You goose you….
We’ve had two geese for several years now. Noisy, and charming in their own ways, having a mis-matched pair has been a blessing. Not that we are some kind of ‘purest only!’ farm. But it’s easier to not go there with an Embden and Toulouse as the only two geese on the farm. And they are a lot of fun. Ten months out of the year they as as docile as sheep. Then Toulouse (yes that’s her name) starts to lay eggs…. Embden (yes, again… That’s his name) also steps up as the proud papa, and will honk your honker if you give him the chance. And he is smart enough to grab for flesh above the top of a rubber boot…
Then we has a friend with a sad story of a nasty neighbor and chickens and ducks with broken legs. Yes. Really. We offered our farm as a haven for the critters till the folks could find another place to move to. They covered the feed cost, and we have gotten to keep the eggs. Not all bad really. The one down side, more goose yelling about things that freak out geese. And with almost a dozen of them now either nesting or trying to be the protective papa, unless you are standing close enough to touch each other, you can not carry on a conversation outside… And yes, there is a bit more poop. Let’s just say, that pasture is gong to be get a good rest before we run anything on it.
The ‘pretty’ geese in the bunch are Sebastopoles. Imagine a frilly white napkin… Really a very pretty bird. But not if they live outside. Cause then they get dirty, and they look miserable…
My favorites are the Dulap, or African Grey. Biggest, and with a quiet hoot, (unless you really get them riled up) they are nice. Probably not as cold hardy as the Embden or Toulouse (they have a big fleshy knob on their head) they have done fine at our place this winter.. Here are a few frames of them honking at the freaky guy with the food…


As for size, these grey guys do get big. This guy could pull my wallet out of my pocket, and keep his feet flat on the ground.
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