The case in summary • Squeaky the gray goose was hatched in an oven by a family who had found a goose egg on a trip to the cabin. • The family contacted veterinarian and small farmer Lene Rasmussen when it became difficult to house the growing goose in the city. • Squeaky now lives a different life on Rasmussen’s farm together with sheep, horses and dogs. • Despite the fact that it has been an interesting journey, Rasmussen emphasizes that it is not legal or good for the animals to take eggs from wild birds in order to hatch them. • Researcher Arne Follestad in NINA says that a baby goose will be very affected by being raised by humans, and may have problems bonding with other geese. • Squeaky will spend the winter in the north, unlike other geese that have moved south. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. The geese have long since flown south, where the birds winter in Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands. The gray goose Squeaky has to spend the winter in Norway. He stays with his maternal grandmother on the farm in Rana. Winter is cold, but where there is room for the heart, there is room for the house. DRINKING WATER: Small and soft. Here Squeaky drinks water from a bowl. Photo: Privat Because together with sheep, horses, dogs and foster mother Lene Rasmussen, Squeaky has a slightly different life than most other geese. It all started when he was hatched in an ordinary oven. Not quite ideal, and actually strictly illegal, explains Rasmussen, who is also a veterinarian. Wanted to taste goose eggs We rewind to May this year. The vet says that it all started when a family on a cabin trip on Helgeland island Sleneset came across a nest on the shore with eggs. Veterinarian Rasmussen, who later took over as foster mother, tells the story on behalf of the family. The goose Squeaky out for a walk. Photo: Lars-Petter Kalkenberg / news – It was the smallest man in the family who wanted to taste goose eggs so badly, and took two eggs home. But they quickly found that it was too late in the year to use the eggs as food. It is basically legal to pick greylag goose eggs to use for food, but not after 15 April, according to the Norwegian Environment Agency. Veterinarian Lene Rasmussen Rasmussen further explains that the family thought it was wrong to release the eggs back into the wild, and had to think outside the box: – Then they found out that they wanted to try to incubate the eggs, put them in the oven, and succeeded in incubating them one hatched. Just hatching eggs is not unusual in itself, according to the vet. But she has not heard of the incubator being replaced by an oven before. She emphasizes: – You should not take eggs from wild animals to hatch them out. It is not legal, and it is also not good for the animals in question. This little guy doesn’t get to live the normal life he should have lived. Had to move to the farm This is how Squeaky’s life started. For the family who lived in the middle of the city, the greylag goose quickly grew large, and it became difficult to house the crab. – The family had heard from someone that I am a veterinarian with a small farm, and a great love for animals. They called to say they had the world’s weirdest question for me. And asked if I wanted to take over a young greylag goose, says Rasmussen. – I was very skeptical. I’m not enthusiastic about birds and animals in captivity, but then I saw a picture of the gosling and I was sold. Rasmussen says that raising a baby goose has been an interesting and fun experience. – He is very special, and now I am his mum. It’s a bit like Donald, she explains. The gray goose Squeaky was allowed to bathe in a plastic box early in his childhood. And after the bath it was good to rest a bit in the blanket. Inside this oven, the family hatched Squeaky. – That when the egg hatches, it is the first goose it sees that it thinks is the mother. And for Squeaky, humans became caregivers and parents. And then it is too late to release the cub back into the wild. Hope he finds a mate in the spring. It has gotten cold outside when news meets the greylag goose out in the courtyard. The rest of the family have probably landed in warmer regions a long time ago. Squeaky waddles around between dogs, horses and sheep, and Rasmussen says he thinks he’s part of the herd. She thinks about it: – Or, he is now. But he is most attached to people. I’m the one he’d rather be with. Greylag goose Greylag goose is a species of bird in the duck family. It is a large and heavy goose that today nests along the entire Norwegian coast, in southern Norway also at nutrient-rich lakes in the lowlands. Greylag geese are widespread from Iceland and Scotland, and further through large parts of northern Europe and Russia to the Pacific Ocean in the east. In Norway, it now breeds along the entire coastline from Østfold to Finnmark. However, it is most numerous in Møre and Romsdal, Trøndelag and Nordland. In southern Norway, it has gradually also begun to breed at nutrient-rich lakes in the lowlands. Grågåsa has in recent years also established itself in a number of new places around the Oslofjord. Source: Store norske lexikon The goal is for Squeaky to be put out when spring comes. Rasmussen hopes that he will eventually find a mate. – They are incredibly nice animals. But don’t do this at home. It’s actually not legal, and it’s not good for the animals either. It would have been best if he had a normal goose life. WALKS FREE: Today Squeaky is four months old, and waddles freely around the courtyard in Rana. Photo: Lars-Petter Kalkenberg / news Never heard of before Researcher Arne Follestad at NINA says that this is an unusual story, and exactly this with the oven he has never heard of before. Arne Follestad – Raising goslings in this way is probably not practiced that much today, but I know that this was something that happened in the past. But I have never heard of an oven being used as an incubator. BACK TO THE FREEDOM: Although the two have developed a close relationship, Rasmussen says that Squeaky will one day have to find his own pack Photo: Lars-Petter Kalkenberg / news Follestad does not rule out that there will be a “happy ending” in the story about Squeaky, but says that a baby goose will be very affected by being raised by humans. – The problem with geese hatching in captivity is that they are characterized by the first friendly creature they meet, which in this case is a human. As a result, it will probably have problems connecting with other geese, although I do not rule it out completely. Published 06.10.2024, at 08.46
ttn-69
Live goose chick hatched in the oven – Strictly illegal says researcher and veterinarian – news Nordland
