Chapter 428 Wild Geese
If it weren't for the sudden appearance of a pack of wolves last year, the two would have been forced to build a wooden fence so that the cattle and sheep could stay inside and graze in peace. Otherwise, according to the rules of previous years, the two would go to the meadow to check on the situation every time the weather warmed up after the New Year.
This year, Zhao Yeqing only drove past this place when he went to get gasoline. He rolled down the car window and took a quick look, but he had never been outside the pine forest or by the lake, where wolves loved to roam.
Mu Xi's idea was that the two of them should drive directly over there, drive around the area and see what the situation was before making any decisions. It would always be much safer in the car.
It was only a little after two in the afternoon. Zhao Yeqing nodded and said, "Okay, let's drive the pickup truck directly there. If it's safe, I'd also like to bring back some sandy loam."
The watermelons are not growing well. Last year, when they were planting them in the vegetable garden outside, the two of them brought back a cartload of sandy loam to improve the soil outside. This year, they were planted in the yard, and the soil was a bit sticky, which was not very suitable for their growth.
It's OK. Now there is a wooden fence outside. It's enough to leave two dogs at home to guard the house. Take two of them out to keep watch. If there is any danger, they can give an immediate warning. The lakeside is relatively open, there are not many plants, and the vision is good. It is not easy to be affected by the terrain and be attacked by animals.
The two of them didn't waste any time. They grabbed their tools, called their dog, got on the car seat, stepped on the accelerator and rushed out.
Maybe because there were a lot of carnivore activities last year, the meadow herbivores have become much more cautious this year, and it looks a bit like the original world. Unlike previous years when the carnivores were driven away, the herbivores are not threatened and there is almost no human activity nearby.
This resulted in frequent activities of animals such as deer on the meadow, and the meadow closest to the lake was almost eaten bare.
As we drove along, we saw some wild grass on the meadow that had been eaten, while others were lush and green, taller than the wheels of a pickup truck.
After walking around, I only saw a few deer in the distance. There were no skeletons of deer that had been hunted, and no signs of wolves.
Mu Xi relaxed his grip on the steering wheel a little and guessed, "Maybe they left. I haven't heard of any wolf packs that like to stay in places with Hui Nan Tian."
Zhao Yeqing was convinced. Even the wolves wouldn't stay in such horrible weather.
Finding nothing unusual, the two drove the car directly to the lake and stopped.
A group of sika deer were scared away, leaving a string of small deer hoof prints in the sand.
The two men spent an hour filling the truck bed and then sat by the lake to rest.
There were many animals moving around on the lake, including some unfamiliar birds, but a few that Zhao Yeqing recognized at a glance.
"The one with brown and gray is the wild goose, right?"
(Picture here)
Before Mu Xi could answer, Zhao Yeqing said with some surprise, "Of course it is. Last year, I said I wanted to get a wild goose to train. If you hadn't come here and saw me this time, I would have almost forgotten about it."
He stood up, pulled Mu Xi and ran towards the grass by the lake.
The egg-laying period of wild geese is between spring and summer. It’s not that Zhao Yeqing knows about wild geese, but most wild birds lay eggs at this time, including the wild ducks that have been domesticated and raised at home.
The two men searched around in the grass and found a few goose eggs without much effort.
Mu Xi was quite familiar with wild geese. There was a lake outside the nature reserve where he used to work that attracted wild geese to roost. Sometimes a few of the eggs would be taken away by official staff for artificial incubation.
He explained: "Geese lay an egg every few days after mating. The pair of geese you just saw on the lake were mating."
Zhao Yeqing picked up six eggs from the bushes, leaving two in there. Hearing this, he clicked his tongue twice, "On the water? Tsk tsk."
After that, he looked at the eggs in his hand, put two more back, and said, "The couple of geese have a good relationship, so leave two more for them."
The pair of geese still communicating intimately on the lake are definitely not the parents of this clutch of eggs. Geese live in groups, and there are many more geese swimming on the lake further away.
Zhao Yeqing felt a little guilty about taking the eggs, so Mu Xi took the eggs from her and comforted her, "Usually the female geese will incubate them. The ones in this nest are probably on a date. They have a good relationship and can reproduce. Each pair can give birth to more than a dozen a year. Don't worry, these four won't be a problem."
When looking for wild goose eggs just now, they also found a lot of wild duck eggs. There is no shortage of duck eggs at home now, so Zhao Yeqing didn't reach out to take any more.
After returning home, the duck eggs were placed in the duck nest and left to the mother duck to incubate.
Worried that the mother duck would not accept it, he rubbed the egg in the duck nest for several times before handing it to the mother duck. He left with peace of mind when he saw that the mother duck did not reject it.
Zhao Yeqing's original intention of raising all the livestock in the family was to eat meat, except for the wild geese. For her, wild geese are a necessity.
Geese are domesticated from wild geese. Even though there are wooden fences now, some longer snakes will still crawl in, and some that can't crawl in will drill holes in.
At this time, only the goose can stand in the front and drive out these uninvited guests.
Since the day Zhao Yeqing started incubating the eggs, he has been looking forward to the birth of the wild geese. Mu Xi said that the incubation period is generally more than 20 days.
Zhao Yeqing waited until the fifteenth day, when the wheat had turned yellow and was ready to be harvested, and finally saw the first goose cub.
It should be because goose eggs are laid one by one, the incubation time is also different, and the appearance of the eggs and the ducklings is also very different. Now is also the hatching time for the ducklings, and the goose chick is very conspicuous among the ducklings.
Mu Xi said: "This looks like a swan goose egg. The species of the young swan goose can be identified by its feather color. The feathers are brown all over, and there is a light yellow stripe from the top of the head to the back of the neck."
Newly born swan geese have bald fur like other chicken and duck chicks, but that is no longer the case after half a day. After another two days, their bodies are covered with fine, soft down.
If Zhao Yeqing wasn't worried that these straight-forward creatures wouldn't be able to control their physiological reactions, he really wanted to pick it up and rub it in the palm of his hand.
To successfully tame wild geese, you have to wait until they grow up a little, then cut their wing feathers with scissors so that they will not fly away in autumn.
The fish pond next to the grain field has also been fenced off, for fear that cattle and sheep would be greedy for the small grapes on it. After being transplanted back, the wild grapes have been cultivated artificially for such a long time, so they are fertilized before the fruiting period and are also taken care of on weekdays.
The fruits produced now are a size bigger than before, and their sweetness has increased, to the point of being cloying.
Now is not its fruit-bearing season yet. After spring, its vines will send out fresh green leaves and new stems, almost blocking out the sunlight from the fish pond below.
After the ducks and young swans at home entered the pond, they enjoyed the shade provided by the bottom and the coolness of the water, and closed their eyes comfortably on the water.
Then, Zhao Yeqing saw that the little swan's feathers had not yet fully grown, and he picked up a lively little fish from the water and swallowed it into his stomach.
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