A beautiful story that will open your eyes!

Choo feeding Bigg

FEEDING GEESE

By Choo Choo

Summer 2008

(I'm feeding Becky)

Canada geese will not remain in an area because you feed them and migrating geese migrate, duh!

Certain news articles and wildlife agencies "advise" us not to feed Canada geese. They claim that we will do them more harm than good. They also claim that feeding Canada geese will cause them to depend on us for food, causing them to lose the ability to forage and delaying their migration. Is this true?

Please CLICK HERE to read an Audubon article about feeding backyard birds. Although this article deals with feeding backyard birds, it also discusses whether feeding wild birds delay their migration and causes them to lose their ability to forage. Geese are wild birds and many people actually have them seek out their backyard bird feeders.

CANADA GEESE WILL NOT REMAIN IN AN AREA BECAUSE THEY'RE BEING FED

Geese migrate on their own terms and at their own chosen times. We have absolutely no control over their comings and goings. It is human arrogance to assume that we can control animals. Some well-fed geese migrate weeks before the others.  

WHEN YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY FEED GEESE

Northern winters are long and very harsh.  Sadly, every year, some geese and other waterfowl are unable to migrate due to age, injury or illness.  You should definitely feed these birds because there is no food out there for them and they will succumb to the cold if they're not fed.  It would be brutally unkind to let them starve out there if they cannot be captured or rescued.  When you're trying to rescue an injured goose, you have to feed them to get them up close enough to capture.  

DO YOU HAVE TO FEED GEESE?

No!  When there is plenty of grass and open water, there's plenty of the best food for geese and if you want to feed them, do so only sparingly.  If they're injured and you need to catch them, you will have to feed them to bring them close to you so they can be caught.  If they're stranded over the winter and cannot be caught, they must be fed.

 

SO WHY DO WILDLIFE AGENCIES PERSIST IN THIS MISLEADING PROPAGANDA?

Author Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson answers this question in The Pig Who Sang to the Moon: "What does it take to become everybody's favorite animal?" he asks. "You need to become acquainted up close."

The more you interact with Canada geese, the more you will discover how lovable and adorable they are, and their lives will become important to you. The less you know, the less important their lives.

In many cities across North America, wildlife agencies penalize the feeding of Canada geese while promoting and rewarding cruelty toward them (hunting, gassing, separating goslings from parents, butchering, etc.). Any logical and reasonable person should conclude that this is wrong.  

Once you get to know Canada geese, you will discover that they're more intelligent and emotional than most cats and dogs. They care about their mates. They care about their young. They grieve when they lose their mates and children, which means they understand the concept of death and loss. They value their life. They're loyal to their friends, man or geese. They have emotions: joy, sorrow, jealousy, love, anger, desire. They know fear and they can feel pain. They are gentle, responsive creatures who need and desire your love and kindness.

WHAT AND HOW SHOULD YOU FEED CANADA GEESE?

If you'd like to feed Canada geese, bring them some cracked corn. That is their favorite grain and you can purchase it from a feed store .  Do not place food on dirty ground or in the water.  Never feed geese and other waterfowl old moldy bread or anything that is moldy.  

 


A Goose with angel wing
 

 

RELATED ARTICLE: Should you Feed Geese in the Winter? By Lisa Tretiak