The Story of Three Goslings - Page 3

In 2005 I had the lovely experience of raising three pet geese for two months. I've had pet cats and dogs, rabbits and rats, parakeets and lizards, but this was the most fun I've ever had with animals.

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justsusan > Lucy
This was taken the day before she was attacked by a raccoon. We hadn't finished the floating goose house yet, so we kept the geese overnight in the chicken wire cage we had transported them in. It was closed tight so they couldn't get out and nothing could get in.
When I came to the property early on July 4th to let them out, I saw that Lucy was covered with blood and the other two were splattered with it. Then I noticed that the tip of Lucy's beak had been chewed off, top and bottom!
I just held her in my lap for most of the day while she slept. I didn't know if she would make it because she had lost so much blood. I wondered if she would be able to survive-- could she eat? could she preen? It was the 4th of July so nothing was open and I was unfamiliar with the area.
Lucy would sleep for a long while, then get up for about 5 minutes, trying to do what the others did but she didn't have the strength and her beak was so sore she couldn't eat. She would fall asleep standing up, but whenever her knees began to shake I picked her up and held her. By the end of the day she could eat a little grass from the side of her mouth.

The following day she was a bit better, but her right wing and the right side of her body were banged up pretty badly from the struggle. She limped when she walked and swam (swam with her right side out of the water, paddling with one foot). I took her to a bird veterinarian who found the puncture wounds on Lucy's neck where the raccoon had grabbed her and pulled her against the cage. The vet prescribed some anti-inflamitories and antibiotics. When I returned Lucy to the group, Bob and Mabel greeted her with sympathetic chirping and cooing. By the third day Lucy was almost back to normal.
Her beak will never grow back but she looks really cute with her tongue sticking out the end.

She can pull grass and weeds to eat but has trouble with anything big, like a peach or cabbage. I have to slice them so she can grab the pieces by the side of her mouth.

I swear these three converse with each other. At one point when Lucy was resting and preening away from the others, Mabel went to her with soft coos, looking her over where she had been injured. Lucy appeared to be telling her about her pain. Then Mabel put her beak into Lucy's feathers to check out the wound. They conversed a little, then mabel went back to Bob.

There is a new dynamic to the group. Lucy is more skittish (understandably) and won't let me pet her nor catch her, but she will eat out of my hand. She used to be the one who pushed the others away from food, but now she has to pick up whatever they drop (which is considerable). When I favor Lucy (feeding her by hand), Mabel gets jealous and walks away, so I have to offer Mabel a few tidbits as well. Bob has become the "protector" of his girls. He is always on the lookout for danger. First Bob keeps guard while Mabel and Lucy eat, then Mabel takes a turn while Bob eats. They seem to communicate this to each other through their little goose chirps. Lucy never takes a turn on watch.
Mabel lets me hold her a little and Bob will let me pet him occassionally, but Lucy's afraid if I catch her I will jam a pill down her throat.

I never would have guessed that geese could be so interesting and personable.

We had to bring them back home with us because it was obvious they are still too young to be on their own.

justsusan > This is my poor little Lucy after a nasty raccoon chewed off the tip of her beak. When I found her I thought she was a goner, but with the help of an avian vet she healed up just fine. She had to learn new ways to eat.
Another interesting thing is what I call Lucy's "fright spot". You know how when people have a severe fright sometimes a portion of their hair turns white? Well, I guess it's the opposite for geese.See that black spot on her head? That wasn't there before her trauma. I noticed it the day after, when she got all cleaned up-- that spot wouldn't wash off and is still there two weeks later.

justsusan > After the raccoon attack, Lucy's tongue always stuck out.

justsusan > We kept them in here at night so raccoons and coyotes wouldn't get them.

justsusan > Each morning I had to paddle out to open the door.
They were very glad to see me.

Here the geese are just at the shoreline.

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Keywords: pond water blue white geese bird three animal goose swim float ripple avian gosling

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