Sebastopol geese - selecting breeding stock, color genetics, and color improvement

[poultry09]

Please do post pictures of her too. It could be the angle, but his head appears flat in the pictures you shared. You will want to breed away from that for a more rounded head.
Here is McGraw, he is a DH gander and has a rounder head, but not as round as others.

I like the picture below for showing head shapes. Notice the grey on the far right and her flat top head.

Ok I see what you mean, I will go out and take a couple head shots of him and and some photos of her, thanks

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

Welcome, here is a white with a round head Stink eye just for fun

 

[Cottage Rose]

poultry09...I think your gander is above average quality and would certainly be worthy to use for breeding.

 

[EmAbTo48]

These are the same pair in all the pictures. What do you think?





These are my gray splash which I am not even sure if they are female or male they are 4 months in this picture. They are now 5 months and I think they are both males with their behaviors, they also are getting a lot more curl and a lot more grey... Will have to take another picture of them.

 

[WaterFowl209]

These are such beautiful geese

 

[Cottage Rose]

One thing that makes this all quite difficult, especially since there is no definitive guide for Sebastopol color genetics is everybody trying to be on the same page regarding true terms for any given color aside from the obvious whites.
I have seen this in Muscovy Ducks (guilty myself for calling blue fawns, lilac's a nickname picked up from my friend Rusty Hart)
and Ameraucana Chickens (forever explaining the diff between blue, self blue, lilac/no such color in the breed, lavender - OYE!

)
and no doubt other breeds of poultry and waterfowl as well where there is the multitude of nicknames or incorrect names for colors such as lavender, lilac, cream, or whatever.
What about made up names like Lavender Ice and Powder Blue?
These are not true genetic terms. So needless to say is can be confusing.

 

[poultry09]

poultry09...I think your gander is above average quality and would certainly be worthy to use for breeding.

Ok thanks, Not bad for being a rescue gander that someone dumped at the local lake

Here are some more pictures for you all, please let me know what you think! Please excuse the mess in the backgrounds, I havent cleaned the outside run for a couple days.

Em Ab to48, beautiful looking sebbies!

Here is my smooth breasted white goose








My lavender goose, would she be considered smooth or currly?









HAHAHA she didnt like the chicken running by her



My currly grey goose

 

[DaveK]

It is true that lack of uniform terminology can be confusing. This is especially true when dealing with both sides of the pond as often the same visual expression/genetics are called by two or more different names They have a name and we have a name and when writing but not dealing with clear photos confusion sometimes reigns. Different terminology applied to the same color in different breeds doesn't help matters either. I'm not sure what Dave Holderread was to have called the colors in this breed that he developed. After all, he has been described as the premier breeder and in theory could call them whatever he wished. He did have a bird labeled as lavender ice when his website first came out and some of the lavenders were first being offered to the public. That was I think in 2007 and while Dave is infamous for not updating large parts of his site the descriptive term lavender ice has not been used in years. I can't see that we need to keep worrying about it. I am not at all sure what is meant by "true genetic terms". Powder blue is being called a made up term and in essence it is. He made the color and called it something descriptive that also indicates that we are dealing with something different than any of the various shades of blue. The name may be made up and would sort of have to be since the color and the genetic pattern that produces it did not exist ten years ago in the Sebastopol breed. Again, I do not understand what is wanted by a "true genetic term". I think most of us would rather deal with a name that we all understand to represent a certain visual effect/genetic pattern rather than have them labeled in some scientific and technical way. And what is scientific. New strains of gut bacteria are named after the people who discover them.

Whatever their originator may be calling them I think we can all agree that the lavenders and the powder blues are both beautiful colors in themselves and a very welcome addition to the various colors that the Sebastopol breeders have to work with. They are also true colors in the sense that they each have a distinct genetic "code" if you will and if the genetics are understood it is possible to put birds together in a way that reproduces the color. I mean more than just pairing two birds that are the same but knowing how the colors are passed along and what you can "mess with" in breeding for a better bird and not just the desired color each generation. Some of these newer colors, like the powder blues, are just beautiful. When skillful breeding has them as part of a high quality Sebastopol overall they become absolutely jaw dropping.

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

Poultry, your goose reminds me of McGraws coloring and you gander is similar to Lucy's coloring. Would love to pair these two, however Lucy tried to kill McGraw (grabbed his neck and then stood on him) and hisses at him something nasty so that is a no go.


Lucy a Holderreads grey goose (2010 hatch)






McGraw a Holderreads grey gander (2010 hatch - purchased with Peaches from Vicki <cottagerose>)

 

[poultry09]

Poultry, your goose reminds me of McGraws coloring and you gander is similar to Lucy's coloring. Would love to pair these two, however Lucy tried to kill McGraw (grabbed his neck and then stood on him) and hisses at him something nasty so that is a no go.


Lucy a Holderreads grey goose (2010 hatch)






McGraw a Holderreads grey gander (2010 hatch - purchased with Peaches from Vicki <cottagerose>)

Celtic they are beautiful! So do you think my grey goose and gander would be good to pair up next breeding season?

Anyone elce have an opinion on my geese?