Goose Entries: Boxelder Maple

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.