goslings

Last week we sold our three goslings... which made me so happy! I really was not looking forward to move them onwards to the freezer - tho we love goose meat, of course, who doesn't - these three were our first home bred and home raised gosling fuzzies!

I bought three goslings from McMurray's three years ago, both for meat but also for parasite management (they eat slugs etc that host goat parasites). Unfortunately for the goats, the geese grew up to be a toddler menace, so for sake of keeping the toddler interested in interacting with the goats the geese moved in with the chicken instead. Which turned into a great move as the geese became the flocks bodyguards and have since kicked butt quite a few verifiable times (geese feathers all over yard, a strutting goose male, but no missing chicken). It's only too bad the chicken have not learned to stick close to the geese at all times yet :)

Pretty soon it was clear we had two girls and a boy and named them Josephine, Emily and Kristopher. Kris and Jo became a pair but it was Emily who made nice nests and turned broody. Fortunately for us, and Emily, Josephine committed suicide by drowning in a 5 gallon bucket (really, and they fit like a cork) which is why all our water buckets now have a diagonal piece of wood in the top. After a couple days moping Kristopher moved in with Emily and about three weeks later I let them brood. Maybe that was a little too soon as none of the eggs hatched (but did explode spectacularly). Plus I had moved them to the fenced in goat bachelor's pad, it seemed a nice secluded safe place to brood, except the foxes knew pretty fast the chicken diner had reopened...

The next year I kept the geese with the main flock and after one failed nest - right next to the coop's only entrance - Emily built one in our semi open lean to which I use for meat chickens in summer but is open to the main coop and run the rest of the year. She had a humongous amount of eggs (nine-ish) and ended up hatching three healthy goslings. I did check the nest after she left and found one egg completely developed but it had not hatched, another egg was partially developed, with the rest with no development at all.

We had experienced normal geese behavior, like Kris protecting his wife, which we adults pretty much ignore, we had experienced brooding female and protective male behavior, just don't get close - but two adult geese with goslings is a whole 'nother ball of beeswax!!! I think I still might have a bruise on the back of my leg... from June...

When the goslings had all feathered out and it was clearly time to find them new homes I listed them on craigslist without follow thru results. Luckily for them, I also mentioned I had them available to anyone who might have any interest and one of my milk soap customers at the Farmers Market turned out to be very interested for the same reason we got them in the first place: goat parasite management. So no freezer for them, they'll be pasture mates to four dairy and fiber goats - a prefect ending for my first flock. Thanks!