I finally had some time yesterday where I spent some extra time playing with my 2010 Sebastopol goslings andIndian Runner Ducklings. It extremely difficult to get good photos of my goslings because they're so tame and want to be on top of me all the time.
So I have to walk backward quickly while they chase me.
They're like a pack of puppy dogs.

Here they are coming after me...
(make airplane sound while viewing)

Here they are looking for bugs & greens.
The Runners were gobbling down the Rose Chafers like crazy!
Yeah!
The goslings are vegan snobs...no bugs for them.
Rose bush is Apple Jack.

Here's a close up of the Runners at 3 weeks old.
They are a new addition to my farm
and known to be excellent bug controllers.
They are very odd looking, slender and up right and shaped like a bowling pin.

Vicky, these have got to be some of the most precious photos I've ever seen posted among our online community. I've always loved the pictures of your stunningly feathered mature Sebastopol geese, but these juveniles gave me the giggles (or was that gaggles?) as I tried to make airplane take-off sounds while viewing them. So very sweet. I hope you'll post more. They just bring a totally different element to rose gardening!

I agree!

Thanks Mike & Steve.
Glad you enjoyed seeing the babies.
They sure are fun garden partners!

This is what the Runner Ducks look like as adults

Oh, CR, these are so adorable. They're like puppies or kittens, chasing you around. And that photo of them near Apple Jack is so idyllic. Your garden must be a really joyful place for you right now.

More photos, please!

Love these shots!!
Can I have a Sebastopol goose when I move to Sebastopol?

They don't eat your roses? I'd been wanting to get a chicken or two, but I'd be afraid of them eating my roses and other flowers.

Chicken will not eat your roses, but they will scratch up your flower beds and if scratching around young plants can dig them up or expose the roots.
They mainly go for the bugs. Ducks too but no scratching although they like to drill holes in the soil anywhere its wet to sift thru the dirt for goodies.

I am glad that you posted information about ducks. With sheep to eat the grass and ducks to get the bugs, you could spend more time gardening!

Tiffany would LOVE some pet ducks to chase. She likes to take a walk by the river (always on a lead) and make the ducks and geese fly! She isn't fast enough to catch them (and I wouldn't let her if she could). Do runner ducks fly? I guess not, otherwise they would be flier ducks. (Not to be confused with fryer chickens.)

LOL
I don't think Runners fly.
Not sure who Tiffany is but I know that ducks do not like to be chased and frightened.

Tiffany is my Westie. The geese and ducks, mostly Canadian geese, are wild ones near the river. People in the town complain about the droppings, etc. They stay along the river and don't bother people's yards, unless people put in large ponds. Tiff is always on a lead, so she just gives them a woof if we walk that way. We don't walk there very often. If they are bothered, they can float down the river to the next town. The bears, feral cats, unruly tourists and occasional wolf are surely bigger threats. I don't have room or permission to raise ducks, but I wouldn't anyway. I refrain from raising natural predators in close quarters. I have enough stress as it is.

Oh sorry...it sounded like you were going to get ducks for your dog to chase.

You must have been horrified at the idea of using ducks as dog toys, CR. I've found that different species coexist beautifully once they're used to each other. After an initial period of confusion, my cats were always very nice to the chickens and guinea pigs in my garden. I don't have chickens or guinea pigs out there anymore, but the cats never bothered them as much as the neighbors did. One horrible former neighbor strangled my rooster for crowing in the morning.

Guinea Pigs running free in the garden? How cool! My chickens and cats coexist in peace. Years ago one feral cat was stealthily stalking a hen when the rest of the hens saw him and rushed over in curiosity. The horrified cat fled and there has never been a confrontation since.

My son and I felt so sorry for the guinea pigs when we'd see them in cages in the pet shop that we'd buy them and let them run free in the garden. They're sort of like fish in their ability to grow to the size of the container, I think. These would get to be the size of a small cat and they always came running when they heard it was feeding time. They were good pets.

I love Guinea Pigs!
Here's some pics from today.
Molineaux (sp?) is new for me.
It just GLOWS!
Love it!

Kitchen window box flowers: Supertunias, Lobelia and Verbena