eggy @goose_girlie 2/29 12:00 pm
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NewsTranscript
00:00 He's my emotional support goose.
00:02 Eggie!
00:03 Whenever I'm feeling nervous, he comes right up to me.
00:06 He hangs out.
00:07 I'm Christina. This is Eggie's story for GeoGeeks.
00:12 Eggie likes to come and knock at the door at least once a day,
00:19 and he'll come inside.
00:21 Because he's playing the protector role for both husband and I,
00:23 he will stand on us.
00:24 Hi, Papa!
00:25 And he'll start nodding his head and sleeping a little bit and getting cozy.
00:30 Eggie is a once-in-a-lifetime goose.
00:32 He loves my husband.
00:34 He's just excited whenever he sees him.
00:36 He's so extra high!
00:38 Husband has been sick the last few days,
00:41 and yesterday Eggie just stood at the foot of the bed,
00:43 just hanging out and watching for him.
00:45 He even spreads his wings out and comes running towards him.
00:48 What a handsome guy!
00:50 He kind of looks at husband like he's his partner.
00:52 Geese, I think, can have attributes of goose and gander.
00:56 For instance, Eggie loves eggs, and he loves nests.
01:00 He built me a nest, kind of like, "Oh, you're my lady!"
01:03 Give me a damn goose kiss!
01:05 I call it our little love triangle because he doesn't mind if I'm your husband.
01:09 He doesn't mind being near me. He loves being your husband.
01:12 His mama was at the park where I work.
01:16 Spring two years ago, she was making a nest.
01:18 Making a nest.
01:20 And we had a history in the park of taking the goslings out once they were hatched
01:25 to make sure that they were safe from predators.
01:27 A lot of the geese, I would presume, that at some point they were dumped
01:30 because they are domestics.
01:32 We took mama and the nest to our house.
01:36 Look at him coming out!
01:38 Yes, your baby!
01:41 Eggie was the last of the babies to be born.
01:45 We were really worried about him.
01:47 It took him a while to break out of the eggshell,
01:50 and he actually had bits of the eggshell stuck to him for days after he hatched,
01:55 and so that's how we got the name Eggie.
01:57 So they were fostered for three months.
02:00 At that point, they were set to return to the park.
02:06 They stayed in the park system for about a year.
02:10 The mama was doing very well.
02:12 She was already prepping to build a nest.
02:14 Most of the geese in the park keep to themselves.
02:17 The thing that happened with these babies is they were very interactive.
02:20 They were kind of their own built-in gaggle,
02:22 and they were the largest built-in gaggle,
02:24 just because there were so many of them that ended up hatching.
02:27 Eggie! Eggie!
02:29 Hello, bubba!
02:30 They would cross busy roads.
02:32 It became very clear very quickly that the park wasn't the right setting for them.
02:37 Are you coming with me?
02:41 That's when we started talking about, with park management,
02:43 if we could end up being their forever home so they don't become targets.
02:46 I couldn't stand anything to happen to them.
02:49 So we were able to move them to this new property that we basically bought just for them in June 2023.
02:56 Hello, bubba!
03:06 Oh, hi!
03:07 Come on in, Eggie!
03:08 Eggie spends more time inside than the others.
03:11 I think a lot of people just think it's fun.
03:13 It's commitment.
03:15 [laughing]
03:16 I said I was responsible for them when they weren't doing well at the park.
03:19 Since they have been raised to be more wild and to just be more natural,
03:24 I'm cleaning up constantly.
03:25 You're a crazy boy.
03:26 I just would rather not stress him out.
03:28 So we have a lot of pads.
03:30 We'll set that down where he is.
03:32 We have three girl dogs that are very patient with our goose shenanigans.
03:41 He swears he's like the fiercest goose warrior.
03:44 He likes to show that he's a tough guy, but he's just a swootie.
03:47 Dogs will get jealous if he wants to hang out with husband,
03:53 but as long as he's kind of like in his own space, they will tolerate each other.
03:57 He just likes to be close to his people.
04:00 He prefers interactions.
04:06 He loves when you include him, and he'll be a part of any activity that you want to include him in.
04:11 I've had dogs and other animals, but something about the geese,
04:18 like when you have a goose, it's like they are your people.
04:21 He's an amazing little guy.
04:26 I can't help but look at him and just get that wow.
04:29 [Music]
04:35 And a bee. And a mutton.
04:38 [Music]