Goose or Gander?

[ImNotChicken]

I was given 2 one year old Embden geese a couple of weeks ago. The assumption was that they were females HOWEVER I'm now being told that they've never laid eggs so perhaps I've made an incorrect assumption. How do I tell the difference? They were freerange before they came to me so may have laid eggs and no one knew? How often do geese lay eggs?

They are both as sweet as can be but I have noticed that often one will mount the other. Having no "goose" experience, I thought that it was some sort of dominant behaviour.

It honestly doesn't matter to me either way as I'm not interested in raising geese but I would like to know...I feel kinda bad calling a gander Gertrude!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I was given 2 one year old Embden geese a couple of weeks ago. The assumption was that they were females HOWEVER I'm now being told that they've never laid eggs so perhaps I've made an incorrect assumption. How do I tell the difference? They were freerange before they came to me so may have laid eggs and no one knew? How often do geese lay eggs?

They are both as sweet as can be but I have noticed that often one will mount the other. Having no "goose" experience, I thought that it was some sort of dominant behaviour.

It honestly doesn't matter to me either way as I'm not interested in raising geese but I would like to know...I feel kinda bad calling a gander Gertrude!

I can give you some ideas on how to tell but only way to know for sure would be feather sexing {DNA] or vent sexing. but my Embden gander walks very upright, always has his head held high and is honking is high pitched, my goose which is not Embden but Toulouse does not walk like him and her honking is lower pitched.

 

[ImNotChicken]

Thanks. It's hard to tell without an opposite sex to compare to. At what age do they lay eggs and how often? They sleep in their pen which is open all day and closed at night...they seem to feel pretty comfortable there. If they were to lay, would they lay there?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Thanks. It's hard to tell without an opposite sex to compare to. At what age do they lay eggs and how often? They sleep in their pen which is open all day and closed at night...they seem to feel pretty comfortable there. If they were to lay, would they lay there?

If you give them bedding to make a nest in they may if they feel secure enough does the pen have a house in it? my goose hatched in April of 2012 and began to lay eggs on Jan 31, 2013 she lays an egg every other day. So far we're up to 54.

 

[ImNotChicken]

54?! Wow...then I'm fairly confident they are males as they've never laid at all and they are over a year as is my understanding. They have an igloo doghouse but have never gone in it. They also have a straw bale in their pen with a small pool (The building at the end of the pen is the peacock house and remainder of the pen is for the peas). They pull the straw out of the bale and lay in it every night inside the pen. Because they poop so much in it overnight, I clean up the straw in the morning to keep them tidy. They wander the yard for 15 hours a day and are locked up only at night.

 

[Miss Lydia]

54?! Wow...then I'm fairly confident they are males as they've never laid at all and they are over a year as is my understanding. They have an igloo doghouse but have never gone in it. They also have a straw bale in their pen with a small pool (The building at the end of the pen is the peacock house and remainder of the pen is for the peas). They pull the straw out of the bale and lay in it every night inside the pen. Because they poop so much in it overnight, I clean up the straw in the morning to keep them tidy. They wander the yard for 15 hours a day and are locked up only at night.

54?! Wow...then I'm fairly confident they are males as they've never laid at all and they are over a year as is my understanding. They have an igloo doghouse but have never gone in it. They also have a straw bale in their pen with a small pool (The building at the end of the pen is the peacock house and remainder of the pen is for the peas). They pull the straw out of the bale and lay in it every night inside the pen. Because they poop so much in it overnight, I clean up the straw in the morning to keep them tidy. They wander the yard for 15 hours a day and are locked up only at night.

2 ganders will live together fine as long as no females are around. They sure are pretty

 

[ImNotChicken]

Thank you, Miss Lydia! I've grown VERY attached to them.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Thank you, Miss Lydia! I've grown VERY attached to them.

Easy to do isn't it.