No news. On night shift so I will post an old post from way back in 2013
Enjoy
Sexing Camilla
My profession (aka. Paid job) is as a wildlife ecologist,so I can finally offer you some professional advice John! Since Canada geese are not sexually dimorphic (they have the same plumage), in order to tell the sex of the bird you have to get up close and personal with them. This entails grabbing the goose, putting it on its back between your legs on the ground with the head tucked under your body and pressing hard with your thumbs on either side of the vent/cloacal opening. If it is a gander, a corkscrew shaped appendage will pop out. If not, you have a female. On goose banding days we do hundreds of them at a go. We also do bag checks of duck hunters and it is much easier sexing a dead goose than a live one!
So said the delightful Sherry from Spinners End Farm and this morning I took her advice, grabbed Camilla/ Charles ( delete when appropriate) when I let the animals out of their houses and in one swift movement popped the goose on his back and straddled him.
Everything was going swimmingly, even though Camilla was honking like an express train, and I was just about to flex the old thumbs around the aforementioned cloacal opening when all hell let loose.
I had just had time to turn my head to the right when I was hit in the face by a flurry of claws, beak and red feathers.
No doubt spurred on by Camilla's distress calls, Eric the diminutive cockerel had suddenly decided to go all super hero and batter the shit out of me, and luckily for him I was in an ideal position ( with my hands busy) not to be able to defend myself.
Eric got several more karate chops in before I made a run for it.
Camilla remains unsexed
And I got my arse well and truly kicked by a six inch high cockerel
Oh, how wonderful! Well worth repeating, thank you! I I was chortling with laughter, and then I saw the photo!!!! OUCH! You look seriously battered. Was Eric for the pot?
ReplyDeleteHe was finally killed protecting his girls from a daytime fox raid
DeleteI was hurt and heart broken when a very big problem occurred in my marriage seven months ago, between me and my wife . so terrible that she took the case to court to file a divorce. She said that she cannot continue to stay with me again, and she said "I don't love you anymore" So she took her things out of the house and made me and my children passed through several emotional pain. I tried all my possible means to get her back, after much begging, but all to no avail. and she confirmed it that she has made her decision, and she never wanted to see me again. So one evening, as i was coming back from work ,i meant an old friend of mine who asked of my wife .So i explained every thing to him, so he told me that the only way i can get my wife back, is to visit a prophet to know what is really behind this issue, because it has really worked for other people too. So i never believed in spell, but i had no other choice than to follow his advice. Then he gave me the Email address of the prophet. prophetehiagwina @gmail .com. So the next morning, i sent a mail to the address he gave to me, and the prophet respond the following day and assured me that i will get my wife back the next day. Hopefully I believed since my friend recommended me to him, ,so we discussed and told me everything that i need to do. Then the next morning, So surprisingly, my wife who didn't call me for the past 7 months, gave me a call to inform me that she was coming back. So Amazing!! So that was how she came back that same day ,with lots of love and joy, and she apologized on her mistake ,and for the pain she caused me and my children. Then from that day ,our relationship was now stronger than how it were before ,by the help of a prophet . So, i will advice you out there if you have any problem contact PROPHET EHIAGWINA, i give you 100% guarantee that he will help you.. Email him at: prophetehiagwina@ gmail. com or call/whatsapp +2348139182295
Deleteprophet ehiagwina can help solve problems such as:
genetic battle
spell to kill or destroy your enemy
spell to get a good job
win lottery
dealing narcissist spell
Avenge someone
Spell to someone
and many more
Did you ever find out if the goose was Camilla or Charles?
ReplyDeletePresumably eventually the goose will either lay or not lay eggs then you would know if it's Camilla or Charles.
DeleteShe finally laid an egg
DeleteSo camilla
Ouch,,, but remember, they do say that size doesn't matter. They are clearly wrong... ;-)
ReplyDeleteThat'll teach you to go messing about with goose's bits! But, ouch! Good job you're a nurse and could treat your own wounds. xx
ReplyDeleteAnimal fun. Those were the days! :)
ReplyDeleteThis is hilarious... given that it didn’t just happen and you aren’t still covered in scratches.
ReplyDeleteI remember that post. It had me giggling again! Scarred face from a cockerel .... I hope they receded.
ReplyDeleteJo in Auckland
It is blogs like this that leave we readers with silly grins on our faces, remind us why we love Going Gently, and confirm the life affirming absurdities of life when everything out in the big wide world is getting on top of us. Also reminds us there is nothing as fierce as a small fierce animal for putting us in our place. Thank you for reminding us how long we have been alongside you, (scotch) egging you on. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThe animals gave me huge blog fillers lol
DeleteMake sure you keep those cuts well clean and sorry to be a party pooper John but there's warnings of avian flu here-Whenever I'm out with the dogs I give geese a wide berth or change direction because they chase us x
ReplyDeleteIt’s an old post flis
DeleteI don’t think you’ve read it properly
Sorry-where's my glasses!x
DeleteThanks for revisiting. I like that I can laugh out loud without feeling guilty about your injuries.
ReplyDeleteI know it's an old post, and Eric is probably long since been eaten, but wasn't he gallant defending his bird!
ReplyDeleteHe was killed protecting his hens from a daytime fox raid
DeleteGallant Hero Eric-R.I.P xx
DeleteThanks for the very big laugh this morning, John. The last story of yours that created such laughter was the one where you were woken up by a cockerel getting in the house.
ReplyDeleteOh for the video!
ReplyDeleteYou ended up looking like the loser in a cock fight.
ReplyDeleteI remember that post and I remember Camilla. What happened to her? Did she live happily ever after??
ReplyDeleteBefore my husband left the marriage , he wanted to move to a nearby city. I prepared for the move by down sizing all of the animals including camilla
DeleteShe and the other geese were kept together and were gifted to a man starting a small holding on Anglesey
Hahahahahahahahah! I love this! Thanks for the laugh this morning, John!
ReplyDeleteIt was nice to remember a funny story , though it wasn’t funny at the time
DeleteThis reminded me of something that happened to us . We live in France and originally we had six chickens , as they started to mature my husband expressed doubts about one of them , so I asked the local farmer he came down sexed it and confidently declared it to be a hen . About a month later it started to crow , not a hen then , this mistake could probably have been forgiven if not the fact that the farmer in question was an chicken farmer and at the time he had 50000 laying hens . The cockrell turned out to have a very nasty personality , though being softies he lived to a ripe old age .
ReplyDeleteLol, I’m sure some have the ability to change sex
DeleteFor some reason the kids named the cockrell Henrietta which really did not help the situation.
DeleteA famous and popular name for a hen me thinks
DeleteJohn your description of this incident told me what I have said many times - you need to write a book of your experiences - this description is better than any account of sexing a bird I have ever read
ReplyDeletewhat a good morning chuckle. oh so funny!
ReplyDeleteOh! I'm with Pat, one for the book without a doubt!
ReplyDeleteHope you're in dreamland now.
Hugs!
Goodness, that was a nasty skirmish. I'm not surprised you haven't made any further attempts at sex determination.
ReplyDeleteAh, I see she's now revealed herself as Camilla!
ReplyDeleteOMG that bird got you but good.
ReplyDeleteLol
DeleteOuch! You can tell I am not a country girl. That story is a bit scary to me!
ReplyDeleteI’ve had worse lol
DeleteI'm glad we found out that she was a Camilla. It might have been easier to wait until she finally laid an egg (or didn't).
ReplyDeleteWas that a Bantam rooster by chance? When I was about 5 years old, my Mom decided it would be fun to hatch some Bantam chicken eggs. Two of the eggs hatched, one a rooster named Ruff, and the hen, Reddy. That rooster was the meanest animal I ever have come across in my entire life. He would hide, and stalk until I would come into the back yard and then attack me, slicing into me with his long spurs. He was my Dad's pet and if my Dad would sit on the steps Ruff would come running to be picked up and held on my Dad's lap.
One morning, I went out in the backyard to play. As I walked across the yard Ruff came running up behind me and I fell down trying to outrun him, and that Alfred Hitchcock "Birds" rooster jumped up and down on me all over, pecking and cutting me with his spurs. He got my legs bad because I was wearing shorts, and one side of my face. My skinny legs and one side of my face looked just like the cuts in your picture. My screaming brought my Mom out. I couldn't get up, Ruff kept attacking wings flapping and legs cutting. Mom got to me and she grabbed him and threw him off me. Shortly there after, Ruff and Reddy went to live at a neighbor's house. I missed my daily little hen egg each morning, but I didn't miss that Ruff. I could hear him crowing at his new home every morning and that was enough for me.
Does anyone remember a wonderful Jake Thackeray song about a randy bantam cock? That man was such a talent, and much missed.
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-q3kgQee7E
DeleteThanks for this laugh this morning!
ReplyDeleteKJ
wtf, livestock should be left on the farm.
ReplyDeleteIt was
DeleteOnly you!
ReplyDeleteOh my...I personally am afraid of the geese that live on my complex and avoid walking near them at all cost. My dog Dakota (may she rest in peace) would always avoid them too, when we went on our walks.
ReplyDeleteIf a goose comes up to you face it with your arms outstretched it’s a challenge behaviour
DeleteI had no idea a small rooster could do that kind of damage! (Or would come to the aid of a goose.)
ReplyDeleteCockerels are programmed to interviewed with anything in conflict or in distress. There are YouTube videos of them breaking up fights between rabbits
Delete"Interviewed"? Glad I have never been interviewed like that :)
DeleteIntervene
DeleteWhen I was a kid, they still sold dyed chicks for Easter. Of course they were all roosters. When they got big, we'd take them to my grandmother's for her flock. She would tolerate them as long as they behaved themselves. Being roosters, usually sooner rather than later somebody got spurred - and next Sunday we'd have chicken and dumplings.
ReplyDeleteI was taught how to deal with aggressive cockerels. You pick them up and tuck them firmly under your arm and walk around with them as long as you can until they go floppy
DeleteI could never catch Eric
DeleteOh my goodness!! I second Pat's idea of your writing a book . This story would make a doozy of a first chapter!
ReplyDeleteStories like this one are always popular , especially with children
DeleteI don't know anything about geese except that they are very good guards, anyway as a child we had a cockerel who was extremely aggressive - he was a notorious escaper and attacked dogs, cats and on many occasions my grandmother and mother (he clawed their backs and necks). My father decided that after the last episode we should have chicken for lunch...
ReplyDeleteI adored my three geese. They were hand reared and were all females …they also can live for 30 years
DeleteYou do lead a interesting life John. Perhaps you should stick with dogs and cats. Hope you heal quickly.
ReplyDeleteAZDave this is an old post, John is fine.
DeleteAnother person who didn’t read the post lol
DeleteOh dear you had me laughing, reading Sherry's instructions and you doing your best to follow them until I saw your face that must of hurt. Thanks for the repost.
ReplyDeleteA good story is always worth repeating ..that’s the fun of oral histories
DeleteExcellent story. Your poor face, I wonder how you explained those injuries to anyone who asked?! I can only imagine people saying 'really, a chicken did it'!! lol
ReplyDeleteI was amazing just how painful the attack was, bantam cockerel have very sharp spurs
DeleteWow that Rooster/Cockeral is a good one !!
ReplyDeleteThat's a funny story.
ReplyDeleteI was hurt and heart broken when a very big problem occurred in my marriage seven months ago, between me and my wife . so terrible that she took the case to court to file a divorce. She said that she cannot continue to stay with me again, and she said "I don't love you anymore" So she took her things out of the house and made me and my children passed through several emotional pain. I tried all my possible means to get her back, after much begging, but all to no avail. and she confirmed it that she has made her decision, and she never wanted to see me again. So one evening, as i was coming back from work ,i meant an old friend of mine who asked of my wife .So i explained every thing to him, so he told me that the only way i can get my wife back, is to visit a prophet to know what is really behind this issue, because it has really worked for other people too. So i never believed in spell, but i had no other choice than to follow his advice. Then he gave me the Email address of the prophet. prophetehiagwina @gmail .com. So the next morning, i sent a mail to the address he gave to me, and the prophet respond the following day and assured me that i will get my wife back the next day. Hopefully I believed since my friend recommended me to him, ,so we discussed and told me everything that i need to do. Then the next morning, So surprisingly, my wife who didn't call me for the past 7 months, gave me a call to inform me that she was coming back. So Amazing!! So that was how she came back that same day ,with lots of love and joy, and she apologized on her mistake ,and for the pain she caused me and my children. Then from that day ,our relationship was now stronger than how it were before ,by the help of a prophet . So, i will advice you out there if you have any problem contact PROPHET EHIAGWINA, i give you 100% guarantee that he will help you.. Email him at: prophetehiagwina@ gmail. com or call/whatsapp +2348139182295
ReplyDeleteprophet ehiagwina can help solve problems such as:
genetic battle
spell to kill or destroy your enemy
spell to get a good job
win lottery
dealing narcissist spell
Avenge someone
Spell to someone
and many more