The Geese

These are a mated pair of our Pilgrim geese, her name is Flor his is, Ethelred the Unready. He was definitely not ready, he picked fights and always lost, was socially a misfit, and yet he managed to attract the only female. It always seems to work that way doesn't it? He has now matured, knows how to court a female, and has attracted two other wives, though he still prefers Flor.

Our flock is probably not purebred, down here geese are geese, but our latest hatchlings seem to be more color true than before. Pilgrim geese have a sex-link color gene, the males are predominantly white possibly with some grey, have slender long graceful necks and the appropriate equipment. The females are a beautiful soft grey and their necks are shorter and thicker. Pilgrims are the only true recognized breed of American domestic geese. They mate for life and pine should their mate die. They are protective, intelligent, and long-lived. Their favorite time for mating is Christmas and Valentines Day during the cool winter. They grow to size maturity in 3-4 months but sexual maturity comes much later. We do not like them to breed much before 8 months, even then their eggs often fail to produce. We have a large-ish deep goose pond for floating and breeding, as they do not breed well on land. We love our geese and they serve as the guardians of the corral, letting us know when an intruder is present. When our Solitary eagles soar overhead they run for cover, hissing and honking their warnings. Goose is not a bird eaten often in Mexico, we hope to change that in the future.

The Turkeys

We raise and breed both Bronze and Mexican Black turkeys. The Mexican Blacks are the original turkeys of the Americas, brought back to Europe by the Spanish. This is Chester our Bronze tom, he limps at bit from rickets and bad early nutrition. His mate, Miss Kitty apparently sat on her eggs until starvation made her eat them. When we bought her her breast bone stuck out like the keel on a ship.

Bronze turkeys are rare in North America, there are less than 10,000, we found Chester and our other turkeys by driving for 7 days on the Purhepecha mesita, stopping at every tiny pueblo and asking around for birds. The Bronze and Black turkeys are still physically able to breed and raise their young. The supermarket giant-breasted white bird is so disproportionate and mishapen from selective breeding to produce heavy-breasted over-sized birds that they are incapable of breeding and in some cases walking properly. Our birds are fed a rich diet of fresh greens, native corn, and mixed grains, all high in protein. They live outdoors and breed naturally hatching their own eggs in open but protected nests. They are athletic birds and are easily able to hop onto the barn roof, making it necessary to clip their flight feathers. The females are protective mothers who hiss if threatened. The males are more interested in strutting their stuff. The flesh of our birds though not dis-proportionately abundant is full flavored and tender.

The Sheep

We keep and breed rare Pelibuey hair-sheep. They are a wool-less sheep brought from West Africa by the Spanish who introduced them into Cuba and from there the Yucatan. There are less than 10,000 of these sheep left, yet they are the most common sheep found here. They are a small breed with a good temperment and are somewhat resistant to parasites which makes them perfect for warm climates.

This is Mathilda with her daughter Coco, born that morning. When we purchased the first ewes, Mathilda was among them, they were underweight, pregnant, and sporting badly over-grown hooves. Coco has now matured and through diligent feeding with protein rich grains and alfalfa has grown 10% larger in stature than her parent and is now ready for breeding.

Sheep in Mexico are grazed on marginal ground, pasture is not managed, nor are they grained before insemination or during pregnancy. This lack of protein in their feed leads to smaller birth weight, lower rates of twinning, and stringy tough meat. Mexicans usually eat mutton or lamb slow-cooked in a stew or oven. They like their meat lean and the long cooking helps to break down the fibrous muscle tissue. When we bring our lambs into the butcher they often complain they are too fat and we should let them mature and lean out. We have explained and demonstrated that our meat is very tender, requiring shorter cooking time, less fuel, and less preparation. We are slowly winning over converts. One of our ewes recently gave birth to triplets giving credence to our feeding methods. We are also championing the trimming of hooves which is not practiced here. This over-growth of hoof can lead to hoof rot during the monsoon season, injury during mating, and lameness in the animal. The first time we rented a ram to breed our ewes he arrived with 2 1/2 inch long, horned projectiles on each of his feet. We had quite a struggle to wrestle him down and trim his hooves before letting him near the ewes. We try to schedule lambing during the times of year when our pastures are abundant and temperatures are milder.

The Burros

We keep a small herd of Mexican burros for riding and working. Surprisingly the Mexican burro is in danger of disappearing, they are a poor man's transportation and are fast being replaced by decrepit trucks which have none of the benefits of the humble burro, but the questionable prestige of the "modern middle class". The unused burros are often turned into the streets, left to fend for themselves usually to die struck by a car on a dark night. We believe the burro to be one of the most valuable assets for a farm. They are intelligent, their gate at a trot is smooth like a Passofino horse, they consume only 30 bales of hay per year, they do not require shoeing, they are pound for pound stronger than a horse our stallion holds 300 pounds easily but stands only 40 inches at the shoulder, they require less water which is important in a country with water issues, and they produce valuable nitrogen-rich manure. We try to find good homes for our rescues and try to remind the campesinos of their many virtues by using them to drag, seed, fertilize, and ride on our farm.

This is Angela our first rescue, 6 months later on the morning her son Lightnin was born. We nicknamed him "the little nipper" as we found that mothers and babies communicate and show affection by nips to the nape of the neck, or to your hands, backside, or new shirt if they want attention. We quickly learned not to ignore him or turn our back. Lightnin grew out of the nipping by his 5th month with our use of gentle but persistent redirection, he is still affectionate and loves a kiss on the nose. Angela is now pregnant with her third foal, due in September 07.