Can anyone tell me the sex of my two geese please?

[Carla Dene]

Can anyone tell me the sex of my two geese or are they too young still ? I got them on July 25, 17 when they were a couple of days old. The white one - Emden?? - was yellow when I got it but now it is white...it's name is Goldie. The gray/brown one - (Toulouse??) - is still the same color...it's name is Brownie. Brownie is very friendly and shows no fear of me. Goldie is a little more standoffish though I held them both a lot when they were babies. I try to interact a lot with them daily because I don't want them to get mean. I'm thinking of giving them to a guy that has a farm with about 30 other geese, as well as chickens, ducks and hordes of other animals. He even lets some of his geese come inside his house. He runs an organic farm. He promised me he won't kill them - he says only the mean ones go into his freezer. The reason I'm "thinking" of giving them to him is because I am 62 and I just learned geese live 20 years or so! I researched geese before I got them but never thought to ask how long they live. Thank you for the information.

 

[sourland]

'Visually' geese are iffy as far as gender identification. I would guess that the Embden is a gander and the other a goose. Hey, I'm 76 and counting on outliving those geese. If I can do it, so can you.

 

[Carla Dene]

Lol...as long as I'm not having to run from a mean goose when I'm in my 70s I guess keeping them will work! If the Embden is a boy that would explain his hissing at me now and then as well as his slightly standoffish behavior! lol... But, when he hisses at me it's usually when I am doing something he hasn't seen me do before or wearing a colorful dress, etc. He still lets me come up to him and rub his bill, etc.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I'm 68 and have 2 geese one 10 the other 5yrs old I am hoping to still be caring for them for a long time to come.

My Embden gander isn't standoffish but his mate is I have same breed as you, Having been hatched here my gander is quite friendly except during breeding season.
Missy my Toulouse is friendly to a degree she'll come up for treats but don't try and touch she wants no part of touching.

Solid yellow gosling in Embden breed means gander darker grey on yellow means goose.

 

[Carla Dene]

Miss Lydia; It's funny that my situation is exactly opposite then yours...my Toulouse is so friendly she will push herself up into the area that I'm digging and try to take my stick away from me. It doesn't bother her if she has to push up under my knees and face, so I can't see the stick, as long as she can chase the stick and try to take it from me. It's almost like a game to see who can get the stick. The Embden just stands a foot or two away and watches. Has your Toulouse ever shown aggression towards you, and if so, what kind of aggression? So when you say, "solid yellow gosling in Embden breed means gander", what you're saying is, when I bought him as a 2 or 3 day old he was pure yellow which means he is a gander, (because he is the Embden breed)? Also, "darker grey on yellow means goose", means that if I bought an Embden that was yellow as a baby and it grew up to be the darker grey then it is a goose? Thank you for the information.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Female Embden goslings have quite a bit of dark grey on their down when goslings it goes away once they start getting in their feathers. Both Sexes are solid white when adults with beautiful blue eyes. My Embden gander as a goslings had some light grey down but if you look up pics you can def tell the difference between the 2 sexes. My gander is the aggressor here he is very protective of his mate. My goose Missy {Toulouse} has never been aggressive towards me at all. One thing you want to remember is Never run from a goose whether gander or goose. You always show them you are in charge just by your demeanor [you carry a big stick but don't beat them.]I have used the bottom of my boot to push him away from me though, My gander knows not to get close when breeding season is going on because if he tries to bite he gets pinned to the ground real fast or I sweep him away with the broom and use the broom to keep a good distance between me and him. Missy just walks around minding her own business. lol But she was also 4 months old when I brought her home with not much human contact. Sam was hatched here and raised by his Muscovy family so very different in personalities.

baby gander in the middle

 

[Carla Dene]

Oh, I understand...that's just for the Embden breed. Since I have a Embden gander and a Toulouse goose will they breed? I don't want anymore geese so I'm going to have to figure out how to handle that situation when it arises. From what you describe about your gander's aggressiveness level I don't think I will have any problems using those techniques to keep mine in line if either show that level of aggressiveness...lol. It's interesting to read through the different threads about the different personalities of everyone's geese. I got my geese to keep my female hound in line - to teach her a lesson about NOT hurting flying things. Awhile back my hound "took part" in killing some chickens next door when she and my big lab got out of our yard. My hound didn't do any killing, it was the lab, but she did get excited and chase them during the carnage. The geese do not attack my hound but they do run towards her flapping their wings and honking and she is becoming very skittish of them. I'm trying to keep an even level with their aggressiveness with my hound by using certain words like "gentle" and redirecting them but it seems to be working in that my hound is cautious around them now! Anyway, I'm very surprised at how attached I have become to the geese and I worry constantly that I am going to do something wrong or they are going to get hurt somehow! I just need to keep one step ahead by researching how to care for them properly and do the best I can. I'm very thankful for the help I get from this forum.

 

[Miss Lydia]

They really are enjoyable and I think intelligent too for a bird lol. Even during breeding season I enjoy them just have to stay a step ahead of Sam. My geese are really bullies when it comes to my dogs so I have had to really do some training to teach them not to bite the dogs. I never let them all out together unless I can be with them.
Yes they will mate and your female may want to sit on eggs just take them up each day as she lays. Goose eggs are delicious or you may have a friend who would want them for decorating. As long as you provide secure place for your geese to live and feed good food they should stay healthy and live a long life. Geese are very hardy. Their worse enemy are roaming dogs besides the natural predators out there.

 

[Carla Dene]

Thanks Miss Lydia. You make it sound easier than my "inner fear" makes it sound. I'll give it a go and hope for the best!

 

[Miss Lydia]

You have done fine so far, and really geese are to me the easier of all poultry to care for as long as they are safe. They graze when there is grass so they don't need a lot of feed. They are great for keeping intruders out[most people are scared of geese]lol
and they enjoy hanging out with us.

Please keep them they will be lost in a crowd of geese and since they are a bonded pair that can cause problems with them trying to fit in with other geese. If your in good health and love them I don't see any reason why you couldn't keep them and enjoy them for a long time to come.