By Michelle Switzer
After climbing a snow bank and flying into the sheep pen, this goose decided this was the perfect spot to lay her egg. The sheep protected the goose until she finished building her nest and laying her egg. (Photo courtesy Sandra Redemske) |
It was a typical late March day at ChickGooEwe Farm in Jefferson, until owner Sandra Redemske found a goose nesting between two sheep.
“I keep my geese separate from the sheep with a fence, but this goose wanted a quiet spot to lay, so she climbed up a large snow pile and flew into the sheep pen,” Redemske said.
The two sheep stayed close by the goose as she built her nest and laid her egg, according to Redemske.
“They didn’t leave her side for about 45 minutes,” she said.
Redemske said on occasion, when the sheep have laid down in the grass in the pasture, the geese would try to get as close to the sheep as the fence will allow.
“It seems like they have some kind of relationship,” she said.
According to Redemske, geese lay eggs between March 1 and June 1. They line their nests with their own down and somehow incubate and hatch their eggs around the same time as the other geese in the gander.
Redemske sells goose eggs at Rising Tide in Damariscotta and Good Tern in Rockland.
“We are really blessed with co-ops and farmers markets in this area,” she said. “They are good ways to get healthy, local food.”
Redemske first started to raise geese at her farm in 2007. She said it took a lot of learning to let them do what they need to do in the space they need to do it.
Geese are hardy animals and can stay outside almost all winter, according to Redemske.
Geese are peculiar animals, according to Redemske. Each one has its own personality.
The animals on the ChickGooEwe farm graze differently than those on many farms in the area, according to Redemske.
“I divide the land into sections and move the animals on a three-week rotation,” she said. “This gives the plants time to grow back and allows the animals to get the best nutrients in each section of land.”