Post by heavyhitterokra on Aug 28, 2021 13:32:27 GMT -6
We've had a gaggle of Canadian Geese here all summer long. Their mama hatched them here on the pond, back in April, during the cold and snowy weather and I fed them so much when they were goslings that they all became tame. They've all run with my Cotton Patch Geese since they were hatched, so they think they are farm birds, except they are wild and like any wild bird, they can fly anywhere they want. Unfortunately, a couple of them have perished over the summer months, while learning to fly. Apparently, that doesn't come easily to a 7 to 10 pound bird. I've seen them crash into powerlines, heavy timber, plum thickets, blackberry thickets, corn stalks, and barbed wire fences, just to name a few. They fly about 35 to 40 mph, so when they hit something in mid-flight, they hit it hard!
However, no matter how far they range out during the day, so far, the survivors have always managed to find their way back home each evening. We started out with eleven, we are now down to six. Hawks got at least one. Coyotes got at least one more. I lock them in an open top enclosure at night to keep them safe from coyotes, but during the day, they are on their own. There is a 6' foot chainlink fence out there, and the enclosure is 85' feet by 65' feet across, so they can fly out any time they want (and often do). The open top design does nothing to keep the geese confined, but because geese sleep on the open ground, it just keeps some of the bigger preditors from coming in on foot. There is an 8' by 8' foot shed out there with a roof on it, but they prefer open ground. My Cotton Patch Geese sometimes roost under the shed, sometimes, they roost out in the open with the wild geese, but always within the borders of the open top enclosure.
Cotton Patch Geese can fly about as far as a tame duck, they have to run along the ground, flapping their wings to take off, but the wild geese just hop right up from a flat footed position and take off from a stand still. They range a lot farther out than the Cotton Patch Geese do, but so far, they've always come back to the enclosure each night so I can open the gate and let them back inside to eat their cracked corn.
All except for last evening, when I saw them all take off right at dusk, and fly higher than I've ever seen them fly before. (Maybe, it's an approaching Autumn thing?) ... About half of them went South, toward our neighbor's nearest pond. The other half must have spotted a pond a lot farther away, because they circled higher and went so far North that I could no longer hear them honking. Since it was so close to dark, I called to them and they all returned within a few minutes ... all but one.
Having lost so many already to air traffic control problems, I worried about the missing goose last night and had no idea what might have happened to it. I never heard it honking, so I closed the gate after it got dark and went back inside.
This morning, as soon as the sun rose, I heard the familiar honking of a lone goose and went outside to see the little lost goose standing at the gate to the elclosure, trying to get back to the rest of the group. I got up, went outside and opened the gate, half expecting all of them to just fly away, but today, they have all decided to stay close to the house, rather than flying off somewhere else. For some reason that makes me happy.
I enjoy the Canadian Geese.
However, no matter how far they range out during the day, so far, the survivors have always managed to find their way back home each evening. We started out with eleven, we are now down to six. Hawks got at least one. Coyotes got at least one more. I lock them in an open top enclosure at night to keep them safe from coyotes, but during the day, they are on their own. There is a 6' foot chainlink fence out there, and the enclosure is 85' feet by 65' feet across, so they can fly out any time they want (and often do). The open top design does nothing to keep the geese confined, but because geese sleep on the open ground, it just keeps some of the bigger preditors from coming in on foot. There is an 8' by 8' foot shed out there with a roof on it, but they prefer open ground. My Cotton Patch Geese sometimes roost under the shed, sometimes, they roost out in the open with the wild geese, but always within the borders of the open top enclosure.
Cotton Patch Geese can fly about as far as a tame duck, they have to run along the ground, flapping their wings to take off, but the wild geese just hop right up from a flat footed position and take off from a stand still. They range a lot farther out than the Cotton Patch Geese do, but so far, they've always come back to the enclosure each night so I can open the gate and let them back inside to eat their cracked corn.
All except for last evening, when I saw them all take off right at dusk, and fly higher than I've ever seen them fly before. (Maybe, it's an approaching Autumn thing?) ... About half of them went South, toward our neighbor's nearest pond. The other half must have spotted a pond a lot farther away, because they circled higher and went so far North that I could no longer hear them honking. Since it was so close to dark, I called to them and they all returned within a few minutes ... all but one.
Having lost so many already to air traffic control problems, I worried about the missing goose last night and had no idea what might have happened to it. I never heard it honking, so I closed the gate after it got dark and went back inside.
This morning, as soon as the sun rose, I heard the familiar honking of a lone goose and went outside to see the little lost goose standing at the gate to the elclosure, trying to get back to the rest of the group. I got up, went outside and opened the gate, half expecting all of them to just fly away, but today, they have all decided to stay close to the house, rather than flying off somewhere else. For some reason that makes me happy.
I enjoy the Canadian Geese.
