The Tale of Supermom, The Goose

[raindrop]

Quote:
What? You don't like snow in April in Oregon? Hope you are close enough to the ocean to be a little warmer than we are. I thought about Supermom and her brood last night during the snow and hail.

 

[DuckLady]

I love my geese. And SuperMom's story is so wonderful!

When people talk about the geese at the park being mean, I try to make them understand why (they are hungry).

When I talk about Bella La Goosie crawling in my lap and preening my hair, or Leilani Peepers, my broody Seb, tucking her bill under my arm when I pick her up to check for eggs, they look at me like I am trying to commit suicide by goose.

Broose the Goose watches over new ducks in the flock and makes sure they don't get picked on. Lady Goosie (a white chinese) and her husband, Sir Duck (a runner drake) are endless sources of comedy.

But the fear does us good for the watchdog aspect. NO one goes in our backyard without one of us escorting, even long term company.

Understanding and respecting the behavior of geese is the key to appreciation.

 

[greyfields]

Quote:
What? You don't like snow in April in Oregon? Hope you are close enough to the ocean to be a little warmer than we are. I thought about Supermom and her brood last night during the snow and hail.

Yeah we had hail mixed with snow all day yesterday and we're only 40' above sea level here. I have two week-old lambs outside, but they seem to be doing fine. If the wind picks up, I may have to put a straw bale out there for them to hunker behind.

Sick, crazy weather. Very toasty in my greenhouse, though.

 

[greyfields]

Supermom Update:

We placed 6 more ducks and 3 goslings in the nursery pen today. Supermom pretty much herded them into her portion of the pen, whereas 1 gosling went with the Sopranos. But, I've noticed the lines are blurring already. We even have two males in there now, and they don't herd the others away from their 'own' goslings anymore. The flock is certainly going to gel and merge, which is good.

Another awesome behavior I saw yesterday. I went out and thought the 3 young goslings (the Soprano's babies) had been snatched up by a bird. They were nowhere to be found and the geese were all on their feet looking at me. One bird, Momma (the female Pilgrim), opened her right wing and all three dropped to the floor. She was holding them up against her body. So, I see where the term being held under someone's wing came from.

 

[MissPrissy]

I mixed my 2 sets of geese a few days ago. The older ones took right to the little ones. They circle the littlest 2 and keep them warm at night. They even go so far as to push them out of the water/pool/tub and herd them to a sunny spot to nap. They are very entertaining.