I got my geese today!!

[chickens4me]

Rain or shine those are all very pretty geese~~Congraulations.

 

[Omniskies]

They look pure to me, but your mixed breed geese can look a lot like Pilgrims. If they are crossed, it'd be with an Embden or a Toulouse. You probably won't know for sure until you get some babies out of them and vent sex the little guys to see if the color matches up with the right gender.

Pilgrim ganders are supposed to have blue eyes and an orange bill and feet. They are snow white except for a patch of grey that should be hidden beneath the wing. These days most Pilgrims have grey on their backs, tail, and wings. Then there are little splotches that show up on the neck, head, etc. You won't know for sure what markings a gander will have until after the first molt.

The ladies are supposed to be a light grey color (not as dark as the Toulouse), with hazel colored eyes and an orange bill and feet. Young girls will have just a little white around the bill which will slowly cover patches on the face, usually creating spectacles around each eye. They're not supposed to have any white anywhere besides the face, but I'm finding that a lot of them have white patches on the neck.

If any of your girls have white wing tips then they may not throw autosex offspring all of the time. Females with white wing tips will occasionally throw a white female. It's a genetic trait that should be kept out of a breeding line.

They should also be quiet and friendly, but I've noticed that Pilgrims follow bad examples just like any other kids. If they're around a loud goose then they'll pick up on the habit (not as much, but at least a little).

They're beautiful. Congratulations on getting them and good luck with any of the babies. I'd love to know how they turn out