 Geese on the farm were unexpected. When I think of geese, childhood memories of loud, unpleasant – and downright mean birds come to mind. I enjoyed feeding the ducks as a little girl, and the arrival of the geese always meant the end of the fun…but this goose didn’t fit on her previous farm (see the knob on her head?) and needed a place to go. Her previous farm said she enjoyed the company of ducks, of which we had plenty, so we didn’t worry that she was the only goose.We named her Gertie. And we quickly learned that though she liked the company of ducks, they did not like her. She became despondent. We began our search for similar geese, and learned that she was a Tufted Roman Goose. We also learned that they are on the “critical” list of rare breeds – making the search for companions that much more complicated.
 Much to her delight, we found three young geese (Gertie, Gertie and Gertie) with knobs on their head needing relocation. We also discovered that Gertie was not a girl. He has raised the goslings to geese, and we hope to see them hatch a family.
|  The geese enjoy chasing apples as they roll down the hills, sitting in Dad’s lap to be pet, and preening the sheep. Surprisingly, they are very gentle, and not loud, though they are excellent guardians and warn us whenever there is something amiss. They have a special call that tells us “Daddy’s home!” He’s their favorite person.
Links for Learning
The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy Click on this link to learn more about Tufted Roman Geese as well as other Heritage breeds of livestock on the conservation list. |
 Promised Land
Family Farm |
Tufted Roman Geese |