How funny (about your geese)! And I had no idea that chickens are mousers!!! Wow. I thought chickens were vegetarians. And how can they sneak up on a mouse??? Thanks for the advice about the push open door for the food. I started putting the lid on the goose food when it gets dark, since the unauthorized eaters get into it at night. I don't think there's a way for me to find out what's eating the food unless I install an infrared camera out there. The times that he honks at night (rarely), I go out to see what's going on, and don't see anyone else out there. I did find some poop in the food before I started covering it up at night (it's in a plastic box that's about 18" x 36") but it doesn't look like rat poop. Seems like a coon or possum would be too big to poop in the food. His scratches are healing up and he doesn't have any new ones, so I think covering up the food did the trick. Although his food is visible during the day, at night there's no light out there, so I bet that's when he got scratched. Carol

Hengal, I replied on HT but it occurs to me now that 6' x 8' is not a very big space if you are only moving it once a day. I had a pen about 10' x 10' last year for three goslings and had to move it two or three times a day to keep them in good forage and to prevent damage to the turf. Geese make good use of weeds such as clover, dandelions and plantain as well as grass and the variety does them good. Any chance you could move the pen more often or perhaps let them out as soon as you get home so they can get in some extra foraging? Geese go through a ravenous stage as they are beginning to feather out, but a little later her appetite may calm down some. It is just a case of getting enough greens into her to keep her from needing too much concentrate. Another possibility is to gather extra greens - dandelions, clover etc. - break them up a bit to prevent choking and dump them into the pen to supplement what they can get. It is not as time consuming as it sounds, provided you have some areas that are not manicured. Another thought... do you provide supplemental granite grit? I know that they get some from the ground itself, but a bag of "grower" grit is only a few dollars and a good insurance against digestive difficulties. Nothing to do with the wing problem, but a good idea anyway.

Just got back from the vet's. We saw a vet who is the local zoo vet and he takes care of barnyard animals. I told him the whole story, then he subdued Mr. Goose by holding his feet. Mr G tucked his head in his breast and was the most submissive I have seen him in 17 years. The vet then pulled each wing out to its full extension and the goose didn't make a PEEP. He listened to his lungs (clear) and said he couldn't find anything wrong with him, although his breastbone ridge is a little prominent (indicating loss of muscle mass, probably due to age he said). He decided that he should have 2 days of antibiotics just in case. I suggested, early in the visit, that it might be the heat. "See how he's breathing through his mouth?" I said. "And he's not talking like he usually does or trying to peck us." By the end of the visit, the goose wasn't breathing through his mouth, he was muttering quietly to himself, and he was grooming himself. The vet said that when I said it might be the heat, he thought I was nuts because he's never heard of that. I suggested that considering that the goose spent his first 15 years in Northern California, where it gets to 100 maybe 3 days a year, and has been here only a few summers... and this is the first period with sustained high temps like we've had recently... He said by the end of the visit, he was inclined to agree with me, based on the goose's behavior change after he'd been in the AC for half an hour. He also said that when I pulled his wings out and got resistance plus he made a painful sound, that it probably was because I wasn't restraining him and he was just letting me know he didn't like what I was doing. If I had grabbed his feet like the vet did... So, that's the story... the vet suggested that during the hot part of the day that I bring him in the house and put him in the tub (I fill it with water). We're headed toward 85 degree temps in a few days, so I'll be bringing him in the house between now and then for guest privileges. And, no, he doesn't have a little silver bell so he can summon me to bring him treats. :-) One more thing... I told the vet I'd been feeding him whole corn and cracked corn the whole 17 years I've had him (the local feed store told me I should feed him that back in the beginning). The vet said that corn had very little protein, lots of carbs, and that I should find a waterfowl mix for him. He also said that he seemed to be doing pretty well on a corn diet, especially at his age. Okay, I'm done. Thanks for listening. :-) Carol

Thanks for sharing your duck story 13 years ago. We just moved into an apartment with a duck pond 50' from our back porch and it's got all different kinds of ducks and geese. The ducks are nicer and there are different ones, ratty ones, mean ones, wussy ones, skinny ones, fat ones...very often a new gang of teenie tiny ones under mom's feets. They're always fighin for territory or humpin each other. It is quite the backyard reality show. The geese are another story, there is this one that looks different than the rest and he's always causing trouble with the ducks. He's the alpha goose and he doesn't let anyone forget it for a minute. Somebody needs to mess his 6.75lb feathered butt up. Alpha goose pic included.