Calico Geese ..?

[Snakedoc]

I picked these guys up a few weeks ago. I have really enjoyed them so far. They're a lot of fun to watch, and they make the most spectacular noises ...

The previous owner thought they were "splash" Chinese, and she thought it was a very rare color for the breed. She was hoping to see the color developed and teased out further, and I'd love to do so ... But I'm still in the research phase of the project.

The rest of the flock that she had were white and brown. I had to do a lot of digging to find anything that looks even a bit like them, but I finally found this:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/600788/painted-geese/

That thread suggests that they are all males, and indeed, these two do both seem to be ganders. (I think -- I'm new to the breed, but they definitely conform to the descriptions I've read of male stance and sound effects.) However, it (the above thread) offers conflicting information about the genetics of the pattern.

Can anyone offer any insight into these guys? My plan was to look for some nice quality Chinese geese (female) to pair up with them ... Maybe one of each color (white and brown). Does that sound logical, or am I chasing a pipe dream that they are even pure swan geese? The above thread seems to suggest they may just be the result of hybridization, and I never did think they looked very type-y even before I bought them ....

Thanks everyone!

(One of the two is a lot more "splashed" than the other, but the other is also spotted. Also, the "spalshy" one is a lot bolder, more photogenic, and seems to be the leader, so I thought I had a sexed pair at first, but I *think* the other is just a timid gander.)

 

[Poultrybonkers]

I picked these guys up a few weeks ago. I have really enjoyed them so far. They're a lot of fun to watch, and they make the most spectacular noises ... The previous owner thought they were "splash" Chinese, and she thought it was a very rare color for the breed. She was hoping to see the color developed and teased out further, and I'd love to do so ... But I'm still in the research phase of the project. The rest of the flock that she had were white and brown. I had to do a lot of digging to find anything that looks even a bit like them, but I finally found this: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/600788/painted-geese/ That thread suggests that they are all males, and indeed, these two do both seem to be ganders. (I think -- I'm new to the breed, but they definitely conform to the descriptions I've read of male stance and sound effects.) However, it (the above thread) offers conflicting information about the genetics of the pattern. Can anyone offer any insight into these guys? My plan was to look for some nice quality Chinese geese (female) to pair up with them ... Maybe one of each color (white and brown). Does that sound logical, or am I chasing a pipe dream that they are even pure swan geese? The above thread seems to suggest they may just be the result of hybridization, and I never did think they looked very type-y even before I bought them .... Thanks everyone! (One of the two is a lot more "splashed" than the other, but the other is also spotted. Also, the "spalshy" one is a lot bolder, more photogenic, and seems to be the leader, so I thought I had a sexed pair at first, but I *think* the other is just a timid gander.)

They look like chinese mixes unless painted is aimed towards spotted mixes.

 

[Snakedoc]

They look like chinese mixes unless painted is aimed towards spotted mixes.

Pandapaws, I appreciate the feedback -- I was beginning to think they could be mixes after reading the other thread.

Could you please clarify what you mean about them being painted or spotted? I'm afraid I really don't understand you there, sorry.

Thanks!!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Pandapaws, I appreciate the feedback -- I was beginning to think they could be mixes after reading the other thread.

Could you please clarify what you mean about them being painted or spotted? I'm afraid I really don't understand you there, sorry.

Thanks!!

Look for 8geeselayings Chinese geese pics she has some that look like your I believe.

 

[8GeeseALaying]

Hi! Sorry it took so long to come here to this thread.
First off very nice looking geese! To me they look like chinese. Brown chinese crossed with white chinese is still Pure chinese just a color mix. No matter how much its mixed back and forth they are still pure However i need a few answers...

Do you know how old they are?
Are they honking yet? Which one sounds more high pitched or shrieking?
Were these the only geese the woman had?

I have Pied Chinese first generation. I am aiming for the color you have. I had 2 goslings that i thought should have looked that way one was smashed in the nest and one never made it from the egg. Depending on the combination of the cross, from what im told, determins the gender.
Brown gander x white goose= pied, splash or the rare dilute ganders and white females
White Gander x Brown Goose= White Ganders and pied etc, females
I had two very knowledgeable members explain this to me when mine hatched.
I have 5 pied chinese and 1 pied chinese x roman tufted, i think 3 are ganders and 2 are females. They are only 2 1/2 & 3 1/2 mos old though.

For my guess based on the pics, the one in the first pic on the right looks like a gander and the second pic looks like a goose(female)
Id almost be willing to bet on them.

 

[Snakedoc]

Hi! Sorry it took so long to come here to this thread.
First off very nice looking geese! To me they look like chinese. Brown chinese crossed with white chinese is still Pure chinese just a color mix. No matter how much its mixed back and forth they are still pure However i need a few answers...

Do you know how old they are?
Are they honking yet? Which one sounds more high pitched or shrieking?
Were these the only geese the woman had?

I have Pied Chinese first generation. I am aiming for the color you have. I had 2 goslings that i thought should have looked that way one was smashed in the nest and one never made it from the egg. Depending on the combination of the cross, from what im told, determins the gender.
Brown gander x white goose= pied, splash or the rare dilute ganders and white females
White Gander x Brown Goose= White Ganders and pied etc, females
I had two very knowledgeable members explain this to me when mine hatched.
I have 5 pied chinese and 1 pied chinese x roman tufted, i think 3 are ganders and 2 are females. They are only 2 1/2 & 3 1/2 mos old though.

For my guess based on the pics, the one in the first pic on the right looks like a gander and the second pic looks like a goose(female)
Id almost be willing to bet on them.

Hi 8Geese,


Thank you so much for replying so thoroughly! I am pleased to hear that they look pure to you. They definitely looked it to me, but when I started trying to find info on this color, I got discouraged that they might be crosses. Their bodies look Chinese, to me (moreso than in the pictures I posted -- those make them look chunkier than they do in reality) but their knobs are not as extreme as some of the Chinese I've seen in photos.

I don't know how old they are -- unfortunately, the woman I got them from did not know either -- but they are honking quite a bit. The one that is the "splashier" one in the 2nd and 3rd pictures makes the most noise, a very high-pitched "SKREE-ONK" when he is alarmed, and is also almost always in front while the other hangs back. That first picture is one of his rare moments of "bowing" -- usually he has his head up, and appears very dominant. Based on their behavior, I had assumed that he is definitely a gander, and it was the other one that I was questioning. But, they both do walk around with their heads held high, and both have high-pitched voices (the one in the 2nd and 3rd pics is just noisier).

But, these are my first geese in a very long while, and I'd be very happy to be utterly wrong! (I had hoped they were a sexed pair.)

The woman I got them from had several more -- whites and browns. I think she had thought two of the others had produced these two, and had hoped that I could take the group in case it was a simple recessive gene, but at the time, I only wanted two geese in case husband didn't find the honking as entertaining as I do. Luckily, he does, so I think I may see if I can get the rest of the group after all.

I'm really intrigued that you say that a brown gander x white goose can produced pieds, splash or dilute. Do you know if that's random, or if a given pair of brown x white will always throw one type of offspring? Sounds like I really do need to get those parents ..!

I thought these guys would be fun to work with!

 

[8GeeseALaying]

They may be young and that could be why the knobs arent as large yet. I have a White chinese that is almost 2 and hers is just a small lump, the other white is the same age hers looks like a small marble. The brown chinese has a larger knob and is also the same age. I think the size of the knob just depends on the goose. They do grow bigger it just takes some longer.
That cross is suposed to be a sexlinked. The gander goslings will be one color and the females will be another. Im in the process of finding that out for myself. I have both crosses, Brown gander x White goose AND White Gander x Brown Goose. I wont know for sure what i have until they are older. Either way i have their future mates lined up i plan to cross each pied back to a white in hopes to acheive something close to what you have.

The cross of any dark goose on a white goose is supposed to work the same way. So far i think that is true with what i have. My brown Chinese gander crossed with my Tufted Roman goose and produced a Pied tufted gosling, with the brown chinese stripe on its neck. I also have a Tufted Roman Goose that has bonded with my grey Toulouse Gander this summer and i might see what they produce next season.
This is one of my pied chinese i believe its a girl

Here is my pied tufted roman x brown chinese

And them both together with a white chinese gosling

Showing off

 

[Snakedoc]

Wow, I really like those pied geese! Very cool.

I do think these two are probably pretty young. I was listening to them very critically this morning, and I do think that you may be right about their sexes. The one I previously thought was a male does make lower-pitched sounds -- "HONK," and my favorite, "MNUNG-NUNG" -- whereas the other one is consistently higher pitched -- it sounds as if it seriously needs oil. They will both go "SCREE-ONK" if they're really startled.

Regarding your Tufted crosses, are those fertile hybrids or are they sterile like Muscovy x Mallards?

 

[8GeeseALaying]

Thanks! They are an experiment gone well, i think.

As for getting the rest of the geese that woman had, id say go for it. If hubby likes them and you have the room for them i dont see why not. I started out with 2 last year, bought 8 more this spring and now have 20. LoL the neighbors dont like it but oh well the geese stay on my property so they cant say much.

My tufted crosses will be fertile unless some weird reproductive problem happens. Its still a domestic x domestic cross. I was also reassured by the same members on here about that as well. We will see though, they are still young. I do plan on crossing them back to a white roman tufted for a more whitish pied offspring, doing the same with my pied chinese as well.

I hope you do have a pair. They should lay this coming season if one is a female. Depending on where you are, mating should start in January and eggs soon after.

 

[Snakedoc]

Thanks! They are an experiment gone well, i think.

As for getting the rest of the geese that woman had, id say go for it. If hubby likes them and you have the room for them i dont see why not. I started out with 2 last year, bought 8 more this spring and now have 20. LoL the neighbors dont like it but oh well the geese stay on my property so they cant say much.

My tufted crosses will be fertile unless some weird reproductive problem happens. Its still a domestic x domestic cross. I was also reassured by the same members on here about that as well. We will see though, they are still young. I do plan on crossing them back to a white roman tufted for a more whitish pied offspring, doing the same with my pied chinese as well.

I hope you do have a pair. They should lay this coming season if one is a female. Depending on where you are, mating should start in January and eggs soon after.

Yes, I definitely foresee more geese in my future. I think I am going back to the seller's farm today to take a 2nd look at some alpacas, so we may end up coming back with a few more geese as well ...

Chinese and Tufted Roman are both domestic breeds, but they are actually different species -- Chinese are derived from the Swan Goose (Anser cygnoides) while Tufted are derived from the Greylag Goose (Anser anser). That doesn't mean the hybrids will necessarily be sterile (I guess you will find out!) but they technically are hybrids ... They are at least in the same genus, unlike Muscovies and Mallard-derivatives, so maybe they will be -- I honestly don't know. (That's why I was so bummed when I thought mine could be hybrids -- I DO want to see some little goslings out of them!)

I hope they are fertile and can make some cool babies for you! I am really curious to see what they produce if they are And thank you for the well-wishes with my pair (perhaps soon to be "flock") -- I will keep you posted!