Somehow I missed your post 12 days ago, sorry. I found it just now because I wanted to tell @CA_Poppy and now you what happened to my little geese without hijacking the thread where she told me about her own experience with a foster mom hen/goose. Speaking of which, CA_Poppy, your story was awesome and so funny and was just exactly the kind of thing I was looking forward to watching happen…but things have taken a tragic turn!
Either yesterday or night before last- some kind of predator got BOTH of my little baby geese I was so proud of. I free range my animals so I’m somewhat accustomed to losing a bird here or there to hawks, owls, opossums, raccoons, and more. But this really hurt. It was such a fun project having the hen hatch and care for geese and I was excited to see how that unique mother/child relationship would develop- things just like CA-Poppy hilariously described. What’s worse, I feel like the just-described relationship and behavior- where the geese behaved like the chickens they thought they were and therefore didn’t really use my pond. Had the little guys been sleeping on or right at edge of water, they likely could have gotten away-at least one of them. Whatever got them got 2 geese and 6 small chickens (feathered so not just slow baby chicks). That has never happened to me and leaves me very puzzled- most thieves of the night (those just listed) dine alone. Furthermore, those predators couldn’t/wouldn’t eat 8 medium sized geese and chickens. Same for raptors. So I’m very confused and open to everyone’s thoughts. Unfortunately I can’t tell you for sure it if it was a night but i think so. All I can think of that could catch, kill, and carry off (no body parts were left) is multiple coyotes; What do you all think?