Stories from the Farm

My border collie, Kate, is a huge help here on the farm…

she is wonderful with the moms and babies.

Even when the babies get a little too curious.

But she also has another job.  It is our duty to keep a local college free of geese.  Here is a little bit of information regarding hazing geese with border collies.  The most effective way to humanely control the goose population is to introduce a ‘predator’ into the environment.  Since it isn’t practical (or safe) to reintroduce wolves, coyotes, and foxes into commercial and residential areas, specially trained dogs are the natural answer.  Geese that are harassed on a regular schedule by border collies will seek a safer place to live and raise their young.  Geese are beautiful and I love watching them, but when each one of these guys…

is leaving 2-3 lbs. of waste a day, it gets nasty, pretty quick!  They also eat 2-5 lbs. of grass in a day – leaving a muddy, poop covered landscape behind them.   

Kate and I have been visiting the college for 3 years and the flock of geese that called this location home has decreased dramatically.  Unfortunately, it is the perfect place for flocks that are flying through to stop and take a break.   This gives Kate steady work and she loves it!

She is always looking, but we couldn’t find any geese on the ground today.

The sky was full of them.

and plenty in the pond, but nothing for my girl to focus her attention on.

That is, until these three flew in.

I love this goose and have been trying to get good pictures of it for quite a while. 

It is some sort of cross – the colors and patterns are so fun.

As an extra bonus, we had geese to chase when we got home as well.  I have been very careful to save our grass for my mammas and babies, there are plenty of empty fields in our area for these guys to get a free meal somewhere else!