Star & Sparrow is expanding. We recently added two Chinese geese to our flock. After a futile trip to the local poultry auction, Bryon contacted a nearby neighbor who breeds geese, and he purchased a breeding pair. Please join us in welcoming Sammy and Delilah!

Research tells me Chinese geese are a low-maintenance breed also known as “weeder geese” for their love of grazing and foraging. Experience, however, tells me that Sammy—the gander—would rather eat the chicken’s crumble than the grass or his own food. Most early mornings, you can find me chasing Sammy around the chickshaw, as I try to guide him and Delilah away from the chicken feeder and over to their own food. Once I let the chickens out for their breakfast, they follow me around for treats, then run to the goose food. Hopefully, this circus will end in another month or two once the chickens are laying age, and we start buying feed in bulk for all the birds.

But I guess a little food theft is the price we pay, as one reason for getting geese is to provide protection for the chickens. We have a pair of resident ravens, who along with the occasional hawk and eagle, might decide to scoop up a chicken or two. The way Bryon built our large poultry run makes it hard to cover the entire 1500 square feet with bird netting. So the geese will serve as guard dogs until we get a real one. Buster and Whiskey don’t count, since Whiskey would rather stay in bed and little blind Buster could get grabbed himself.

Geese, on the other hand, can be very loud when predators come around. Or when I walk by with a tray of seedlings. Or when Bryon wears a wide-brimmed hat. Or when the dogs or cat run past. Essentially, they are just loud. Especially Sammy, who lifts his nose in the air as he honks and waddles around the yard. When Bryon brought the geese home in the back of the truck, our neighbor ran out of her house, thinking all the noise was one of us being murdered.

My reading also indicates Chinese geese will be a little more docile when breeding season is over, which should be around the end of June. Delilah laid her first egg the afternoon she arrived and another a few days later. We made her a nest under the unused teepee shelter intended for the chickens. Then Bryon built another structure for her to have something easier to access. But even though it appeared she rearranged the eggs, we never saw her sitting on them. Therefore, Bryon created a homemade incubator from a styrofoam cooler and light bulb to avoid the cost of a professional one. If we have success, I’ll make sure he writes about it!

Here we are, doing our best and learning as we go. For instance, I learned when a goose is caught in the electric poultry net and freaking out, it’s better to turn the power off before trying to help her. In my defense, I was planting flowers nearby when it happened, and I could see her panic, which made me panic and run to her straightaway. Anyway, she’s fine now (I am, too, thanks for asking) and maybe soon we’ll have our very own Mother Goose.

Video of Sammy and Delilah: