Our Cotton Patch geese hatched out a brood of five goslings in late April 2025. Mom had nested up a month before, and Mr. Gander was not allowing any visiting time in the nest area. I’d moved the water and food stations over by the gate to better accommodate nesting time. Within a few days of bonding, the Goose was eager to get back on living ground and to introduce her young brood to the farmyard. The gander remains the agro-protector, and the whole livestock commune had gotten the short message with sharp beak and hard wing “thwap!”. I had my hand bludgeoned a few times when I took a dead hatch chick out of the nest to keep things clean. Luckily the fresh comfrey poultice kept swelling down, and I was able to keep using my hand. Herbal medicine does the trick when administered timely and fresh.
This week, just before the start of May, I let the gaggle have a wander and enjoyed watching the young ones learning their way around. Diligent parents continue to helicopter in the best ways with these babes, offering the basic life lessons in what to eat, what to avoid, and how to be geese on the land. I’m enamored by the intelligence and intention of these animals, and the lessons they continue to offer here at Leafhopper Farm. Five new goslings carrying new genetics in a heritage breed perfect for small scale homesteads. There is some potential risk having a waterfowl species during bird flu, so we are not planning any expansion to the Leafhopper flock in the next few years. Instead, the mated pair will remain our only full time resident geese. We are breeding for genetic diversity, so any breeding stock will be immersed into existing flocks to save the breed. The high breed standard requirements mean most will be culled and eaten in the fall. Updates on these fabulous birds will continue- stay tuned!
EEC Forest Stewardship 