GOOSE HOUSE #1 Learning any new thing inevitably leads to mistakes or....re-does. When I added a goose house to my chicken coop I thought I was pretty smart. The goose area was faster and more efficient to make since I only had to build three sides. I also used up stored recycled material in my effort to clean up my homestead. And maybe It was better for awhile. With three sections I could herd groups easily into one or another for cleaning coops. If I wanted to let geese out to forage I could leave chickens in an 'extended area' coop and they ran to cleaned up the fallen goose feed. My Toulouse geese were both raised with other poultry so they do well with my chickens and duck. But breeding season is here and I think they need their own goose coop for making babies. So I began the SUMMER VINEYARD GOOSE HOUSE. The idea is this: -The goose house #1 might be good for consolidating the birds in winter for ease of care. In addition it has a special upper door in case I leave town and any geese fearing housesitter can feed and water geese without going into coop (see pic above). It has insulated water barrels with a gutter feed and this has worked extremely well so far. The stored water never fully froze and automatically replaced itself rainstorms. You just have to protect the silver insulation from chewing geese. - The goose house #2 is for geese being put to work. GOOSE HOUSE #2 The summer house will be the working house. It makes it possible for geese to mow vineyard weeds (a daunting task before my goose workers). It also allows for making goslings safely. A sheltered fenced area with electric wire top should enable geese to come and go from house without closing up the hatch. We will see if it actually works. The summer house is well on its way. I have ordered the cedar siding to make it extra cute. The windows are recyled wood. Being a closed area my hope is nighttime honking will be suppressed. It will have a dual pupose with shelving for bee supplies. Then add a cute rustic door and some goose art and it will be home! I added a wooden floor due to the slope. Though I prefer a earth floor for coops, I am excited to try this elevated wood floor for cleaning. I figure if the geese spill a lot of water in one area I will just cut out floor and add hardware cloth only in watering area. It will have an access door outside the vineyard and a hatch inside for birds coming and going. It is at a height to prevent it being obvious from the house, but tall enough to store stacked hay. Geese poop alot so I need more hay to deep layer or for constant replacement when I pitchfork out the poop.  Miss you pepper.....
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NEWBIE BEEKEEPING It seems to me that starting a little farm is very common nowadays. To reach for more sustainability in odd times seems like a good idea. Humans have been doing this forever. Growing one's own food, harvesting own power, saving, reusing, and supporting oneself. My little farm is called Mystic Glen and has been in creation for about 10 years. I am off-grid with a solar system, solar well, pond, poultry, and flower and food garden. In addition I have a little art studio on the land where I make clay and copper sculpture. I grew up partially on my parents' short lived farm in California. In the 70's there was a movement to go back to the land. My afro haired hippie parents moved from the bay area to set up a farm in Sonoma county. They raised goats for milk and meat, and had rabbits and poultry. As I go deeper down the rabbit hole of my own farm I am realizing the real joy of being able to support oneself. There are successes and failures. But always learning and growing. BEEHIVE SUCCESS & FAILURE This month my first bees died. In part I had failed to patch holes in their original hive boxes which were falling apart. The box got moist inside and though that is the main factor there may be more than one reason it failed. I received the hive from a beekeeper friend who gathered it from a divorcing couple. I had the hive for about 2 months of the pollen gathering season. Then the NW moved into winter. When I opened up the hive to do a beehive autopsy, I discovered many things, especially what to do better next time. But the great news was frame after frame of honey. I harvested two for myself and saved the rest for my next hive. One week later a sunny day arrived and my neighbor's bees came and cleaned up the mess I had made. They cleaned the wax and boxes. When I saw them around the honey, I made sure to put the honey and comb I wanted kept for later in sealed bins.
GOOSE MAYHEM The other Project that I am really new at is the Goose Adventure. The idea was to raise geese for eggs and breed them for meat. It has been a bizarre journey with a life of its own! WHAT I HAVE LEARNED SO FAR-in a nutshell... 1. Geese are amazing! Intelligent, attentive, and great mowers of grass..........and people who have them are in love! 2. Chaos reigns if you don't plan well - Set up your infrastructure FIRST. 3. You will make mistakes, all a part of learning, but remember geese live a long time and are endearing. Don't get into it unless you are ready. 4. Sex them after maturity (7 months or older) 5. Learn from goose forums and web pics to find out what a healthy goose looks like before buying from craigslist. 6. Order from a breeder if you don't trust your intuition on a healthy strong goose. Novice goose folks who sell on the web can over breed. I've seen some who take on too many birds to do it well and you can get mites and bad genes in your purchase!!! GOOSE TIP: if you get a less than perfect goose you can suppliment their feed with dried nettles for nutrient boost, dried oregano for parasites and skin critters and brewers yeast for niacin. After 2 weeks of dosing, My gander, Honey, grew glossier feathers, his legs straightened out more, itchy skin/creepy crawlies disappeared and his poopy butt cleared up. Along the way of building a newbie flock, I added Pepper the swan goose and Popcorn the Purebred Pomeranian. Unfortunately I suck at sexing geese. But It does seem hard to do with immature geese under 7 months. In the end I had three ganders and a goose. Best laid plans right?? That is when the chaos began: -Pepper began bonding with the toulousse goose. This is me lecturing him...." No,no,no pepper. She is supposed to make purebred babies with her toulouse gander!!". ....Constant honking from my chinese guy drove me to the brink.....Apparently I did not do my homework. Chinese geese are loud, and though they have a great character, he was a little too attached to me. -Then to add to the drama, Popcorn decided the male toulouse was his mate. To my surprise the gander to gander mating began in earnest!!! THE SOLUTION So I put pepper my favorite pet goose on craigslist for a good home. He now lives in Chimicum with a herd of American blues and turkeys. Hopefully he will get his own mate. Popcorn traveled off to Portland to be with a very lonely Pomeranian female. Now Honey and Sweetpea the Toulouses...... and the rest of us....can be together in peace and quiet......well almost. Next month: Adding a ultrasonic dog barking device to coop so I can sleep through the night without honking honking ! |
AuthorHi! I am an artist and a carpenter living in the woods of Washington! This is my off grid story. Archives
June 2025
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