"It is well to remember that the entire population of the universe, with one trifling exception, is composed of others." A.Holmes

Sunday, March 27, 2016

New Life ~ Goslings for Easter

 New goslings for Easter ! My Sebastopol Geese keep trying to raise a family but the last two years Ella was unable to successfully hatch her many eggs. It was very sad for me knowing all the diligent  care and tending of her eggs laid in a nest in the goose pen was of no use, none hatched. Even sadder was discovering that each and every egg had a fully developed gosling inside that could not break free of its' shell.

This year Ella began laying eggs under the rhododendrons, a place she'd never be able to protect herself or her eggs from predators or our pet dogs. I took her eggs from that beautiful but unwise nesting site and placed them in an incubator. Then I re-located 2 eggs in a nest box made especially for Ella in the goose pen. I kept Ella and Fella confined during egg laying season so she would not choose another site. This last Thursday night and on into Saturday some of the eggs began hatching.

The goslings had poked small holes in their shells but were unable to get out. I peeled tiny bits of their shells off and found even the membrane inside the eggs was too hard for the babies to break free of. ( I DID keep water in the incubator and misted the eggs with water every night .) I needed to be careful how I peeled the shell and membrane away so as not to rip delicate baby goose skin and cause them to bleed to death, so I wrapped each egg in warm , wet washcloths and held them firmly while I slowly began taking pieces of shell off to give the goslings room to move and help me extricate them. I also needed to roll back their membrane covering slowly. It was a long process for each egg but looky here.....
... 3 of the 4 successfully hatched Sebastopol goslings ! One baby was still working herself out of the shell when my husband snapped this pic of me and my new little geese. There are 3 more eggs in the incubator due to hatch in a few days. These little goslings have imprinted on me and get very excited when I say "babies, babies, babies ", just like their parents, Ella and Fella , who get very excited when they hear my voice and follow me around like puppies because they're imprinted on me .

There is new life everywhere here at Cedar Pond. New lambs, baby doves, chicks, goslings, new flowers just beginning to bud. New life here in this world is but a small reflection of the blessing of new life given to all who ask for it from God, and unlike our temporal earthly life and joys, new life from Jesus is eternal, "Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death , in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we might walk in newness of life." Romans 6:4

Easter blessings to you !

26 comments:

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

Oh how wonderful! Such a heartwarming story, especially at Easter. Jesus is our awesome God and He cares for every aspect of our lives. Yay Jesus!

Happy Spring dear Kathy ~ Love & hugs ~ FlowerLady

Stella Jones said...

What a lovely experience for you Kathy, but I do hope those babies take to Ella as well? I have had a similar experience when I worked at the school. During the Easter holidays one year, I was entrusted with bringing home the incubator with some baby ducks in it. They were not yet hatched, but nearly there. I did like you, I helped them along a bit. One of them imprinted on me but I was not allowed to keep it because all the ducklings had to go back to the farm where they came from. I was quite devastated because I had bonded with the duckling. I'll never forget him!
Enjoy your babies, but what will you do with them when you move house?

Henny Penny said...

This is such a beautiful story. The little goslings are adorable and how fortunate they are to have you to care for them.

Theresa said...

New life on Easter, PERFECT! Have a blessed day dear friend, HUGS!

Amber said...

That is so exciting and lovely!!!!

Texastracking said...

wonderful tale of partnering with your animals - you are a good shepherd (ess) for your various critters and I do love a happy ending!

Connie said...

What a sweet story . . . you are a new mama, congratulations!
I can just see them following you around the farmyard and garden :)
Have a wonderful week and best wishes for the eggs yet to be hatched.
Connie :)

Anonymous said...

Sweet!

Anonymous said...

A beautiful post of new life for Easter. Sweet photos and I am so happy for each of you!

L. D. said...

I am so glad that you could help your goose's eggs and get those babies hatched. The story is a good one. I wonder if there is something they can be feed to change their egg shell content.

Pondside said...

What an Easter gift, Kathy! I love the thought of those little ones following you around!....as they surely will.

Deanna said...

That's so exciting!
Sweet babies.
Blessings,
d

Cynthia said...

Oh my gosh, those are the cutest, sweetest goslings! How awe-inspiring that you were able to assist in their birth. Such a wonderful blessing, and at Easter, too! Happy Easter to you, Judy!

Deb said...

They are adorable, Kathy.

joanne said...

such a beautiful Easter, new life, post. Those little guys are adorable and now they are connected to you in a very special way. Life must be good out at Cedar Pond these days.
A few weeks ago I ordered some beautiful yarn from you to gift to my hubby's 91 year old, still going strong, aunt. I saw her yesterday and she could not stop talking about how beautifully wonderful this yarn is. She can't wait to show it to all of her knitting friends and tell them that I know you and how it was made. So, thank you so much. You made her day special which made mine special in return.

Deborah Montgomery said...

Oh yay!! I'm so happy that dear Ella and Fella have goslings, finally!! Oh Kathy, how wonderful that you knew how to help get those little goslings out of their shells! Just like you turned that little lamb around for a safe delivery.
It is very appropriate that they look upon you as their mama! You must be so thankful.
Blessings to you, Deborah

Sandra said...

Congrats on the success!
They are so cute :)

Judith @ Lavender Cottage said...

Exciting news of all your new babies, especially the goslings. Easter is the perfect time for birth and spring renewal, hope you had a nice celebration. All you need now is a little flute as your babies follow you around. ;-)

Connie said...

Your goslings are so sweet! They are so lucky to have you as their caretaker. Sounds like a busy time there with all the new life. So wonderful!

Butterfly 8)(8 Bungalow said...

Such a beautiful story and outcome. They are so cute. xoxo Su

Debbie said...

What a sweet and fluffy handful! Spring has come here too.

Debbie - Mountain Mama said...

Oh I just love this post!!! I've been catching up on my blogs today and was so happy to see this - congrats on all your new babies!!

Eggs In My Pocket said...

Such a sweet post. I just love your new fluffs!

Lori @ Our Life In The Pacific Northwest said...

Thank you for sharing your story and the adorable geese.... We are preparing for some new chicks here on our farm and I can hardly wait. Enjoy your new babies. ~Lori~

Lady Jane said...

Even though I am reading this story late it is so heartwarming. I love that you had new life everywhere, what a wonderful thing to happen at such a joyous time. Hugs, LJ

GretchenJoanna said...

I love those pictures of handfuls of goslings! Do you know why they had trouble breaking out? Is it a common phenomenon?