 Boxelder Maple was hatched on April 28, 2020. He was the third goose to hatch of Batch #011. His parents are believed to be Siberian Elm and Black Cherry. Siberian Elm is definite because the egg from which Boxelder hatched was marked with her name. Siberian Elm is believed to be the daughter of Baldcypress and Sugar Maple while Black Cherry is believed to be the son of Mimosa and White Ash. Both of Boxelder's parents were only a year old when he was hatched. Boxelder Maple struggled as a gosling. The reason for his struggles was unknown. I believe it was either because he did not get the necessary amount of grit or he got chilled. Due to his struggles it took a long time for him to catch up in size to the other geese. He was a super cute gosling and was quite friendly.
Siberian Elm's mother was a pure-blooded Chinese goose who passed away exactly a year before Boxelder was hatched. Boxelder Maple's name was given in honor of Sugar Maple. Because of his Chinese blood Boxelder is a tall and lean gander. He has a lovely brown stripe and strange white feathers under his eye which I mentioned in a previous post found under Traits. His eyes are brown. He has a little bit of orange on his beak and has the white feathers behind his knob. His back, side, and chest feathers are a lovely color. He is proud but has never attacked me. He currently hangs out with the white geese of the flock and his three younger sisters: Japanese Zelkova, Brazilian Rosewood, and Hawaiian Hibiscus. He caught up in size and is now somewhat bigger than his batch friend Willow Crenshaw. He became fully mature much faster than other ganders. But I tend to prefer ganders who take longer to mature. As of the writing of this post Boxelder Maple is about five months old. Which means he is full size and is indeed fully feathered out. I successfully taught this gander to eat out of my hand. Previously, I had also taught him to stand on me without me having to keep him there when I was sitting down to feed the geese. I had even gotten him to follow the hand full of food onto me.
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 What Makes Geese Intelligent?
I do not mean every goose is intelligent. Some are just there for the food and never check stuff out. But I believe one of the most important things is that they peck at all kinds of things. They peck at trees and wood. They peck at my shoelaces. They peck at trailers. Not all of them do it so I believe the ones who are the most curious and are investigating everything in their environment by way of their beak are the more intelligent ones. They also apparently remember foods that they have not eaten in a while. When we decided to add milo into their diet most of them would not take it. But three of my geese who are two years old now and had been eating bird seed at one time which contains milo remembered it and ate it without slinging their beaks in disgust and being highly disappointed.  Rocky (left) and Dragon (right) Rocky, #102, Batch #019. Hatched September 13, 2020. Has a little knob. Bulky. Mother is Black Tupelo. First recorded gosling of Tupelo. Father could be Eastern Redbud, Baldcypress, or Black Cherry. Female. Dragon, #103, Batch #019. Hatched September 14, 2020. Darker markings than Rocky. Mother is Gingko. First recorded son of Gingko. Father could Eastern Redbud, Baldcypress, or Black Cherry. Male.
Sprinkles, #101, Batch #018. Hatched September 4, 2020. No unusual markings. Mother is Gingko. Father unknown but some possibilities are Eastern Redbud or Baldcypress. Older siblings, Thunder and Tiger. 
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my name is EmilyI have twenty-eight geese. I hatch a bunch of goslings because I want a lot of people to have geese. I do not see them everywhere but I want to! The goslings are the sweetest baby birds I know! The adult males are proud and can be cranky but have their sweet moments while the females are shy and sweet all at the same time. Categories
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