Full indignant alert. For the past two-three months there has been a lot of traffic from Russia. That is a new experience and I don't understand it. Everyone is welcome but I am puzzled. What is up. Someone leave a comment.
There were two reasons why we bought the geese. Sally warned me that they were territorial and could make you regret it if they caught you. I was more than hard to convince. She had geese before and was the voice of experience. I had never been around any so I wanted one.
The second reason was more important to me. I thought the Geese could help us.
There were two reasons why we bought the geese. Sally warned me that they were territorial and could make you regret it if they caught you. I was more than hard to convince. She had geese before and was the voice of experience. I had never been around any so I wanted one.
The second reason was more important to me. I thought the Geese could help us.
Mr. Raccoon awaiting transportation to the National Forest. We had been losing birds. We have chicken, guinea fowl, and muscovey ducks. We also seemed to have raccoons. I can remember going outside when everybody was raising a ruckus. There you could often find bob with his chain stretched to the limit. He would be pointed at the henhouse and barking. All the birds would be hiding behind him looking at the chicken coop. Sure enough, raccoon in the henhouse. We endured quite a bit with that problem but not as much as the chickens. All we lost was sleep. Traps frequently gave the result you see here with the occasional cat or possum .
Research told me that Geese were territorial and would protect anything smaller or weaker within that territory. That sounded like just what we needed. However, sometimes even a good thing can be too much.
I knew that bob was self limited by the length of his chain and that raccoons were smart enough to know that. I say self limited because he would get killed by chasing cars or shot by an irate neighbor if I left him off the chain. His mobility limits are his own fault. Everything is safe inside the circle formed by his chain. Geese, however, could get around the yard. Whether they could/would face up to a raccoon was something time would tell.
We had bought our chickens and guinea hens from Ideal Poultry in Cameron, Texas. For those of you who may not know, baby birds can come in the mail. The yolk sustains them for about two days after hatching and that’s enough to send them almost anywhere. When you call for them somebody brings them up front in a box with air holes. The little cheeps normally mean the person is smiling. The last time Sally took our great granddaughter. The clerk was a grouch but when he came back bringing the box he was smiling ear to ear. Brianna had all the little keets (guinea fowl) named before we got home. She was smiling too.
We had never been to Cameron so it sounded like an excuse for a road trip. We called and placed an order at “will call” for a our choice of dates.
Research told me that Geese were territorial and would protect anything smaller or weaker within that territory. That sounded like just what we needed. However, sometimes even a good thing can be too much.
I knew that bob was self limited by the length of his chain and that raccoons were smart enough to know that. I say self limited because he would get killed by chasing cars or shot by an irate neighbor if I left him off the chain. His mobility limits are his own fault. Everything is safe inside the circle formed by his chain. Geese, however, could get around the yard. Whether they could/would face up to a raccoon was something time would tell.
We had bought our chickens and guinea hens from Ideal Poultry in Cameron, Texas. For those of you who may not know, baby birds can come in the mail. The yolk sustains them for about two days after hatching and that’s enough to send them almost anywhere. When you call for them somebody brings them up front in a box with air holes. The little cheeps normally mean the person is smiling. The last time Sally took our great granddaughter. The clerk was a grouch but when he came back bringing the box he was smiling ear to ear. Brianna had all the little keets (guinea fowl) named before we got home. She was smiling too.
We had never been to Cameron so it sounded like an excuse for a road trip. We called and placed an order at “will call” for a our choice of dates.
Cameron ,Texas. Nice town with a nice little park. We had lunch and went to the hatchery to pick up our geese. They were two little fluff balls. The only way for us to tell the difference was the drop of ink on the top of the little ganders head. I thought we might be able to see part of the hatchery but fear of disease meant we could not. That sounded reasonable but disappointing. A lady just handed them to us over a counter. Might as well have been the post office.
Baby Geese in a box courtesy of Google images. We brought them home and put them in the spare bedroom in a cardboard box. Seems to me that most baby birds chirp much the same. At any rate the geese gave no warning of the noise they were going to produce as adults. They were normal “sweet baby cheeps”.
Baby Huey if you can remember that far back. Soon we moved them to a larger cage but, frankly, there is no way you can keep African Geese in any cage for long. When they were possibly 3-4 weeks old we tried to have them share a cage with a flock of juvenile Muscovy ducks. That didn't work for long because the ducks kept pecking at them. We wound up moving the Muscovys out and leaving the geese in the large cage.
The lumpy red mask indicates a male. Females have a smaller smoother mask. That was almost the last time (until tonight) I ever saw a muscovy bully one of the geese. Strange things seem to be happening over the past couple weeks. Muscovy males are the worlds largest duck and sometimes Mr. Goose oversteps his boundaries. There is a muscovy sitting on eggs and Mr. Goose got too close to her. Mr. Muscovey objected and was all over Mr. Goose. Mr. Muscovey grabbed Mr. Goose by the back of the neck and was shaking vigorously when I came up the steps and stopped him.
I don’t know how old the geese were when we turned them loose but I do know it was younger then any of the other species that we have raised. At about three months, these things had no fear. They had a voice and a loud one at that. As they grew older, the volume grew even more. Now our baby parrots inside the house try to respond to them.
The roles are reversed when it comes to voices. She has a deep masculine trumpet and he a higher pitched squeal. Since they are always together it took me a while to catch on to that. I think life shortchanged Mr. Goose on some traits and gave Mrs. Goose an overabundance.
I don’t know how old the geese were when we turned them loose but I do know it was younger then any of the other species that we have raised. At about three months, these things had no fear. They had a voice and a loud one at that. As they grew older, the volume grew even more. Now our baby parrots inside the house try to respond to them.
The roles are reversed when it comes to voices. She has a deep masculine trumpet and he a higher pitched squeal. Since they are always together it took me a while to catch on to that. I think life shortchanged Mr. Goose on some traits and gave Mrs. Goose an overabundance.
Thing 1 and Thing 2 before the knots on the foreheads. The geese decided that they needed to be in charge. They are still pretty young in this picture. The knots on their foreheads are just starting to think about forming. Frick and Frack, Thing1-2, Thang1-2 or Knothead 1-2 are names used interchangeably with Mr/Mrs. Goose.
Knothead 1 felt he should peck at my ankle or worse every time he found me in a vulnerable position. When I was walking up the steps he would try to bite me from the ground beside the steps. I would just kick at his head. Now it's a game we play. He pretends that he is going to bite my leg off and I draw back to kick. Generally, I don't have to. Did I mention that he is pretty tough? It never fazes him when I do.
When I was changing a tire it was a little different. Mr. Goose obviously felt compelled to peck me in any spot that was exposed. I banged my head on the underside of the car when he bit me. I didn’t appreciate that at all. I felt I had to put a stop to this type behavior. I quickly found if you grasp his neck firmly in one hand you can have your way with him. You immobilize his head but his body thrashes wildly. It's really quite humorous in a strange sort of way.
Once you have gained his attention like that you can explain things reasonably. He tends to listen to anything you say. Under normal circumstances he will not listen at all. He actually makes a 2 year old seem to have an attention span like Einstein. It's times like these that lead to real rapport between a person and their pet. When Mrs. Goose is not laying eggs Mr. Goose is very reasonable with me.
Knothead 1 felt he should peck at my ankle or worse every time he found me in a vulnerable position. When I was walking up the steps he would try to bite me from the ground beside the steps. I would just kick at his head. Now it's a game we play. He pretends that he is going to bite my leg off and I draw back to kick. Generally, I don't have to. Did I mention that he is pretty tough? It never fazes him when I do.
When I was changing a tire it was a little different. Mr. Goose obviously felt compelled to peck me in any spot that was exposed. I banged my head on the underside of the car when he bit me. I didn’t appreciate that at all. I felt I had to put a stop to this type behavior. I quickly found if you grasp his neck firmly in one hand you can have your way with him. You immobilize his head but his body thrashes wildly. It's really quite humorous in a strange sort of way.
Once you have gained his attention like that you can explain things reasonably. He tends to listen to anything you say. Under normal circumstances he will not listen at all. He actually makes a 2 year old seem to have an attention span like Einstein. It's times like these that lead to real rapport between a person and their pet. When Mrs. Goose is not laying eggs Mr. Goose is very reasonable with me.
Happily together before she comes home and strands the dummy. One of the funniest things with thing 1 happens when they go from our yard into one of the pastures or the neighbors yard. Thing 2 will find her way back very easily. Thing 1 cannot. The two of them squawk at each other through the fence with her trying to explain what to do next. Having a small touch of experience with dyslexia I can empathize with our knothead.
I have seen this separation anxiety take all night. Once I had to go into the neighbor’s yard and corner him. When I did, I simply lifted him over the fence and dropped him. From his squeals you would have thought I was throwing him out instead of in.
I have seen this separation anxiety take all night. Once I had to go into the neighbor’s yard and corner him. When I did, I simply lifted him over the fence and dropped him. From his squeals you would have thought I was throwing him out instead of in.
Laying an egg. I don’t know how geese rate on the intelligence scale. She seems to be pretty smart with episodic raging hormones. I think he is just stupid. Know how to keep a guy occupied when he isn’t too smart? Write “turn over for surprise” on both sides of an index card and give it to him. In the goose world, Mr. Goose is that guy. He may be stupid but he is brave.
We tend to give our birds what we think they need. Here you see her laying eggs in our driveway. We made arrangements to go through the back gate and through the neighbors property until she decided it was a lost cause. It took about a month before we could use that part of the drive. It was her first nest so we thought we would make sure she didn't get upset and abandon the eggs.
I think the fact that we kept stealing some of the eggs for arts and crafts may have prolonged the laying season and led to her misfortune. We didn’t do that again but she needs family planning help. When we saw this scene we thought she was dead. It still gives me a momentary start and it is inevitably a sign of forthcoming chaos.
Mrs. Goose develops severe psychological problems when her eggs do not hatch. Today there are at least a half dozen unhatched goose eggs on the porch. She appears to have developed other interests. The non-hatching goose eggs are always a great relief of all the ladies at our house. They know I will want to keep any hatchlings. This situation is not likely to clear soon. Geese live 20-30 years if they stay out of the street and away from predators.
She suffers from an empty nest syndrome and feels a need to evict others from their nests. This compulsion leads to a great deal of chaos in the yard while it lasts. It’s that time again and, as mentioned Mrs. Goose tried to steal the nest from Mrs. Muscovy who was sitting on the porch. Sally tried to get her out of the nest and eventually had to use a walking cane as a pry bar. That was a couple weeks ago and led to the confrontation with Mr. Muscovie tonight.
We tend to give our birds what we think they need. Here you see her laying eggs in our driveway. We made arrangements to go through the back gate and through the neighbors property until she decided it was a lost cause. It took about a month before we could use that part of the drive. It was her first nest so we thought we would make sure she didn't get upset and abandon the eggs.
I think the fact that we kept stealing some of the eggs for arts and crafts may have prolonged the laying season and led to her misfortune. We didn’t do that again but she needs family planning help. When we saw this scene we thought she was dead. It still gives me a momentary start and it is inevitably a sign of forthcoming chaos.
Mrs. Goose develops severe psychological problems when her eggs do not hatch. Today there are at least a half dozen unhatched goose eggs on the porch. She appears to have developed other interests. The non-hatching goose eggs are always a great relief of all the ladies at our house. They know I will want to keep any hatchlings. This situation is not likely to clear soon. Geese live 20-30 years if they stay out of the street and away from predators.
She suffers from an empty nest syndrome and feels a need to evict others from their nests. This compulsion leads to a great deal of chaos in the yard while it lasts. It’s that time again and, as mentioned Mrs. Goose tried to steal the nest from Mrs. Muscovy who was sitting on the porch. Sally tried to get her out of the nest and eventually had to use a walking cane as a pry bar. That was a couple weeks ago and led to the confrontation with Mr. Muscovie tonight.
Acting all "in charge". Now I have had petitions from family members to turn these two knotheads into a stew but I resisted. I couldn’t help but feel that they were worth keeping. I offered to teach the ladies how to karate kick to discourage the geese but they demurred. Further, all of them had the opportunity to take the night shift in the chicken yard but they demurred again. These guys seldom sleep and they are hard to replace.
Stomping off with a gallery of unimpressed onlookers. I had noticed that when they reached full growth we had really slowed our loss of birds. In fact there have been only a couple episodes and I believe they involved cats and sneak attacks, not raccoons. I do not remember the last snake I saw in the yard.
Once we released a mother and 7 ducklings from the cage. Mama Duck quickly disappeared and then one by one three ducklings disappeared. The other adult Muscovys didn’t seem to care much. Then a funny thing happened. It became obvious that the geese had adopted the four remaining ducklings.
Once we released a mother and 7 ducklings from the cage. Mama Duck quickly disappeared and then one by one three ducklings disappeared. The other adult Muscovys didn’t seem to care much. Then a funny thing happened. It became obvious that the geese had adopted the four remaining ducklings.
Alerting on a cat caught in a trap. I seriously think that these geese would have to do something really bad for me to get rid of them. Thing1 is still a blowhard but he is a blowhard that is willing to temporarily adopt four adolescent ducks. Thing 2 is still helping him deal with the difficult things in life (like fences) and waiting for him to catch up (I can relate). But all in all, the raccoons don’t seem to like the geese which I like just fine. Everything works out for the better. I hope they keep squawking for a long time.
Whats that knocking on my door? The picture is not very good but these guys spend a lot of time knocking on our door. That's what they are doing here. I think they figure we are squatters in their world. Nothing lasts forever. Mrs.Goose was hit by a vehicle after bathing across the street in a drainage ditch. Mr. Goose survived the tragedy better than I thought he would. If I weren't so sad about the Mrs. Goose, I would have thought the whole thing was hilarious. To check it out, go here: http://www.grangerlandrfd.com/the-odd-couple.html If that doesn't turn out to be blue, cut and paste to your browser or find "the odd couple" under farm and animals on this site.
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