Canada Geese pair for life and usually have 5-8 young. One pair at a small pond in Brighton, Michigan, are raising 22 in what is called a “creche.” This happens in areas with large goose populations because, for the first 2-3 weeks, parents cannot recognize their own young. Goslings are unable to recognize their own parents for 5-6 weeks. Consequently, goslings end up in nearby broods parented by one adult pair who, apparently, never bother to count the kids in their care. Here’s a troop of 40 in England!
The geese are so abundant in Brighton they are a nuisance. My dad once told me that these geese are the only animals on the planet that can poop more than they eat! They are walking, honking poop machines. It makes for very green grass but the bacteria in their droppings is a concern. The public also feeds them so many stick around all year instead of migrating. In addition to this bunch, there are two other broods on this pond for a total of 40 goslings and seven adults.
[...] bring you larger versions, but clicking on the goose will show you it stands in the foreground of a creche of half-grown goslings whose eyes look like [...]
[...] they thought were siblings and the hen doesn’t know how to count so she accepted them. “Creching” is typical in Canada Geese. I think the behavior happens in mallards, too. In the Fertility [...]
[...] Another possibility is that another brood just joined the parade of ducklings. When they are young, ducklings don’t recognize their own parent nor do the parents recognize their own offspring so there’s room for unknowingly switching parents. Ducklings tend to follow other ducklings and since ducklings feed themselves, there’s no added stress to a hen by having a larger brood. In fact, there might be advantages in avoiding predators. There’s also some benign theft, I think. Some hens are diligent while others are quite happy to let their kids join other families so they aren’t tied to raising them. This is called “creching” or “brood amalgamation” and is more common among Canada geese than ducks as I mentioned last year. [...]
[...] Veterans and townsfolk gathered in downtown Brighton to honor those who had given their lives to protect our country. It was a solemn occasion and a wreath was laid at the millpond’s Veteran’s Memorial. By noon, the crowd had dispersed but another parade began without many pesky human present. A Canada Goose family arrived to beg from the few remaining people. “Creching” happens when there is an overabundance of ducks and geese. We have both, and I’ve explained the phenomena before. [...]
[...] Even though neither of these pictures show the fourth duckling, he’s part of the family. Ducklings as young as these can’t recognize their parent by sight or sound and they tend to follow any nearby duckling. That’s what #4 was doing when I took these shots. From what I’ve read, moms can’t recognize their own ducklings for a few days either. As a result, babies are sometimes lost or found and no one’s the wiser. It’s called “creching” and happens on ponds where there are many wildfowl families. It’s more typical with Canada Geese as I explained before. [...]
[...] Over the course of a couple of days there, Brood5‘s eleven abandoned ducklings wheedled their way into her heart or just followed her kids home. Now she has 14 in her extended family, an increase of almost 400%! It’s an example of creching. [...]