Introducing the new geese

I hatched some goose eggs earlier this spring, and the new geese are ready to be introduced to the existing goose flock. Both sides are a little tentative, but the existing goose flock is pretty sure that these guys need to be picked on a little. So there's some neck posturing and vocals.

The new geese have been living in a calf dome inside the range of the older geese, and they've had a chance to look at each other for a couple of days now. I watch them carefully for a couple of hours to make sure that there's no blood. Some feather pulling is expected, and there's a pecking order to establish -- the new geese go straight to the bottom of the flock, and each older goose has to prove it to them and to itself.