Can you tell the sex of Embden hatchlings by color?

[Sunny Side Up]

Metzer's website says that you should be able to tell the sex of Embden hatchlings by color, that the grey fluff on the females are darker than the males. http://www.metzerfarms.com/EmbdenGeese.cfm?Breed=Embden&BirdType=Goose&ID=E&CustID=38385

Has anyone taken notice of their goslings and found this to be true?

And if so, can you help me determine the sexes of these goslings by their color? I have an idea, I want to see what others think. By the way, they were all hatched by bantam hens, it's quite remarkable! And these chicken Mamas are doing a fantastic job of mothering their big unusual babes. Today it was raining and both hens had their goslings tucked up under their wings. The Dutch bantam managed to completely cover her baby. The other mixed-breed hen had an easier time covering her two, but one of them had its head & neck poking up between her wing & back, it looked like a periscope, it was so funny!

Here is Biscuit & her two:

And Chiquita with hers, it is also smaller than the other two:

What do you think they are?

 

[Olive Hill]

Well, I don't raise embdens, but just based on those two pictures and Metzer's directions I'd say you appear to have two males in the first picture and a female in the second. You could always just vent sex them if you want to be sure.

 

[pete55]

Pictures can be deceptive but I agree with Olive Hill based on the above pictures. Look yourself at them together and see if there's an obvious difference in the down. The darker being the female.

Pete

 

[Miss Lydia]

Quote:
I agree, I have 1 emden drake and when he was a gosling the gray was very light, I'd say you have 2 boys and a girl, congratulations!!

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Thank you Miss Lydia, that is what I was hoping to hear, confirmation from actual experience. Has anyone else found what Metzer's site to be true?

 

[TJ Winn]

Thank you Miss Lydia, that is what I was hoping to hear, confirmation from actual experience. Has anyone else found what Metzer's site to be

Thank you Miss Lydia, that is what I was hoping to hear, confirmation from actual experience. Has anyone else found what Metzer's site to be true?

I have hatched out a dozen batches from my original 4 over the past several years and so far the color method has held true. Just had the first hatch of the spring a few days ago with 4 more nests to go. This is the most I have had sitting in a season so far so it will be interesting to see how they turn out.

 

[sylviethecochin]

The main reason I chose Embdens was because they're supposed to be autosexing. It's a documented breed characteristic. (EDT: if you're interested in this sort of thing, it's because of a sexlinked gene that lightens plumage. Females have one copy, males have two. And because of this, females may keep a few random gray feathers through their first few moults). However, results may vary based on where you got them.

My male was lighter than my female, but their offspring vary randomly. It's my fault for not buying good stock; they're from Ideal (via Rural King) and not only does the male have a knob, but their son has gray patches, and he's the only one I've had that topped twenty pounds. Goosealot and Guinevere are only about fifteen pounds each. Apparently, hatcheries have a habit of mixing their geese breeds with Chinese geese, because Chinese geese lay so much better.

If they're not from a breeder, or at least a hatchery with a good reputation, I'd do what Olive Hill suggested and vent sex if you want to be certain. It's really not difficult to learn, though it is helpful if you have a bit of experience with rabbits first.