The gander in the toboggan 'pool' is trying to mate with a Saxony duck, but she is not having any part of it. It is true that the males of the poultry world are not fussy when it comes to birds. The gander has two wives, but he tries to mate with the ducks on a pretty regular basis. One of the bantam roosters has taken a fancy to Suzy, a pretty Muscovy duck and he regularly mates her. The drakes mate frequently with any and every duck, except the Muscovies, who tend to prefer their husband and no other will do. The main gander will knock off any other bird who tries to breed what he considers his ladies and a fight often ensues, but not a very dangerous one. Last year, he was the runt and was badly beaten up by the Embden geese, both the females and males, so he learned to keep his distance. Now with those geese gone, he is top man around here. He is a gentle goose though, but has chased the dogs. Robbie and Jade both have pursued him in return and bitten a few of his tail feathers, though he does not bother me. The Rouen drake and the two Khaki Campbell drakes,one being a white Campbell, take care of the ducks, about thirteen of them between the two drakes. The Saxony and the Ancona drakes died in the terribly cold winter and hopefully, replacements will be found. There are some bantam Appleyard ducklings ordered and a pair of the beautiful Sebastopol geese, plus a trio of adult Merriam turkeys and a gander and 5 cross geese. The geese are easy to raise and feed themselves during the summer, plus hatch their little ones and raise them on their own. A goose in the freezer is worth $50 if some buyer is so inclined and that is the best for the money of all the critters here. In the meantime, those males are sure busy!
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