Can you tell me about this Gander behavior?

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NYRIR

NYRIR

Crowing
13 Years
May 13, 2010
3,080
34
326
Petersburg,NY
Ok,as some of you may know...I got 2 "Pilgrim" geese a while back from a guy who claimed to have "African Grey Toulouse" and "White Pilgrims".Of all the geese I saw on his property there were NO African geese at all and it looks like he had Pilgrims and Toulouse.They were supposed to be a male and a female that he gave me.However,they are both white with blue eyes and small spots of grey on them.I am beginning to think they are 2 males.Here is the behavior in question....at first both of them seemed to be acting as parents to the three young goslings I bought when I got them.All the geese went everywhere together throughout the yard.Slowly, the one I call Linus has "taken over " the goslings and Lucy (the one I thought was a female) now hangs out a lot alone. I have not seen them fight,only once in a while a nip.Now Lucy has some feathers that appear to have been "nipped" short on the base of her (?) neck at the top of her back. For now I have been housing the two adults together and the goslings separate at night due to space and letting them all free-range in the daytime.We just finished our turkey coop and are building a big goose house next.Since I just today noticed the feather issue I have the adults separate as well.There are still feathers there,it's not down to skin but almost.I think what is happening is that Linus(the more dominant and the one who took over the goslings) is biting Lucy at night and nipping feathers down to almost the skin.I checked Lucy over tonight for bugs but since the down is so thick I can't tell if she (?) has any or not.Tomorrow I am going to dust all the geese to be sure.My question is, If they were a male and female,wouldn't they get along better? Or hang out together?
Also, I have some ducklings that Lucy is almost obsessed with...when they are in the "playpen" she (?) will walk around the edge of it until she gets enough courage and flies into it.She(?) then looks to be charging at the ducklings?? But if my DD has the ducklings out...Lucy will try to charge her to get the ducklings?
I am so confused about their behavior...at first they were all best friends...now Lucy hangs out mostly around the duck pen and alone...
I am actually picking up a young pair of Toulouse tomorrow...should I see if Lucy will take them as hers/his (?)
Another note...Lucy is definitely more docile than Linus....hisses less and is easier to handle...that was one reason we thought she was a she??They are both supposed to be 2 years old....here is a pic of them all...

Linus has the "bump" and is in front, Lucy has her head down...this was when they hung around together more...

57454_6-23-11_005.jpg


Here is Lucy obsessing over the ducklings in their playpen...she hangs out here or around the big duck run...
57454_6-23-11_009.jpg


Are these geese not happy? Or are they just being geese? I am wondering if I should get rid of one of them...and if they are "true" Pilgrim geese...the guy stuck me with 4 males and one female
barnie.gif
Guess I should have known better,but I knew before we went to get them that Pilgrims were color sexed...when we got there all his geese were running together so I thought maybe they were crosses since he said one white one was a boy and one a girl.He was POSITIVE of the sexes!The goslings he sold me 2 are white with grey spots and one is grey. I am SOOO confused!

I want to be sure this behavior is not something I am causing....any advice is appreciated.
 
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Are these geese not happy? Or are they just being geese?

They're just being geese.

and if they are "true" Pilgrim geese...

They are not. They're also not Pilgrim Toulouse crosses. That "bump" you mentioned on Linus' head proves that without a shadow of a doubt. Neither Pilgrims nor Toulouses develop a knob.

My guess, just from what you've said is that what the guy said is in fact what he has. When he said "African Grey Toulouse" I suspect he meant "African Grey / Toulouse" or "African Grey x Toulouse". Both "African Grey" and "Toulouse" alone are breeds, he probably meant he had crosses of those two, but didn't communicate that in a way you understood.

Now, Lucy has no knob so (s)he could be pure Pilgrim if he was in fact running pure Pilgrims with African Grey / Toulouse crosses, but Linus is not. He has either African or Chinese heritage. Based on what you were told by the breeder, I would assume it's African heritage.

All this said, there is a very easy way to find out which sex they are: flip them over and take a look.
wink.png
Sit down in a chair, lay the goose with his/her head under one of your arms, his/her back on your knees. Separate the down around the vent and using your thumb and fore fingers gently, but firmly slide the vent open and slightly downward towards the goose's back. If it's a male the spiny white corkscrew shaped penis will be exposed. If it's a female there will be no penis, instead you'll see red/pink tissue.​
 
Quote:
They're just being geese.

and if they are "true" Pilgrim geese...

They are not. They're also not Pilgrim Toulouse crosses. That "bump" you mentioned on Linus' head proves that without a shadow of a doubt. Neither Pilgrims nor Toulouses develop a knob.

My guess, just from what you've said is that what the guy said is in fact what he has. When he said "African Grey Toulouse" I suspect he meant "African Grey / Toulouse" or "African Grey x Toulouse". Both "African Grey" and "Toulouse" alone are breeds, he probably meant he had crosses of those two, but didn't communicate that in a way you understood.

Now, Lucy has no knob so (s)he could be pure Pilgrim if he was in fact running pure Pilgrims with African Grey / Toulouse crosses, but Linus is not. He has either African or Chinese heritage. Based on what you were told by the breeder, I would assume it's African heritage.

All this said, there is a very easy way to find out which sex they are: flip them over and take a look.
wink.png
Sit down in a chair, lay the goose with his/her head under one of your arms, his/her back on your knees. Separate the down around the vent and using your thumb and fore fingers gently, but firmly slide the vent open and slightly downward towards the goose's back. If it's a male the spiny white corkscrew shaped penis will be exposed. If it's a female there will be no penis, instead you'll see red/pink tissue.​

Wouldn't an African/Toulouse cross be grey or brown? These guys are white with grey on the wings and rumps.
ETA: I would try vent sexing but I am very new to it and still awkward even with my ducklings
wink.png
Also, we are only keeping 4 geese...I got 2 Toulouse goslings today(supposed to be male and female),and if the goslings I have are Pilgrims...I will keep the one female and one of the males.
Here is a pic of them...This is why I think the goslings might be Pilgrim...here is one of the light ones...(I'm thinking male)
fl.gif


57454_gedc0516.jpg


And the Grey one....(I'm thinking Female)
fl.gif

57454_gedc0564.jpg



Here is a pic of the "Toulouse" pair I picked up today...they are so friendly :)They follow us everywhere...such a difference in the others that have copied the older geese...I don't think he was really social with them.

This is Cornelius and Chloey...Do they appear to be Toulouse? I hope so!!

57454_gedc0507.jpg


I am more confused about my geese than i have EVER been about my chickens!! These guys are tough to figure out...
 
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