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justsusan > Bob, dark strokes, higher saturation
justsusan > Bob, with the dark strokes filter
justsusan > Whenever I went into the house, the geese would wait patiently on the poop deck. Due to their nature, I had to hose it off several times a day.
justsusan > mmmm-- fresh grass!
justsusan > following the boat
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 > Here the geese are just at the shoreline.
justsusan > swimming lessons. The day I took them up to the pond I thought they would run into the pond and swim their hearts out, but they wouldn't go past the shoreline unless I was on the pond as well. I had to call and call to get them to venture out.
justsusan > Mabel
Bob, dark strokes, higher saturation
justsusan > Bob, dark strokes, higher saturation
Bob, dark strokes, higher saturation
See photo in gallery
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