Three's a Gaggle

Mother Goose, Dot and Grimm

Last summer my husband, Hank, decided our homestead needed a little more charm so we bought three geese from a local farmer and put them in the pasture with the ewes.  What we didn't realize was that charm came with a price.  We didn't exactly have any experience with the "most aggressive of all poultry" but could it really be that hard?!  But as most homesteaders can attest to, new endeavors of any kind aren't necessarily hard, they're just a learning process.

For starters, these guys can wake me up from a dead sleep at 2am.  And of course they hiss at any man or beast that looks at them sideways.  After several attempts to migrate, we trimmed their wings.  And then we found this rolling around in the pasture one day.  On to the next step in the process...

If those two geese wanted to sit on a nest, we could be obliging (gotta try anything once, right?).  Hank built a small hutch, and we snuggled it up against the south side of the barn where we found the eggs.  We watched as our two females marched in and out of the hutch, taking turns laying eggs, covering them up each day, hissing appropriately when we peeked in.

After about a week of this, Mother Goose (original, huh?) didn't leave the hutch.  She stayed put and promptly coated the nest with her down.  Ever the optimists, Hank and I are excited at the prospect of even more 2am noise in another 40 days or so!  We closed the gates, mended a few large holes in the wire fencing so Dot (her sister) couldn't get through, and left Mother Goose to her business.  Each day I smile at her hissing and leave her some corn and water.

Grimm, our gander, can often be seen standing guard in the adjoining pasture.  At least, I assume that's what he's doing.  Although if he, the ewes and the two steers are secretly rehearsing the 'Bremen Town Musicians' for an upcoming performance, I wouldn't at all be surprised.  In any case, I'll let you know how the story ends!