Whacky Country Ranch Critters

I hate caging & penning our animal friends, so most of the time everyone mixes together & it is one big happy family. However, sometimes this species integration can result in some real confusion. We had a goose & a turkey that thought they were dogs & even joined in the doggie frisbee & soccer games, a duck that thought he was a goose, a bunny that thought he was a goat, and a rooster that thought he was Rambo. We have had chickens that hatched & raised baby geese & ducks, & dogs that raised anything you gave them - including kittens, squirrels, & even a baby mockingbird.

Currently we have a goose that thinks she's a duck, another goose that thinks he is a person, and a dog that let an orphan goat nurse on her & even started producing milk for "her" new baby.

Lest you think I'm spinning some tall tales here, I do have video to back up all of the above. Unfortunately, I don't have many pictures, but I'll post the few I have.

Here are two Momma Hens & their "webfooted" broods. Momma on the left is raising some goslings, & the Momma on the right has her hands (wings?) full with a large brood of mallard ducklings. Both Moms were very vocal when their charges would take to the pond for a refreshing bath, & would pace nervously on shore until their darlings returned to their side. The white hen would get so frantic that she would even wade out into the water, clucking & squawking at her "naughty children".

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The poor little chick below is a Frizzled Bantam, but she was born without the usual chick fuzz to keep her warm. Apparently her own mother rejected her & left her to die of the cold, because when I discovered her, she had taken refuge under a nearby setting turkey hen. Now, turkeys may not be the ugliest birds in the world, but they certainly have to be in the top 5. So, I guess that Momma Turk figured that the ugly naked chick bore at least a slight family resemblance & adopted her. The chick eventually got in enough feathers to look like a chicken, but she remained loyal to her Momma T & they lived happily ever after.

More pictures & stories to follow at a later date. Thanks for visiting my page. Sheri

*** indicates photos taken by Larry Lauszus. Visit his website at Photography by Larry.

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