Goosey Goosey Gander, why can't you wander?

Bluebell's weighty dilemma

 I WAS in New Zealand when hubby called, clearly distraught, and said one of our geese was paralysed and unable to move ... it was Bluebell.
 The news horrified me on several different levels. First, I wondered what had happened that she had  become immobilised overnight and secondly how would I break the news to her previous owner who had already nursed Bluebell back to life from the brink of death.

SITTING DUCK! Bluebell in the background being guarded by

Jack & Vera, her companions.

 Bluebell is a Swedish goose and was part of a rare flock raised by a close friend of mine in the Scottish Borders. She sold the flock keeping back Queenie who had won first prize at The Highland Show for her outstanding features and she also retained Bluebell who had been savaged by a bunch of wild mink, a medium-sized member of the weasel family feralised from fur-farm stock in the 1950s.
 Bluebell was given round-the-clock care by my friend and after months of intensive nursing and love she survived the attack despite horrific internal injuries during the mauling. She is what you would call a walking miracle.
 My friend had to move away last year and so I agreed to foster both Queenie and Bluebell. Sadly a badger took Queenie who was sitting on a clutch of eggs in Spring 2013 and I was only able to break the news to my friend on her return to the Borders a few months ago. We were all very sad.
 How could I now tell her that Queenie was paralysed? Hubby said she wasn't in any kind of distress and so he continued to lift her out of her goose hut every morning putting her back on an evening until I returned home.
 She spent her days sitting in the safety of the courtyard because, unable to move, she was a sitting target for the unbiquitous fox who ripped through my henhouse with a savagery that still haunts.
 I decided against calling the vet in case the only option was to have her destroyed and so I phoned my friend and explained the situation. I told her Bluebell wasn't in any discomfort, hadn't lost her healthy appetitie and Jack & Vera, her companions, were guarding her as she would be vulnerable to a passing fox (and we all know about him, don't we?)

BEST FOOT FORWARD: A slimline Bluebell

back on her feet 

 She came over and after she was thoroughly checked over my friend turned around laughing and said: "She's not paralysed. She's too fat to walk. She has been over-eating and I've seen it in this breed before because they can easily put on weight and their legs just give way."

WHEELY TRIM: New look

 Still not entirely convinced, Bluebell was put on a diet along with Jack and Vera, who also seemed very heavy. Within two weeks Bluebell was back on her feet and seems none the worse for her experience.
 I've been feeding the geese a mixture of corn and layers mash and he-who-should-be-obeyed-but-rarely-is has stopped throwing them tasty tid bits.
Now the geese get a handful of corn and have to fend for
themselves the rest of the day which is why my lawn is looking nice and trim.
After a fairly miserable few months thanks to the antics of
the fox, at last a happy ending.