Brace yourself for some serious cuteness… we recently brought home two baby Sebastopol geese! Well, technically I got one goose and my friend Becca got one goose and I’m raising them until the mountain pass between our towns opens. And it’s been SO much fun. I am beyond obsessed with our Sebastopol goslings and how damn cute they are!
They are Sebastopol geese, which are basically the fanciest geese you can get. They’re a heritage goose breed with feathers that are long, soft-quilled, and curly! Seriously, click on that link… you have to see how gorgeous they’ll be. They are medium sized, so they’ll ultimately weigh about 12-14 pounds. One is a buff color and the other is a mystery!
Becca is going to be raising 2 Pilgrim geese and then when the pass opens, we’ll be swapping one Pilgrim for one Sebastopol so we will each have one of each breed.
So why did we get goslings?? Because apparently geese are great for guarding chickens and keeping them safe. I haven’t shared it too much here, but we’ve had a few losses in the flock because of predators and I’m not happy about it. Eventually, the “guard geese” will live with the chickens. If anything happens, they will sound the alarm (geese are apparently really loud) and I can go outside to investigate or they’ll chase off the predator. Awesome, right??
It’s been super interesting to see how raising geese differs from raising chickens. They are SO much more engaged and literally have imprinted on me. So they follow me around, talk to me, and snuggle with me. They also make eye contact and seem more aware than chickens… and definitely smarter. And NOTHING beats swim lessons!
So what do you think of our Sebastopol goslings?? Let me know if you want me to share more info about raising them. I’m so obsessed!
I have 6 geese now – 2 Toulouse and 4 emden/Toulouse. Not of my own volition but that’s a long story. I think they are the coolest of the birds we’ve had. We used to have chickens, Guinea fowl, and ducks, but I can’t say I really cared for any of them much except maybe the mallards we accidentally got at an auction. Unfortunately, they died tragically (ironically, we had named them Romeo and Juliet).
awww!! I’m glad I’m not the only one finding geese surprisingly fun :)
Love this! Wish I could have some (been enamored since I saw Fresh Eggs Daily’s) but my husband’s head would pop off if I got something LOUDER than our chickens 🤣
I was wondering if you were going to swap one because of something to do with how geese interact as adults with a fellow “sibling” and maybe swapping is better dynamics, but now I see it’s just so you each get to have the different breeds (yay!). I hope they work out perfectly for you both!!
Aww thank you! I have to say, it is SO much fun raising goslings. They are so different because they actually engage with me so much. I’m just constantly laughing, especially when they follow me around. It’s insanely satisfying! I hope you can get some one day :)
I love raising Goslings . They are lots of fun. I have 13 geese American buff, Sebastopol Chinese and the ones I call saddle backs all but 2 have I raised .
oh wow!! that is so much sass! I feel like the attitude of 2 is enough for me 😂