Toulouse Geese
It's kind of hard not to grow fond of something that honks and flaps wings and runs towards you as fast as it can just because they are delighted you are outdoors with them. The honking cacophony is such a big welcome! I've often sat or laid on a blanket because my geese will eat or rest nearby just to be with me. They will eat out of my hands if I have something to share with them. The only time of the year the geese and I are not good friends is during their breeding season, but even then I can work with them more than the rest of the family can.
Our geese were hit hard this year. I've kept geese for around 20 years and had most of this group for about five years. I raised them from goslings. A few of them hatched in my hands as I watched them break open their shells. Over the summer, I lost several of my feathered friends to a coyote before my neighbors put a stop to it for me. They lost kittens, chickens, ducks, and saw it try unsuccessfully to get a deer fawn from its mother.
I was sad about my geese. It would hit me in the mornings when I'd walk out on the deck to feel the sunshine...and there were no geese running to greet me. The few geese I had were staying in the backyard between buildings for safety.
I was sad about my geese. It would hit me in the mornings when I'd walk out on the deck to feel the sunshine...and there were no geese running to greet me. The few geese I had were staying in the backyard between buildings for safety.
Mid summer, I purchased eight more geese from a farm in Windsor. Their stock was kept in a very wet and dirty pen which was heavily overpopulated by waterfowl (75 birds on less than a quarter an acre). The food, water, and ground was heavily contaminated with feces. Ugh! I bought them because they were the only ones for sale, and I knew my group would not last the winter if I did not improve their numbers. I lost two of those new geese to a heavy parasitical infestation within a week. The rest have been treated and are looking much healthier now.
The original geese feel more secure in the larger flock and are making use of our entire place again. They are teaching their new flock members the best places to graze and are showing them how to boss the dogs, cats, and chickens around. They've taught them how to squeeze through the cattle panel openings to graze in the horse's pasture. They are also teaching the new additions to come when I call for them.
The original geese feel more secure in the larger flock and are making use of our entire place again. They are teaching their new flock members the best places to graze and are showing them how to boss the dogs, cats, and chickens around. They've taught them how to squeeze through the cattle panel openings to graze in the horse's pasture. They are also teaching the new additions to come when I call for them.
Living on a farm has taught me how to fully enjoy everything while it is here because it can be gone when the sun rises tomorrow. There's a life lesson in that.
My old feathered buddies are gone, but I have the opportunity to give the new geese a longer, healthier, happier life outside of a tiny pen. They have the run of our farm and plenty of fresh grass and clean water. Ebb and flow. Wax and wane. C'est la vie!
My old feathered buddies are gone, but I have the opportunity to give the new geese a longer, healthier, happier life outside of a tiny pen. They have the run of our farm and plenty of fresh grass and clean water. Ebb and flow. Wax and wane. C'est la vie!
