03/07/2026
It’s Silly Goose Saturday! 🪿 While everyone else is on the “Porch Goose” train, we have real ones here on the farm. Meet Wi******er and his lady friends, Thelma & Louise. They are Chinese geese, of the white-feathered, blue-eyed variety. Of all the creatures great & small, these are the only ones that really strike fear into my heart 😂 They love & adore my folks (Wi******er loves momma hugs) and they are a little territorial about it. 🙄 However, they can also be SUPER funny. (Ask me about the time I was teasing him a bit through the fence, and he pretty much put me in my place… right on my butt…And sauntered off towards the ladies “laughing” about defeating the dumb human. To be fair, I deserved it & was laughing too 😂.)
Did you know geese mate for life (even if they are polyamorous) & are loyal and protective of their families? They love to talk…all at once…and are very loud. They are full of character & personality!
Female geese are just called geese (or other unpleasant names if they are after me), but males are called ganders. And a group is called a gaggle.
Geese are vegetarians and prefer to graze on grass, weeds, and plants.
Geese generally sleep on the ground in a nest in a shelter, and prefer to mate in the water.
Goose eggs are 2-3 times the size of the average chicken egg (ouch, 😣 no wonder they can be cranky), and are richer and more nutrient dense. Plus they have thicker shells with a longer shelf life. (So yummy 🤤) Ours typically lay in the late winter & into spring.
Chinese geese are descendants of the wild swan goose, hence their long snake-like neck. The protrusion (k**b) on their forehead is a sign of fertility and grows as the geese mature 😳
They have waterproof feathers due to their preen gland, which secretes oil that they rub onto their bill and lather onto their feathers as they groom.
They do have wings & an impressive wingspan (that REALLY hurt if they hit you with them), but they don’t fly more than a few feet at a time, and only a couple inches off the ground. 🤷🏼♀️
Their lifespan is up to 20 years, meaning lots of wonderful opportunities to be mischievous. 🪿 💗