Leonard the Embden Goose

When Lenny was not yet a week old.

When we decided to raise some chicks we also decided to follow the Justin Rhodes model of getting a goose as a guardian. What I had hoped for was a gosling that wasn't too young and would grow up with the chicks. Well, as it turns out, this guy (and his buddy) were two almost three weeks younger than the chicks and the chicks had already grown quite a bit and were already a bit aggressive with each other. To introduce a young fuzzy gosling and his duckling buddy would not have been the best idea. 

Right now this guy is nine and half months old (almost) and is very much a protector. Example, he does not like it when Thor (cockerel) approaches one of the little ladies for a little special time. Lenny is not a fan of any kind of commotion - and if anything goes on he will investigate AND reprimand the offending party, in this case Thor. I think he feels like he needs to look out for the girls. Which is kind of nice since the Australorps are little girl chickens. Another thing he doesn't like - when his pal, Shelly, is playing/racing Tom up and down the driveway. The first thing he'll do is run after them and then "scream" at Tom. Then the next thing is making sure that Shelly knows that what he is doing is unacceptable. The crazy thing is that I am the one person who is allowed to do whatever I please without any sort of repercussion. I guess I'm not that much of a threat.

Lenny does like the hens though and when the girls and Thor go in for the night Lenny and Shelly will often times hang out at the rear of the chicken RV to be close to them. They never got used to going into the coop at night so they just stand behind it. Things might change once we get some friends for Shelly, but that is a future problem.

Overall, he is a little more reserved, except when snacks are coming from the neighbors or from a friend of ours. Those times are the BEST if you are a resident of the Hen Pen. When the snacks are coming he sounds the alarm and he can be LOUD!! The squawk is the same, but he has two volumes, loud or LOUDER. At least we know if something is amiss.

Other breed information:

Main use:  Utility - Meat
Eggs:  10 to 30 per year.
Weight:  Gander 26 to 33 pounds(!); Goose 22 to 28 pounds.
Temperment:  Calm (except when snacks are coming)

Lenny turned 9 months on January 26.

Life on the Hoeve would be fine without this dude, but it wouldn't be nearly as fun.