Hi Maggie,
great news for you and your goslings!!! how sweet they must all look together. You really made quite and accomplishment getting your new goslings accepted by their adopted mom's.

What sort of antiques will you be selling? sounds like fun :)

I've been reading about 3 varieties of geese that are suppose to be calm, less noisy and good backyard birds, they are American Buff, Pilgrim and Roman. Which ones do you think would be best for a small flock like ours? we are looking to add a pair, I'm not sure they will be available this year but my feed store is calling Metzer Farm on Wednesday to find out. All three varieties are listed as endangered.

Take care,
Sheila

Hi Sheila!

Yes, they are totally sweet. I'll post a picture soon... have to get my son to show me what to do.

I've heard good things about Romans... they are certainly beautiful and are supposed to be good-natured. After a year with one Pilgrim and one Buff, I'd have to say it is a tie. You won't go wrong with either breed.

Willow, my Pilgrim, has a lot of personality and is more interactive, but my Buff is gentle, dignified and beautiful. She has remarkably expressive eyes that are both wise and amused, as though she knows the secrets of the world.

I tend to favour the Pilgrims for myself because it is easy to tell the males and females apart. Also, being a smallish breed, they can't do the damage that larger geese can if they become aggressive during breeding season. The Pilgrims have been so inbred here in Ontario that it has affected their fertility. Jason Cain of Performance Poultry (from whom I always buy my birds) has imported goslings from Oregon this year... my two included. Willow comes from Californian stock. So I am hoping with two bloodlines that mine will breed well. Several of the seven goslings hatched here look like Pilgrims. The rest are more golden, like Buff was a year ago. It will be interesting to see what they look like as they grow. The purebred Pilgrims are wearing green bands on their legs so I can be sure which are which.

My shop will sell what I think of as "everyday antiques". I have stripped some of the walls back to the original 1890 hemlock planks and bought scads of old-fashioned square nails to hang things from. I am grouping by theme: household and kitchenware, agricultural, tools, a few nice pieces of furniture, antique and vintage toys and games, ancient skates, skis, snowshoes and the like. Lots of old cast iron, lots of enamelware, bedwarmers, bellows, candlesticks, kettles... you name it, I've got it. And teddy bears. I have quite an assortment of vintage bears and I also design and handcraft my own. It will be a visually interesting shop, I think, almost like a miniature living history museum. I bought a lot of these things in France on my visits to my sister during the 12 years she lived there. They are not "fine antiques" but rather the kinds of things our ancestors would have used and enjoyed. I hope it does well... I need to start bringing regular money in to keep this place afloat. We can live here very cheaply and well, but it does take SOME money.

Maggie, your shop sounds fantastic, you location will be a real plus! have you ever tried putting your artwork on note cards? it's very easy to do and I bet they would be perfect for your shop. The great thing about being your own boss is you get total freedom to promote your own work :) the teddy bears sound very interesting too!

I know homesteaders try to have their hands in several different areas of business to help support themselves year round and your shop sounds like a terrific venue to add other items if you so choose like eggs or baked goods, cut flowers etc. artwork etc.

This year will be some what of a test for dh and I, we are planting over 22 varieties of tomatoes and several other veggies to study growth, flavor etc. We plan on having our then 8 yr old son sell them at a table at the end of our drive way this summer. Our dream is to someday have a farm like you, but we are testing the waters with poultry and gardening on our small scale to see if we have what it takes so to speak.

I look forward to hearing more about your geese and goslings! If you can e-mail me a picture I could post it hear for you.

Take care,
Sheila

My goslings (only 2 of 10) hatched a week and a half ago. They are the most adorable little things, but like you, I'm worried because they have completely imprinted on me as well. Mainly I think about possible aggression when they mature should one or both be ganders. Is there anything I can do now to prevent this? This is my first try at geese so I don't have any adults around to teach them the ropes.

Audrey

Sheila, I'm only a very amateurish artist (although I enjoy it) so I am not thinking note cards... but I will be selling things like eggs, herbs, plants, gardening books (I have about a zillion and I don't need that many) and so forth as well as the antiques and bears. And anything else I can think of!

I had a look at your website last night and enjoyed it very much. My favourite painting was "Jeff and Josie" -- so very natural and the way the dog is looking up at his master is quite touching. Lots of other great ones there too. Congratulations on some terrific work!

Audrey, I don't think you have to worry too much at this stage. After all, they need a mom and you're it! Later, when they are out on grass and more or less independent, you can back off some and not make pets of them. It will be VERY hard, but after my experiences with our gander (not to say this is always the case) I am keeping my distance this year. My main concern with the Pilgrims was that if they imprinted on me that they might not adjust well to life in the group. With only two, that concern is less. As they grow, let them rely on each other for company... and you might keep your eyes open for a few more.