Gawd, I have had enough of sex and violence, and it's only 8.30 am on a Monday Morning.!
I was feeding the pigs first thing and noticed that Margie (aka no 21) was acting just a little weird.
While no 12 sat patiently waiting for his breakfast, she ran around their enclosure shaking a grotty bundle in her mouth like a cat with a mouse.
On closer inspection , the "bundle" was the masticated remains of a Plymouth Rock which went missing yesterday morning.Another victim of the steely eyed sow who has a taste for chicken flesh me thinks
I couldn't worry too much about the chicken killer, in some ways the death of the Plymouth was just an example of Darwinian theory as she had been unwell for a while....and therefore unable to escape sharp little piggy teeth..... no I had bigger issues to sort out this morning
The new alpha male gander remains a bit of a handful. Desperate to protect his little flock, and obviously upset at being "dumped" in new surroundings , he continues to challenge everything and anything on the field.
I have dealt with aggressive male animals before, and it is important to be dominant with them without being violent in any way.
Aggressive cockerels can be pickled up and tucked under an arm, until they go submissive and limp, so I tried this tact yesterday with the gander.
Grabbing him firmly around the scruff of the neck I lifted him up and tucked his body under my arm.
He hissed at me aggressively for a while, then went quiet when I trundled around the field looking a little like Rod Hull with his Emu!
I did this for ten minutes or so, then I returned him to his pen, immediately offering him a bowl of corn as soon as I placed him onto the ground.
He honked at me with some gusto, but after I shook the bowl did take one mouthful of food from me, albeit reluctantly
This passive/aggressive approach hopefully will reinforce that I am in charge, I am the boss and I can be trusted to fed him and his family but it has to be done every single day, until things calm down....I have to thank Von for the corn idea..here's hoping it will work
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With the alpha male goose, I think your control and submission tactics have been pretty good. However, I am sure you would be a lot more successful if you wore a goose costume. "Mother Goose" is only performed intermittently during the panto season so there must be many Mother Goose costumes in storage.
ReplyDeleteand then there is always Christmas diner!
ReplyDeletePickled Cockerel sounds good to me. re: the Goose, how about a bag over his head?
ReplyDeleteGood idea...wishing you success.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting, I look forward to seeing how it goes.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure pickling a cockerel would certainly calm it down!
Wish you much success, John.
ReplyDeletePerhaps you'll be butchering the wrong pig, though as you say, it wasn't a completely healthy hen.
Yes John, you just keep telling yourself that you are in charge...lol.
ReplyDeleteYou could always change your blog title to The Goose Whisperer ;o)
ReplyDeleteMargie the chicken killer strikes again. I think I may be losing some affection for her. The way you are handling your vicious male goose sounds like the way to go. Once he knows you are boss and that you will never hurt him perhaps he will calm down.
ReplyDeletePoor little chicken. I hope your goose-subduing method works. I would imagine being chased by a full grown gander is no fun.
ReplyDeleteI used the same method with an aggressive rooster and it worked quite well. In fact, when I put him back down on the ground, it was funny. He'd look so confused! Like he wanted to attack me but realized that I wasn't a threat and he just didn't know quite what to do...
ReplyDeleteI'm with Yorkshire Pud. Put on a costume! Hope the goose situation settles down soon. I've got three very nice roosters because I used that method of yours from the start: pick up rooster and hold until limp. :) They know who's really the head roo.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry about poor little chicken but no doubt you're right about natural selection!
Good grief John...and good luck.
ReplyDelete..and children, that is how the bagpipes were invented.
ReplyDeleteJane x
What about the sex?
ReplyDeletehormones scott...goose hormones!!!
ReplyDeletethese critters give you quite a workout!
ReplyDeletexo
Eep! I didn't know piggies developed a taste for chicken. I'll bet it's never a dull moment around your house ;)
ReplyDeleteDon't be pickling that bird in brine ... how about a nice white wine?
ReplyDeleteSounds like you're showing that gander who's boss. Good luck with that.
I once had to deal with an agressive cockerel. I flapped an umbrella at him to keep him away, but could never turn my back on him. Next time I'll know what strategy to use. I hope your tactics work with the goose, but in the meantime I suggest, full body armour.
ReplyDeleteLike I said, Christmas is coming...
ReplyDeleteWell, I think your tactics are wonderful. I will try that next time, instead of smacking the rooster with a shovel just before I dug a hole with it and buried him. When my son was little he'd pick up aggressive chickens and smooch them on the "lips." He claimed that changed their mindset, too. Except once a nasty little Cochin bantam grabbed him by the lip and wouldn't let go. I had to pry it off.
ReplyDeleteAs long as you don't try tucking the pig under your arm, you have a good chance ;)
ReplyDeleteYou sure know how to get our attention! You're good!
ReplyDeleteThat's what most of us ever want.....a calm/assertive approach, that's all.
Perhaps instead of Margie, #21should have been named Hannibal Lecter.
ReplyDeleteYeah!!! Thank goodness he was dumped on a kind, persevering person like you! He has a name now Mr Alpha Gander?
ReplyDeleteThe dynamics of your field never cease to fascinate me. I learn so much about animal nature from you, John. You insightful farmer, you. :-)
ReplyDelete