Meanwhile, back on the ranch
April is gone, Carin of Matilda Magtree is the randomly selected winner of the poetry challenge, and two new characters have joined the slow farm cast.
The geese are one of those mysteries I refuse to call coincidence:
LW mentioned a couple of weeks ago that she’d like to try raising geese. She wasn’t sure how to get started. We don’t know anyone who raises geese locally and the hatcheries that service our area don’t offer goose eggs.
On Saturday, two fellows from Kitimat who were out for a drive scoping out old tractors stopped in at our place to enquire about the relic in our neighbour’s yard. They and LW chatted for about an hour. In the course of their conversation, Bob mentioned his flock of 40 geese. And yes, he’d be happy to sell us a pair.
Monday we drove to Kitimat to visit Bob’s flock.
Bob netted two geese—theoretically a male and a female.
We crated them for the two-and-a-half-hour drive.
By the time we got home, the gander (we think) had poked his head out to inspect the new surroundings, while the goose (we might have this all wrong) eyed us suspiciously from inside the crate.
We’re housing them temporarily in the (empty) pig pen, which they seem to enjoy. The goose relaxed enough to present us with a lovely big egg Tuesday morning.
Goose egg next to chicken egg for comparison.
LW fried it up for her birthday breakfast yesterday. It filled the pan.
Bob gave us a dozen eggs for hatching, which our neighbours generously agreed to put into their incubator. With any luck, in 28 to 35 days, we’ll have goslings.
LW promises to keep her flock out of my flower beds. I’ll let you know how it goes.
6 Responses to “Meanwhile, back on the ranch”
What does a goose egg taste like? Any different than a chicken egg?
Chris said it was similar to a chicken egg, but richer. She thinks they’ll be good for baking, and I’m looking forward to trying them.
I wonder if there’s a market for goose or duck eggs? Or if there are any recipes out there with goose or duck eggs in the ingredient list? I have no doubt that you’ll figure something out! 🙂
Wow! Now that is one big beautiful, perfect, egg. Another chapter in a book of mysterious and fortuitous events. Will it be goose for Thanksgiving dinner this year?
I have been making angel food cakes from scratch this spring (Birthday Season in our family) and my recipe requires 11 chicken-egg-whites. I wonder how many goose-egg-whites it would take?
I’m anxious to try baking with goose eggs. I’ll have to measure the whites to see how they compare to chicken eggs.
Unlike chickens, who lay an egg almost every day year round, geese lay their eggs mainly in the spring.
We’ll probably stick with the traditional turkey for Thanksgiving, Nola, but we plan to roast a goose now and again. Next time you visit we can try one if you like.