can different geese create mules???

[D'Angelo N Va.]

So, I was visiting a friend that had about 15 geese. She told me most of them are sterile. Not all geese can mate together or this will happen. She says she found out by mistake...what kinds can't cross or you'll have sterile geese. The last thing I want.

 

[AnimalLady123]

I'm sorry but I just had to add this>>>>

 

[Kevin565]

So, I was visiting a friend that had about 15 geese. She told me most of them are sterile. Not all geese can mate together or this will happen. She says she found out by mistake...what kinds can't cross or you'll have sterile geese. The last thing I want.

This occurs in different species not breeds. For example a barnacle goose and a lesser white fronted goose could not produce fertile offsprings

 

[D'Angelo N Va.]

So an embden and a toulouse would have sterile babies???

 

[sourland]

So an embden and a toulouse would have sterile babies???

No they would have fertile young as they are strains/varieties of the domestic goose.

 

[D'Angelo N Va.]

I'm sorry, maybe I am slow... What goose isn't of the domestic variety?? I know all ducks go back to the mallards with the exception of the muscovies...I didn't know all geese didn't go back to the....whatever the first goose was.

 

[sourland]

Egyptians, Canada, snow, barnacle --- anything that has an identical counterpart in the wild.

 

[AquaEyes]

I'm sorry, maybe I am slow... What goose isn't of the domestic variety?? I know all ducks go back to the mallards with the exception of the muscovies...I didn't know all geese didn't go back to the....whatever the first goose was.

Two closely-related wild species of geese were domesticated -- the European greylag geese, and the Asian swan geese. Chinese and Africans descend from the swan geese, and just about all the other domesticated breeds descend from the greylag geese. Steinbecker geese are an example of a breed developed from crosses between both groups, and they show that the greylag and swan geese are capable of producing fertile hybrids.

There are other geese kept in captivity that aren't domesticated, but wild species. Thus they are not "breeds" -- despite what you may hear from other people, a "species" is not the same thing as a "breed." Canadian, barnacle, Egyptian, Cape Barren, Nene, snow, etc. are separate species, and if crossed with a domesticated breed, will most likely result in sterile offspring ("most likely" because I think snow geese may have some fertile offspring).

So if you have a flock of geese that consist of only domesticated breeds, the offspring will all be fertile. Only if you start including non-domesticated species that are not closely related to the greylag or swan geese will you have sterile offspring. Basically, any goose whose genus is not Anser will make "mules" with a domesticated breed -- though there are a few exceptions (like snow geese).

 

[davisfarms]

wow we learn somthing new everyday i know i just did.

 

[GardenerGal]

Toulouse and Embden are two different -breeds- of the same species. Kind of like crossing a Maine coon cat with a Siamese cat. They're both the same kitty-cat species, but different breeds of it.

As was already said, two species of geese were domesticated by humans -- Anser anser (Graylag goose) and Anser cygnoides (Swan goose). They are very closely related species, so much so that they can cross-breed, producing fertile young, the way a domestic dog (Canis domesticus) and coyote (Canis latrans) can.

A. anser is represented by all of the European (and Euro-American) barnyard breeds -- Toulouse, Embden (Emden), Sebastopol, Roman, Pilgrim, Buff, etc. A. cygnoides is represented by the Chinese (white Chinese and brown Chinese) goose breed. The so-called "African" goose is thought to be a fertile cross between A. anser and A. cygnoides.

By the way, "cygnoides" is Latin for "swan-like." The word should be familiar to anyone who knows swans (The star constellation "Cygnus the Swan" is one hint, and the name for a baby swan -- cygnet -- is another!).

One interesting puzzle, is that the familiar Canada goose (Branta canadensis) is not even in the genus Anser like the above geese. It is grouped with the brants. Yet, it is close enough genetically to mate with the Anser species, but it produces a sterile "mule."