Matt and his adopted family

[Mischka]

Here's a few photos of my Chinese gander, Matt - with 8 African goslings that are about a month old now. He's adopted them like they are his own and guards them vigorously whenever anyone approaches other than I.

I picked up Matt when he was a week old, from the middle of Route 49 last May along with a sibling, after their mother and remaining siblings were mowed down by a careless teenage girl that was too busy talking on her cell phone to bother applying the brakes when they were crossing the road.

(Matt's sibling was killed by a fisher last fall, along with a couple of my peacock's hens)

I purposely ordered African geese as I've since learned that Chinese geese are very aggressive to anyone other than their owner. They both are almost identical in plumage coloration as adults, except Africans are heavier and have a waddle on their neck. Both types were bred by crossing wild swans with domestic geese many, many years ago.

[jhp]

That is a sweet story. And sweet pictures. Please keep posting more as they grow.

Jen

[akgardengirl]

Matt looks like he is taking his job of watching over those puffballs very seriously. That is a great story and yes, please keep us updated.
Sue

[dcarch]

Little ducklings sometimes will insist that you are their mom for the rest of their lifes.

So how do you get down from a motorcycle?

No. You get down from a duck

dcarch

[tomatoaddict]

So Mischka.... Are you a bird collector I take it? Do you have other animals too?
Really cute pics.

[Tania]

that's exactly the same type of geese my grandma used to have... when I was a kid, 7-14 years old, I helped her to take care of these and other 'birds' - white ducks and all sorts of hens and chickens. Beautiful.

[...I must be getting old... it seems that was so long ago... ]

sign.

[amideutch]

Mischka, Nice photo's. In the second picture Matt's in that "Make My Day" stance. Nice stuff. Ami

jhp, like your cymbidium avatar. I used to grow them when I was in high school. Ami