Can you guess the breed? :)

[ZKeeper04]

So I adopted a little gosling that someone dropped off at my work. He or she is already imprinted on me (or feet ) . I think its only about a week old but I dont know geese, only chickens. Can anyone guess the breed and age? I have an idea of breed but I would like to know what others think first

 

[Gracie9205]

With that black beak and legs, I'm leaning towards a Canadian. Did you have any idea where they got it from?

 

[ZKeeper04]

That's my guess too. No clue in where they got it from. It was very brief, they said they found it and left. Obviously a lie since this little one is so calm with people.

 

[Gracie9205]

I'm not sure where you are located, but you may want to check with your wildlife and fisheries dept. to make sure you don't need a permit to keep him. Goodluck and let us know how it goes!

 

[ZKeeper04]

Yeah, I've read that on other topic forums. I wanted to make sure what he was before I did that. What do you even ask? I don't want them to say let him go since he's so young and loves people as it is.

 

[DuckDuckDuckGoose]

ZKEEPER- That looks like a domesticated African gosling,or something closely related eg:chinese. Those people that dropped it off were lying.
Check out my lil guy I found wandering the road in the cold and rain on May 6th on my avatar pic.

BTW could you please tell me how you attached your pic to the message board? I have some pics. in the Uploads are of BYC but cannot figure out how to attach the pic. to the message board like you did of your gosling.
Thanks. Hope it helps ya.
T.

 

[Orange Ribbon]

I'd say you are right about the age, but I don't know what kind it is. It might be an African, but it isn't as dark as mine are. If it is a Canada goose you can get in big trouble for having it. I did taxidermy for about 10 years, and it is illegal to even have a wild goose or duck feather unless it was killed by a person with a Federal waterfowl hunting license. I could have lost my taxidermy license, gone to jail AND be fined if I had an illegal waterfowl part of any kind. I gave up my federal license after the first year because it was a headache and just stuck to mammals and fish. I see little kids at lakes and ponds gathering up goose feathers, and in reality that is illegal. Not that I am concerned about it, but I just thought I'd let you know. There can be BIG penalties when dealing with Federally protected birds, especially if you are caught with a live one.

 

[ZKeeper04]

DuckDuck: I went to uploads, picked a file, and it gave me 2 codes under the picture to cut and paste to the forum. Other than that, I dont know another way. Maybe reload the page and try again?
If you figure it out I would love to see more pictures of your African

Orange ribbon: I know that it would be bad to keep him. As soon as I can tell what he truly is, I have a rehab friend who can take him if need be. She's just packed right now so she told me to wait for now until I know for sure.

 

[Gracie9205]

Definitely NOT an African! You can tell by the beak. A Chinese or African gosling will have an upwards hump between the eyes. All others will have a "U" shaped dip. Since you gosling has that "U" shaped dip and the black legs and beak, I would definitely say Canadian.

Metzer Farms has a nice article on how to identify African/Chinese geese!
http://metzerfarms.blogspot.com/2011/03/how-to-differentiate-african-and.html

I would suggest finding a wildlife rehabilitator. They will know what you have there if it is indeed a wild species. They would also be able to take it off your hands and care for it properly!

 

[Gracie9205]

Quote:
And DuckDuckDuckGoose, I would venture to say that your new baby isn't an African either! Maybe somebody else will chime in with an opinion