by Meredith ChilsonThere’s a short cut to my house. From the main state road, if you take the road past the old school house, around the corner by the lake, continue on and up the hill past Saunder’s Pond, down the dirt road and across the bridge over Phillip’s Creek nearly six miles of travel is saved, and no one needs to go through the village at all.
I love to take this route. In the winter, the snow-laden trees hang way over the road and it’s like going through an icy tunnel. In the spring, the pond and lake often have migrating swans resting before they continue their journey north, and in the summer there’s the smell of freshly mown hay and the very good chance of seeing a fawn and its mother. And in the fall, the colors of the trees on the surrounding hills are simply beautiful. There are wild animals on this route other than the deer, too—I’ve seen turkeys and an eagle, raccoon and, once, a bobcat. One summer day, I slowed to watch a huge snapping turtle digging a hole on the side of the road in preparation for egg laying. Other things I watch for on this route: the old dog that likes to sleep in the middle of the road, the peacocks near the bridge, and especially – what’s happening at the little farm on the corner.
I’ve been intrigued with the happenings on this little farm for quite a while. It’s a small house with many brightly painted flower boxes that always seem to overflow with annuals and herbs. There are colorful chickens—all sizes and many breeds free-ranging around the house and out buildings, on wet afternoons there are usually a few ducks splashing in mud puddles in the driveway or along the side of the road. Various buildings seem to appear, expand, change position, become fenced or covered with weatherproof materials. Over the years, I’ve noticed a donkey or two and a lamb, baby chicks, brilliantly feathered roosters, a cat that seems to always be sitting on the top of any car parked in the driveway, and on the front step—a goose.
A few weeks ago at a craft festival, I ran into the lady, Amy, who lives and farms on this corner. We began talking “chicken”—as chicken people seem to do—and I mentioned how fascinated I am with her little farm and all its inhabitants….particularly the goose on the front step. Amy laughed, and said, “Oh, that’s Gabby Goosie….let me tell you about her…” As Amy told me the story, I realized it was another Story From a Neighboring Coop that Community Chickens readers might like to hear. So, in Amy’s words, the miraculous story of the healing power of love and a goose:
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| Gabby Goosie 1 day old |
Gabby the Goose was born on Mothers’ Day, 2011. Her mother was thrilled with her arrival, after trying for 3 years to hatch some goslings. A couple hours after Gabby freed herself from the egg, her mother noticed that something was not right. Gabby had a huge round head that seemed too heavy for her to hold up, and her feet and legs were twisted.
The mother goose pushed Gabby from the nest, aware that she could do nothing for the deformed little goose. She put Gabby in the weeds along the side of the nest, but continued to coo and caress Gabby with her bill. The mother goose appeared to be mourning the loss of her baby, while still trying to comfort the now cold, shivering gosling.
My daughter and I had been watching the whole situation very carefully. When the mother goose had definitely given up on Gabby, my daughter brought the shivering gray ball of fluff into the house. We thought the least we could do was make the gosling comfortable in its last hours. We wrapped it in flannel and took turns holding it under our shirts to warm it. Being next to our hearts seemed to comfort the sad little goose, too.
We made hot water bottles and slid them inside wooly socks, placing them on either side of her for support and comfort for the night. That first night, we checked on her often, each time thinking we would find that she had died. But, each time we were rewarded by her little coo and her bright blinking eyes. She quickly learned that any little noise she made brought us quickly to her side; early in the morning she let us know she was still alive and very hungry.
We had some experience with a duckling that had a hydrocephalus head, or “water head”. It had been successfully cured with some extra vitamins, so we decided after some research on the Internet to try and help the baby goose the same way. After two days of extra vitamin E and B, her head was almost normal size and she could hold it up on her own. For the next six months, Gabby took baby vitamins daily.
Although her head was better, she was still unable to walk. She could spin in a circle, but not stand up. Her left leg would pop out off to the side like an oar and not work at all. We used duct tape (no “goose tape” at the hardware), and cardboard for our first attempt to splint her feet. This led to the discovery of just using the duct tape on the bottom of her feet to hold them in a more natural position. Then, we used it on her ankles to hold them in position because they wanted to fold backwards. Gabby submitted to all our attempts without complaint and seemed eager to try and stand. She was still unable to stand, however, so we tied her legs together with string to hold them in position. Once we did this, she was able to walk. The string kept her legs from flailing off to the side.
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| Gabby at 4 weeks–standing on her own for the first time |
After Gabby stood on her own and took those first hesitant steps, there was no stopping her. She has been going ever since! She wore the duct tape brace for 10 weeks, along with the string. Her legs would get tired easily so she would lie down to rest a lot, those first few months. But, with the vitamins and good diet, she grew steadily.
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| Gabby Goosie at 9 weeks |
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| Gabby’s water therapy |
She totally imprinted on my daughter and me. As many times as we tried, she would have nothing to do with her biological mother, who wanted her back desperately. Gabby talks to everyone and everything, but still will not utter one syllable to the geese that are her parents.
She has visited the local nursing home many times as a special visitor. The physical therapy department is always welcoming and uses her as an inspiration to those recovering from various surgeries. If a tiny little goose with duct tape on her feet can learn to walk—anyone can!
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| Gabby visits the nursing home |
Gabby is not aware that she is a goose, but seems to think she is a dog. She has never bitten anyone; even in the way geese sometimes bite people. She stands guard for the front door, “barking” whenever anyone comes into the driveway.
At eight months, Gabby laid her first egg, which was a huge accomplishment. Geese do not normally reach maturity for 2 years. This was a shock for all of us! The arrival of Gabby’s egg sent her into “mommy mode”. She wanted babies so badly she tried to steal baby chicks from mother hens. When this was not successful, she tried her making her own nest. The nest contained a small garden gnome, a round rock and a balled up sock. Gabby sat on her nest dutifully for weeks, but she was not able to lay any more eggs (they would not have been fertile, anyhow). We gave her fertile chicken and duck eggs, but they did not hatch either. She moved her little family of gnome, rock and sock several times, each time building a bigger, better nest.
After a couple of months, we came home from work one day to find that her nest had been destroyed and her gnome stolen. Gabby was devastated. She talked to us non-stop for over an hour, while we searched for her lost baby. To this day, we have not found it.
Gabby will still try to take over a hen’s nest or snitch an egg to sit on, but she is not as bad about it as she used to be. We had three orphaned chicks that she adopted, and has done fairly well mothering. She talks to them and watches over them, protecting them from all the other chickens. They are now big enough to look after themselves, but Gabby still keeps a guardian’s eye on them, sometimes plucking a feather from a rooster that she feels has gotten too close!
Gabby likes treats that other geese probably wouldn’t even look at—crackers, crust less bread, stale cookies, and jello. She loves to be hand-fed these treats. One day while carrying in groceries from the car, a container of whipped topping fell from a bag. I did not notice this until I came back outside to get more bags and found Gabby up to her eyeballs in whipped cream. She loved it—and still loves whipped cream or whipped topping as a treat.
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| Gabby Goosie today |
She has shorter legs than the other geese and when it gets very cold, she moves slower—like someone with arthritis. She is a loving, friendly, very sociable little goose. We hope Gabby can spread the message that not all geese are mean or vicious biters, but that some geese are gentle little souls. We feel blessed to have her in our lives.
Isn’t that amazing? Would you have thought that a goose could be an inspiration in a physical therapy department? It’s been a great treat for me to learn a bit more about the goose on the doorstep and this little farm on the corner of the short cut to my home. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this story from our neighbor Amy’s coop… I think she may have a few more to tell!
38 Comments
I agree with Anonymous. I am a second grade teacher and this would be a fabulous book!
This would make a lovely childrens’ book. Thanks for sharing the story. I loved it! :}
I loved the story! How wonderful. What wonderful people you are to your animals. I am so glad Gabby finally was able to adopt some babies!
GOD is good. What a heart warming story.
Lovely story, thanks for sharing!
I have had the opportunity to raise all kinds of orphaned baby animals but I don’t think anything else bonds like a goose. They do truly imprint on you.
I currently have a Canada Goose that was born blind. “BG” does great in the back yard, unless we move a chair or something out of place. (He understands “Watch Out” very well) Luckily he/she has realized that trying to fly without being able to see is not a smart or safe thing.
It’s nice to hear a sounding “honk” when you get home from work… He’s just checking to see who’s home. Then proceeds to run over and tell me all about his day.
I don’t know much about geese, but I really enjoyed your story about Gabby…she is blessed to have you both.
What a wonderful story! Gabby is lucky to have you for her family and I think you’re equally fortunate to have her in your lives. You are truly a remarkable family. Thank you for sharing this with us and I too think it would make a terrific children’s book. Please tell Gabby she has yet another fan!
Absolutely loved this. Thank you so much for sharing.
This made me cry. GOOD tears.
I am 57 and since I was 12 have had many ops… fought to be normal and more… never given up.. and lead an adventurous life ! I so loved this story…. its what LIFE is about…. Thankyou Gabby.. for something lost.. and now found again.
Brought tears to my eyes, what a beautiful story!
I LOVE YOU GUYS!!! what a dear, wonderful thing you did! Not giving up on an amazing creature. What a pay off! LOVE LOVE LOVE this story! THANK YOU!!!
Wonderful story of Gabby’s life.
this would make a great childrens book with pictures.
beautiful, heartwarming story! Thanks for sharing it. 🙂
Heartwarming tale! I have had geese as companion animals on my farm for many years. My original three stopped traffic on my relatively busy road when I crossed over, not knowing my geese were following me, to get my mail one day. Minivans stopped and children were pointing and yelling out “Mother Goose!” From then on, I snuck down to get my mail. I have always encouraged people to consider geese as companion animals. Nothing makes me happier than driving my car up the driveway and seeing my geese, wings up, surrounding my car to welcome me home!
A great story! I completely agree with Illora that this could be published. Gabby Goosie’s story would make a wonderful and inspiring illustrated children’s book with an accompanying plush Gabby Goosie. An entire series could be developed around her adventures! Gabby Goosie needs her own blog too 🙂
Works with females, and even male geese, but don’t handle Muscovy drakes much! They get too familiar and can be painful! Mine would chase and bite when breeding season was on us.
What a beautifully wonderful story! It made my day! You and your daughter are very great people. I have 12 chickens and they are my children. I feed them by hand and follow me all around. I wish more folks would be like these animals. kindness goes a long way.
Thanks everyone–I loved the story when Amy told me, and I felt it should be shared. Nancy Dawn–I believe Gabby is an African Grey goose, and Illoura–I think the best way to make your chickens friendly is to handle them from the time they first hatch. I’m quite sure that’s partly why Gabby is the way she is–she was held and coddled from the beginning—and she learned to trust that her people would help her. I’m thinking I may need to add a goose to my own yard! 🙂
I meant to mention also that “quackers” also started laying eggs at 6 months old and “jackie” at 5 months.
That is so cool. I love reading stories about animals that have the heart of a fighter. I, myself, have what my daughter and I call our special Ed duck. We hatched her ourselves and didn’t know you were supposed to put it in the incubator point side down. We had her upside down. We had to help her out of the egg since her breathing sack was on the other end. She too had a slightly larger head and crooked feet. She literaly waddles when she walks and it is comical to see her run. She is a half ancona and half snowy white. Her half brother, an ancona and cayuga mix, also has a funny walk because his legs weren’t were they were supposed to be too and has angle wing but manages pretty good. We hatched 4 altogether from 4 totally different breeds. females are ancona and rouen and the males are snowy white malard and cayuga. Aside from “quackers” and “willy” their half sister “jackie” is a rouen snowy white mix and “squeakers” is a rouen cayuga mix.
We always have some sort of orphan in the house. I had a goose that wanted babies so bad that we bought her a few goslings. It worked.
This story makes me miss my goose (Aflack). We received her from a friend who told us she was an abandoned moscovy duckling, but she looked all wrong to be a duck. After a little research, we discovered she was a white Chinese goose. She lived in our bathroom for 2 months and then graduate to the enclosed chicken pen, but she knew she was human—not a fowl of any kind. When she was older, we let her free range with her brood of assorted chickens that she led daily to the horse barn to snatch grain from the horses’ dinner pails. Thanks for sharing the story of Gabby–she sounds a treat!
I’m sure this is a publishable story. How wonderful of you to take time to share it. More than emotional or inspirational, it shows how our interaction with an animal and taking time out to observe our animals can be rewarding.
If you have a coop full of chickens, how many get any 1-1 attention at all unless it’s hurt? I wonder how much do we miss out on because of that lack of interaction? So I have a question, HOW could we interact more with them, thus enriching ourselves with an intimate more personal ‘relationship’or improved quality of their reactions to our presence?
(I have 11 new hens that flee my vicinity, I have 3 growing roosters that also skirt around me…as if I would hurt them – and my favorite hatchling hen who is the same way, except at feeding time. I haven’t made a habit of trapping and petting them, but I have a few times trying to show I don’t mean them harm. Should I create some kind of capturing routine? It seems almost cruel to ‘scare’ them by the entrapment- they KNOW when I’m looking at them and start freaking out looking for escape routes.)
Would love it if you explored this aspect of poultry-keeping!
This is such a beautiful story! Thank you all for sharing it!
Just when you get loaded down with angst over the economy and various tragedies in the news along comes a redemptive story of epic proportions, like this one of Gabby Goosie, that totally eclipses them all and sets things back to right again.
Thank you so much for sharing this story! I will read it to my seven-year-old when she gets home. Very moving!
This story has made my day! You and your daughter are very good people 🙂
Tears! Sweet little Gabby Goose brought tears to my eyes. Thank you for sharing her story. Is she an African or Brown Chinese Goose? Last Spring, I received a Brown Chinese that I named Charlie. He was so lonely, we found some friends for him. Four African geese babies. To see Charlie and those young ones roam the yard together lifts my spirits and fills me with happiness. Best wishes and lots of love to Amy and Gabby. Thank you for saving a little goose’s life. 🙂
Great heartwarming story.
We have a goose that started coming to visit a few years ago and he keeps coming every spring, we named him Wally and his wife Sally. I feed them chicken food. He and his wife only visit in the spring but this has been going on for several years, does anyone out there know what the life expectancy is for a goose?
Inspiring story of patience and kindness. Thank you for sharing.
priceless story of commitment to make even the seemingly unloved ,lovely! THANK YOU!
This is such an inspiring story, and your way with words just captured the moments so beautifully.
I absolutely love this story. I hope Gabby has many more healthy & happy years. Thank you for sharing.
What a beautifully wonderful story! Having had a similar goose, thrown out by his parent, myself, this is utterly heart-touching! I do hope Gabby gets to spend many more wonderful years with that lovely family!
I love this story. Being a goose person and having four imprinted goose “children” of my own I can relate to this story. Geese have gotten a bad rap as far as I can tell. They are so family oriented and seem to really care about their immediate families. Hard to get them to leave a nest even when there is nothing at all in it to set on. My geese are also a heritage breed called Sebastapols. You can see them on my blog welcometothehenhouse.blogspot.com.
What a lovely, heart warming story. Thank you for sharing x