The golden goose

Geese can hiss and flap and appear very frightening, but there is more to them than bluff and bravado. In fact, these intelligent birds can be invaluable on a rural property. You may be allowed to keep them in peri-urban areas but their loud honking and shrieking preclude an urban existence.

Flocks of geese were a common sight in the past. They were used for controlling grass in orchards and largely fed themselves, spending nights on the dam for safety. Changes in agriculture and the availability of ride-on mowers have made geese superfluous, with the result that