Bzzz!
Continuing my interactive goodbye to my household before I hit the road....
In our big family, we have smaller families on our property. One of them, is a family of geese that we traded for old feathers from a pillow we got from past owners
We have that kind of business around here. A minibus drives along the streets of the private sector and buys up all sorts of goods from collective farmers.... Mostly nuts, scrap metal, bird feathers.... Often these same people sell chicks, ducklings, turkeys and geese.
having found in the barn an old tattered dirty pillow, which will never be used for its intended purpose again, I exchanged it without regret three years ago for some geese...
Initially there were more, six to seven of them, but after a while only this pair took root as a family.
The male can be seen from afar by his proudly raised head. The female is more demure
Despite the fact that they have been with us for over three years the male is always trying to chase us away from his female.
He is afraid to attack me directly in the face, but if I distract myself and let him come from the back, he can unpleasantly pinch my leg
It's my fault. My daughter was attacked by him several times due to oversight. A small child is not a threat to the bird, so they do things with my daughter that they can't do with me.
I'm very angry with them.
It seems to me that if geese are tamed from childhood, they could become pretty good pets and not show aggression to the owner. But you can't get away from instincts - it is inherent in nature to protect the female and the nest
Once in a while there were moments when he came to me with affectionate intentions and even let himself be stroked, at such times he is even ready to be friends with a drake and rooster)), but it happens very rarely, when his female incubates the clutch
They have a real strong love and mutual understanding
While bathing they clean their feathers not only for themselves but also for their partner. Such care for each other looks very touching from the side
On a walk, and they walk most of their time, he is always on the lookout while the female is pinching grass or resting. Open skies and open spaces pose some danger in the form of predators.
In fact, they live behind our fence in the field and only come into the yard in the winter to be able to sleep in a warmer barn
Smaller birds, chickens and ducks, prefer to graze nearby. in the company of a couple of large geese and m all are calmer in an open space
Also, this rascal is hurting our calf by taking away the water. First he bathes in an uncomfortable drinking bucket, even though he has his own water in the basin, and then he may pour it out.
The cow is justly indignant at such insolent behavior and threatens to slaughter the goose, but the brave bird is not frightened by its sharp horns.
Do not judge harshly my first attempt to use Сanva video editor on a smartphone. I hope you will be amused by this short video!
PhoneCamera & Nikon Coolpix W300
Spring 2024 | Ukraine
!only original content your can find in my blog!*
And this gif of my ducklings swimming. 🦆
banner and feather divider created by @barbara-orenya
Trade conveniently on HiveDex.io.
Thanks to @Mahdiyari!
I have never known this to be the case. Geese have also attacked my children, the younger the more violent the attack. They neither understand threats, even when I grasped the offending gander by the neck and demonstrated I could easily kill it, it did not relent nipping at my son. I appreciate they are very loving mates, monogamous for life, but they are not safe around young children, and annoying even for adults when they nip.
OTOH, their violent nature is what makes them valuable (besides their meat and eggs), because they guard lesser birds from lesser predators, like rats or crows, who seem just as anxious to avoid being nipped by geese as toddlers.
Thanks!
gathered in a large herd, they can be more reliable than a security dog))) They make a lot of noise when meeting strangers and try to surround them in order to attack. Having only a couple, it is much easier to ensure the safety of the child.
Thank you