Early lobe development or just really fat?

Mother Goosey

In the Brooder
5 Years
Apr 21, 2014
32
0
24
Kentucky
From what reading I can find on lobe development, it seems they develop a lot later than a little over two weeks of age... but I find my 17 day old gosling developing two lobe like flaps between her legs... Is she developing them really REALLY early? Is she really fat? She eats a lot, fresh grass, grains, and water, everyday, at all hours. Is she growing too fast?... She stands maybe a foot tall already and weighs in at 834g at 15 days of age(haven't weighed her since, needs batteries). Should I be concerned?







And if any of you question her actually being a girl at this size('cause I kinda do), and due to downy color, look at this video and tell me what you think, please! No one experienced has seemed to have evaluated it.

0.jpg
 
Last edited:
From what reading I can find on lobe development, it seems they develop a lot later than a little over two weeks of age... but I find my 17 day old gosling developing two lobe like flaps between her legs... Is she developing them really REALLY early? Is she really fat? She eats a lot, fresh grass, grains, and water, everyday, at all hours. Is she growing too fast?... She stands maybe a foot tall already and weighs in at 834g at 15 days of age(haven't weighed her since, needs batteries). Should I be concerned?







And if any of you question her actually being a girl at this size('cause I kinda do), and due to downy color, look at this video and tell me what you think, please! No one experienced has seemed to have evaluated it.

0.jpg
Little fatty! You could cut back on the grain. What she needs most is good grass.
 
She eats mostly grass, she prefers it. At night I leave grain, grass, and water in the event she eats all the grass while I'm asleep. During the day, though, she always chooses grass over grain but will eat grains if she has to. I'm raising her as a pet goose.
 
My goose weighed 1,051 g. at 15 days (and 1,177 g. the day after; they grow like crazy at that age). She's never been fat and is now a perfectly healthy 1-year-old weighing around 6,300 g. I've no doubt she's a girl since she has laid more than 75 eggs.

I've read a lot about geese and goslings and have yet to encounter a fat gosling. Starving or malnourished goslings are quite common. They put all the food they consume into growth. I guess the lobes are just a natural variety.

UPDATE: I just looked at some videos of her from around that age, and she did have little lobes back then already. She still has lobes, but they're in no way large or sagging. This is her on her first birthday, receiving her birthday party guests:
 
Last edited:

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom