Why do rural chicken farms keep a goose?

    Chickens are a common domestic fowl kept in rural households, especially in rural areas a few years ago, when almost every family raised chickens. Villagers often kept a goose alongside their chickens. Why is that?

    First, the yellow weasel, also known as the Siberian weasel, which villagers in the countryside call "pizi." Villagers who raise chickens hate this animal the most, because it frequently steals and eats chickens from villagers' homes.

    Legend has it that the Siberian weasel is a spiritual creature, also called "Huang Daxian." So no villager dares to hit or kill it. Everyone knows that geese are highly aggressive. A white goose can not only guard the home like a big yellow dog, but also actively attack unfamiliar people or other creatures. The Siberian weasel generally only dares to attack relatively small chickens or birds, and is rather afraid of larger birds. Geese are relatively large and quite fierce; when they see a Siberian weasel, they will peck at it with their beaks, and the goose's call also frightens the Siberian weasel. The goose is a natural enemy of the Siberian weasel, so keeping geese to guard against Siberian weasels is a fairly good method. This is the main reason villagers keep geese.

    Besides the Siberian weasel being afraid of geese, snakes are also afraid of geese. These two animals are not to be casually hit or killed in the countryside, but keeping a goose can both help farmers guard their homes and provide goose eggs to eat, achieving two goals at once. (Source: Meishi Zhangmen website)