Goose Behavior

[The Dim Side]

So I know it's a craps shoot of which sex is which. We got our first Roman Tufted and was told she was a girl but might be a boy. We got our second Roman Tufted and was told he was a boy but might be a girl. I also think they're probably not actually purebreds, lol. But as they're getting older, I was wondering if certain behaviors give the sex away more.

The white one, Lemongrab, is around 14 weeks, and the gray one, Tooey, is 13 weeks. Tooey does a lot more actual honking with a slightly lower voice, while Lemongrab still does more chirping. (Tooey can also fly better, while Lemongrab's feet sorta drag on the ground while she tries, lol. But Tooey's wings are firmer and more uniform? And Lemongrab's are softer and more disheveled.)

Lemongrab has recently started to show more aggression/defensiveness toward my dad's dog when they visit. Lemongrab lowers her neck and curls it back a bit and charges at the dog, trying to chase it around. The dog is much, much larger than Lemongrab, too, but the dog is friendly at least and doesn't attack. It was actually really cute the other day when the dog came to greet me by jumping up on me and accidentally scratching my arm, and Lemongrab shrieked and ran toward us with her wings out, with Tooey following. But I worry that this behavior will get her in trouble, so I'm hoping we can get her to calm down. She also does it to one of my cats when he sneaks outside, charging at him. Lemongrab loves people though (so far), so I think she might have imprinted on a human when she was born. She loves "hugs" (I just hold my arms on her sides) and kisses on the face, haha. And Tooey likes to lead them and wander around to places, a very take-charge attitude. He doesn't like physical affection as much but still likes to follow us around.

I've heard that females can have lower voices, and males will do more of the snake-like motions when aggravated/defensive. Both of them have started "fooling around" in the pool recently, too, trying to get on top of the other. But Lemongrab never wants to be on the bottom. So are these signs that their sexes are actually the opposite? Or is it still too hard to tell for sure right now?

 

[Goosebaby]

I would say too hard to tell at the moment.

The grey looks like a Chinese cross, the white is a tufted Roman.

The differences in feathers and wings can be because of breed differences, not gender. Their voices may still be changing so it’s hard to go on that alone to determine gender. Their behaviors so far are seen in both males and females, females will mount females and males and males will mount males and females.

In mature adults males will have a bit longer necks for their bodies compared to females, females tend to lead while the males follow them and keep watch for rivals and predators. Males will instinctively want to stand between the female and who/whatever. Males tend to want to be on top more often than the bottom. Females can and often do act aggressively, though this can differ depending on personality, but from what I’ve seen females are just as likely to chase a dog as the males, if there are males around they tend to let them do it though.

 

[3xhhheather]

I couldn't tell gender until they were around 6ish months old. At that point they had settled into their size and voice. My gander has a longer neck, higher-pitched voice and in general causes more of a fuss, where my goose acts aloof, is stockier, and has a growly chatter. Up until they were settled it was a constant back and forth about what gender they could be; they both went back and forth between aggression and cuddliness, all those hormones making them crazy lol

 

[The Dim Side]

I would say too hard to tell at the moment.

The grey looks like a Chinese cross, the white is a tufted Roman.

The differences in feathers and wings can be because of breed differences, not gender. Their voices may still be changing so it’s hard to go on that alone to determine gender. Their behaviors so far are seen in both males and females, females will mount females and males and males will mount males and females.

In mature adults males will have a bit longer necks for their bodies compared to females, females tend to lead while the males follow them and keep watch for rivals and predators. Males will instinctively want to stand between the female and who/whatever. Males tend to want to be on top more often than the bottom. Females can and often do act aggressively, though this can differ depending on personality, but from what I’ve seen females are just as likely to chase a dog as the males, if there are males around they tend to let them do it though.

Thank you! And after looking at more pictures of Chinese geese, he does have the same colors but minus the hump thing. Also similar to Toulouse, but he has a dark tip on his bill like Chinese rather than bright orange. But it seems like I'll just have to keep waiting till they finish growing or see if either of them ever lays an egg, haha.

 

[The Dim Side]

I couldn't tell gender until they were around 6ish months old. At that point they had settled into their size and voice. My gander has a longer neck, higher-pitched voice and in general causes more of a fuss, where my goose acts aloof, is stockier, and has a growly chatter. Up until they were settled it was a constant back and forth about what gender they could be; they both went back and forth between aggression and cuddliness, all those hormones making them crazy lol

Thanks! 6 months as a marker is a good measurement for me. I keep wondering, are they done growing by now? Is this what they're going to just look like? So it's good to know that physically they still have more time while their bodies are changing. But I'm happy so

The older, white one still has the baby fur/feathers sticking out of her butt area, too. The younger one has been without them for weeks, but hers are still hanging in there. And I thought I read before not to pluck them out, so I've just been waiting. I'm hoping she'll be able to fly eventually though. The gray one can fly like 5 feet in the air now, and the white tries so hard! But she just grazes the ground as she follows him, lol.