A man who adopted two pet geese during lockdown has started taking them to his local pub wearing nappies. Sven Kirby, 34, is regularly spotted walking the birds, named Norbert and Beep Beep, around the streets of Leeds and the odd trio have now branched out into socialising in their local. The admin assistant hand-reared the birds from five days old after buying them for £40 each in June. He lets them have free rein of the house when he’s at home while he keeps them in a pen in the garden when he’s out.
Sven, who lives on his own, said: ‘I know a goose is a strange pet but it’s something different that I have wanted for a while. ‘I could have got a dog but as I work full time I didn’t think that was very fair, geese require much less attention.’ ‘I love the two of them, they’re brilliant characters and great fun to keep as pets.
Sven first got the idea of keeping geese a few years ago when he was in York visiting his then girlfriend and saw some waddling along the riverbank. He said: ‘My ex wasn’t too keen on the idea so when we broke up I decided it was my chance to finally do it.’ When lockdown hit, he did some research and found his nearest breeder was in Grantham, Lincolnshire, so set off on the 160 mile round trip. After parting with £80 he returned back to Leeds with the two male geese from the same clutch. Beep Beep was named after the sound the bird makes.
They are giant exhibition dewlap Toulouse geese which are often bred for foie gras, meaning they’re used to being handled and therefore generally docile. They can live for up to 40 years. Sven said the pair haven’t had any behavioural problems and have generally been easy to keep, as they don’t require much exercise and have a diet 80% made up of grass. However, they can’t be potty trained so he does have to put them in specially made goose nappies shipped in from America when they’re inside the house. Sven added: ‘They’re very happy and friendly animals, which makes them great to keep as pets.
‘I’ve hand raised them from five days old so they see me as their daddy, they follow me about everywhere and can sometimes be protective. ‘They are all talk though, they have a little honk at someone every now and then but it’s nothing to worry about.’ Sven works five days a week so generally puts Norbert and Beep Beep in the boot of his car to take out for walks on Friday evenings and weekends. He said: ‘We turn quite a lot of heads, everyone wants to stop and have a chat.
‘A short walk will usually take me about two hours because of all the people but I don’t mind, I quite like the attention to be honest. ‘When we went to the pub Norbert and Beep Beep just stood by my side as I drunk a pint, it was good fun and everyone there loved it.’ Unusually for geese, Norbert and Beep Beep aren’t too fond of water and will only go in if Sven joins them. He said: ‘I’m not sure how much swimming I’ll be doing over winter but I’ll do my best.’
Watch:
https://metro.co.uk/video/man-puts-pet-geese-nappies-takes-pub-2263232/?ito=vjs-link
Source: metro.co.uk
