Well, really there are no chickens in this video, but it had to rhyme, and “goose” wasn’t going to work. I thought it was a riot when the ducks and geese decided to help with the new cotton garden. They have such funny and individual personalities.
Overall the plants are beautiful, the leaves a very unusual shape and the flowers so pretty. We’re growing them in partial shade and they seem to love it. We mulch with goat and rabbit manure. Lots of that around! You can tell we are strictly organic here by the holes in the leaves!! AND so far we have ONE cotton ball!
Last month we hatched five Pekin ducks and one Embden gosling. The baby goose had splayed legs, which we tied together at the knees. That seems to correct the problem in about 5 days. She is fine now.
The 6 friends went to live in the Pigeon Coop in the Blue Hen Henyard. In about two weeks they had outgrown the Coop and went to live outside, still in the Henyard. The ducks feathered out first and the the goose is feathering out now after about 6 weeks.
Ducks and geese do best when allowed to free range. They travel around together in a pack, and are quite fun to watch roam the farm. Geese make great watchdogs, and will let you know when anything is about.
They should be returned to the safety of a penned yard in the evening to protect against possum and other predators. They can be easily trained to return to the pen with a little supplemental grain. We give them high protein Chick Starter (16%) because of their large bone structure.
In the Hatchery this month we had three more geese hatch. They are so cute when first born. They won’t be small for long. Contact us at Bent Pine Farm if you would like a goose for your yard…or if you would like to just come for a visit!
