What the Flock

I have another story to share, this one about impulsivity, not great planning skills, and stubbornness.

About a month ago we bought some chickens. We got them as started pullets. We have a small flock of four. They are doing well. It’s been fun for us all watching their behavior and waiting as they get big enough to start laying.

Enjoying it so much and being concerned about predators, John landed upon getting a guard goose. Apparently, a goose or two make incredible mates (friends) and alert systems/protectors of the chickens. Geese have attitude and will honk a great deal, make themselves as big as possible, and charge anything they think of as a threat including hawks. We have a nested pair in a large pine next to our house so this is a concern. As long as we hand raise goslings, they should accept us as their own and be more affectionate with us. At the minimum, they should not treat us as predators and come charging us, most of the time. Ha!

So, John had been discussing this with me…the prospect of getting a goose. We’d decided upon it but had also decided to hold off until we could spend this summer getting a larger coop setup and get a year of chicken ownership under our belts. We were also having a hard time finding geese to buy. Then, late one night, a couple of weeks ago, after John had partaken in his evening dose of medical marijuana, he was laying down in our bedroom and found a site that was selling day old goslings. They’d ship within 48-hours of purchase. I was in our en suite getting ready for bed and having this conversation with him about if we should get them, when they’d arrive, if this worked with our plans, and the logistics of getting geared up for brooding baby geese. While I was strongly leaning toward saying yes, we had not yet done so. I was still saying something about the pros and cons when I came around into the bedroom and he said, “I just bought them.” I didn’t get upset but was kind of flabbergasted at the turn of events. It quickly turned into questions of when do they get here, what do we need to do to get ready, what will we do when we are on vacation for four days (which would have been only a few days after their arrival). He assured me he’d take care of it and it would work out. (Well, it always does work out, doesn’t it, but getting there is the issue.)

They were to arrive on a Wednesday. When we hadn’t received a shipping confirmation or the goslings, we called and learned that Tractor Supply, where we purchased them, had no record of the order. John got home that night and ordered two more goslings from a different company, to arrive in mid-June. This time that decision was still impulsive but better thought through because there were only two and the type we both preferred having, unlike the order of ten. We thought that was that. Yet, when I asked John if he had received a confirmation that the Tractor Supply order had been cancelled he said no. I didn’t press the matter but I suppose he pondered that overnight and the next morning, called the breeder who was working with Tractor Supply. They informed John that they had his order and the ten goslings had not shipped yet because they hadn’t yet hatched and they wouldn’t ship until a couple of weeks later. We attempted to cancel the order but couldn’t due to an administrative error between the companies.

So, we now have 12 goslings coming!! We can’t possibly have 12 so we plan to sell or eat all but two.

This situation may have happened to anyone but I think we find ourselves in it due to John’s lack of executive functioning skills — impulsive purchases, impatience, and stubbornness at making something happen when sitting back and waiting for a moment would have been the better choice. He ended up spending a lot more than he would have if he’d have waited. And, now, he’s complaining of feeling overwhelmed and he’s nearly symptomatic again because of all the things he’s juggling (things other than the goslings that he has initiated in the past two weeks.)

I think this is a perfect example of my flexibility and roll with it sort of attitude. It comes in handy in these situations. Yet, I wish I could look at him when he complains of being exhausted and overwhelmed and frustrated at not being able to find the time to do his chores (such as organizing the garage, which has been a couple of year pending thing) and say, “Well, could you hold off making any more purchases that create more work for us and more clutter until you get that other stuff done?”

His current conundrum is totally self-created. And, one that I am having to help juggle to keep everything afloat.