My husband and I rescued a goose, but we don't know much about geese. We're not sure if he (that's what I say) is a goose or a gander or what breed he is. Any help would be appreciated!
You have a very cute toulouse. I cannot tell if he is a gander from the picture, though. Do you have any buddies for him?
What makes him a Toulouse versus Greylag? Yes, he does have buddies, but only two of them have feathers! We have a cockatiel and a Mallard. The Mallard, Malley, is also a rescue. He was shot and will not be able to return to the wild. Both the goose and the mallard stay outside in our backyard. We live in the city, but they have our swimming pool and yard to play in.
Greylag and Swan are the two ancestors of todays domestic geese. Greylags are found in the UK and Europe, but wild flocks have cross bred with Canada geese creating hybrids. Here in tHE US we have Swan Geese (like Chinese) and a wide variety of graylag geese (Toulouse ect) Nice little grey production toulouse goose. They are pretty easy going birds. Geese are social though and do much better with at least another goose to pal around with even if you have ducks too.
Thank you! Now all I have to do is wait to see if he lays an egg! Another goose?! I hope he's okay with our company and our duck. He's a handful! He chews on EVERYTHING! When we are home, he either comes inside or we go outside. We have an outdoor living and kitchen area where we can spend lots of time with the birds. We've thought that he might need to go to a country home, but now we're afraid that our mallard is attached. They have become best buds!
It is always preferable to have 2 geese, but if he likes the duck, the situation should be fine.... maybe in the future you can add another goose and duck so they each have a pair. Geese love to nibble! They get so excited about new things to nibble on. To me, that is part of the fun in having them.
