Geese & Ducks

    Our entrance into the wide world of Waterfowl began back in 2002 as a 4-H project for Casey, and boy has it taken off! She started with ducks, they are gentle, easy to handle, and come in a wide variety of colors and breeds. In 2005, our first winter in So. Dakota, something came in and killed several birds; which left Casey devastated. So, I went and bought some geese. Geese can live with the smaller weaker ducks, and be the watchdogs of the flock. That has worked terrifically!

    Over the years Casey has developed some very nice birds, and in 2006 she won the Overall Grand Champion Poultry trophy at County. That year she won her first trip to State, and she walked away with the Reserve Overall Champion Poultry banner! In 2007 she took a completely different set of birds and once again won the Overall Grand Champion Poultry trophy at County, and once again the Reserve Overall Champion Poultry banner at State! 2008 was a repeat on the previous years, she was shocked when for the third time in a row, she won the Overall Grand Champion trophy at County. At State the top awards went to chickens, which was completely expected. She wasn't sad at all, because she was bombarded by purchase offers for many of her birds.

    Her success with the geese has caused her to turn more towards concentrating on raising Geese. She has Brown and White Chinese, Buff, Embden, and her absolute favorite Sebastopol. A friend of the family gave her a 16 by 30 building which she plans on renovating into her very own hatchery. She hopes to one day be able to sell quality home raised geese to other 4-H'rs. Until then, she plans on continuing to show in 4-H County and State shows with her waterfowl.....

 

A Brown Chinese Gander. She's kept him to be her Chinese gander. He has three Brown and two White hens.

    This is the gander that started it all. Her Embden was larger than life and the judges had eyes only for him.

    Munchkin a White Chinese hen spent the majority of her time at Achievement Days sitting happily in Casey's lap. Munchkin took a purple in Showmanship and in her breed category. Munchkin went on to State and was the best behaved bird there! She spent time out of her cage allowing strangers to pet her even. And she got a purple ribbon to boot.....

    We told Casey to not "help" the eggs hatch. Well, NOT! Casey helped Gimpy come into the world and now she has a shadow. To make Casey even more protective, Gimpy didn't get out of the horses way quick enough so she has a permanent limp- hence her name. Casey can call Gimpy by name from anywhere, and she will come hobbling along.

    We collect the geese eggs daily until we like the conditions for raising goslings. Geese eggs are HUGE! But they are naturally healthier than chicken eggs, and are a bakers dream. There is more white content, which makes everything from cakes to scrambled eggs more fluffy!