself to lay.

 

[Hillsvale]

they will be heading back to us soon... enjoy them while you can... yah baby geese!

 

[HallFamilyFarm]

From:

http://www.agfc.com/pdfs/free/canadagoose_bro.pdf

The Canada Goose

Description and Distribution
Arkansas has three kinds of Canada
geese. All three are the same species
(Branta canadensis) but each is a different
subspecies. The giant Canada goose (subspecies
maxima) and the interior Canada
goose (subspecies interior) are large water
birds, measuring 35 to 43 inches in length.
Giant Canada geese may have wingspans
exceeding 4 feet, while the interior subspecies
usually has a wingspan of about
3-1/2 feet. The giant variety can weigh more
than 15 pounds, while the interior Canada
goose seldom weighs more than 11 pounds.
A third subspecies, Branta canadensis
parvipes, is even smaller than the interior
Canada goose, and makes up a very small
portion of Arkansas’s total Canada goose
population.
Except for size, the three
subspecies look alike. The appearance of the
sexes in all three forms is identical also. The
Canada goose’s head and neck are black,
with a white strap running from the chin
around the back of the head.
Giant Canada geese live in Arkansas all
year and are found almost entirely in the
western half of the state. This type of
Canada goose was once thought to be
extinct, but the discovery of a small population
in Minnesota in 1962 led to reintroduction
of the subspecies in Arkansas and other
states. The giant Canada has been re-established
throughout its original range and now
thrives even in some areas of the southeastern
U.S. where it wasn’t originally found.
The smaller varieties
of Canada geese are migratory, spending
only the winter in Arkansas. Arkansas’s
original population of migratory Canada
geese was depleted by unregulated market
hunting in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
But efforts by the Arkansas
Game & Fish Commission have bolstered
their numbers.

 

[HallFamilyFarm]

Quote:
Maybe not. Some of our Canada geese stay here year round. If these are nesting then they may never return to Canada. Spoke to Fish and Game this morning. Seems it is possible that these were feral, not wild geese. They are a bit to tame for wild geese. Were not bothered by five LOUD children, ages 5-12, walking through their feeding grounds.

 

[spamee34]

I have a friend at church she lives on a pond she raised canada geese and once they were old enuf they began to migrate. They come back every year and she hatches more eggs from them . They are tame they will eat from her hand so she gets excited when they return home every year.

 

[HallFamilyFarm]

My wife and I were talking. We just moved to this small farm in December. It is very possible these geese are thinking, "Where did that house come from and why are there chickens in our yard?"