Opinions on Possible Crossbreeds

Pyxis

Hatchi Wan Kenobi
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I bought these two juvenile geese this spring as companions for my lone roman tufted goose. She has taken to them and I will be keeping them either way, but I am starting to suspect they are not what I was told they are. I purchased them as purebred American Buff geese, and they both appear to be females. However, since buying them when they were, I was told, eight to ten weeks old, they have not really grown much and certainly not to the size I would expect. They are still a bit smaller than my roman tufted female, which should not be the case. They are on a diet of flock raiser and they graze all day, so it's not a nutrition issue. They also don't seem to be built like I would expect an American Buff to be. The breeder that I got them from is very reputable and only keeps this breed, and it was suggested to me that perhaps they are actually crosses with a wild goose father. Here is a size comparison of them next to my roman tufted female:

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And a close up of one of them:

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They are also pretty averse to humans. Even my most skittish poultry learned to run to me when I'm holding the food scoop, but these guys will not, and they do not like it if I start to even walk in their direction. They are also fairly good fliers, able to get above my head and fly across the yard, which I was not expecting.

So, what does everyone think? Crossbreeds? If so, with what?
 
The light face patch and fine build of the bird in the second picture look suspiciously like a Canada goose influence.


Thank you! I was thinking that. That would mean she and her sister are sterile, too :/ Oh well, I got them to be companion geese, and they are still very pretty.
 
Well darn. Oh well, that explains the skittishness and small size. It's actually kinda neat, I bet not a lot of people own a cross like this.
 
They are not real rare but definately cool to have. Around here it isn't uncommon. My friend has a large pond with lots of Canada geese and I am pretty sure one of them is mixed but it sure looks more like 75+% Canada than a 50/50 mix.

I don't think anyone should make a fuss but I wonder if the laws concerning owning Canada Geese apply or if legally it is considered a domestic now?


Also check out the below link where you can find more pictures of similar mixes.
http://www.gobirding.eu/Photos/HybridGeese.php
 
They are not real rare but definately cool to have.  Around here it isn't uncommon.  My friend has a large pond with lots of Canada geese and I am pretty sure one of them is mixed but it sure looks more like 75+% Canada than a 50/50 mix.  

I don't think anyone should make a fuss but I wonder if the laws concerning owning Canada Geese apply or if legally it is considered a domestic now?  


Also check out the below link where you can find more pictures of similar mixes. 
http://www.gobirding.eu/Photos/HybridGeese.php


Thanks! I would think the crosses are legal to own, being as how I didn't take it out of the wild or anything. Apparently they were raised by their mother, an American buff, so the father must have been a visiting Canada goose. Cool link, I'm checking it out now.
 
Common sense would seem to suggest that it should be legal. Especially because you did not take them from the wild and they were sold to you as domestics. I was wondering for my own interests as well since I would like get some offspring from my friend's hybrid but would want to be able to tell him that it was legal for me to do so. Again common sense would say that it is better for wild Canada Geese if they do not have any mix of domestic in them so removing them from the gene pool of a flock of Canadas is helpful. On the other side to have domestics with a mix of wild is not a problem unless allowed to mix back with wild geese. Many believe they are universally sterile. I don't think this is the case. The one at my friend's pond seems to have a little Chinese in her but sees like it would be a quarter or less. I am not sure if she had goslings this past year but she was paired up with a Canada.
 
Several years ago a Toulouse goose paired with a Canada gander at a local park. They raised 3 goslings. These three offspring (two of which are still alive) have never raised young. I believe that such hybrids are sterile.
 
Quote:
Several years ago a Toulouse goose paired with a Canada gander at a local park. They raised 3 goslings. These three offspring (two of which are still alive) have never raised young. I believe that such hybrids are sterile.
I think most would agree with you. I also agree that in the case you mentioned the offspring are almost certainly sterile. I would say the majority are going to be sterile. The vast majority of Mules are sterile. However, it can happen that sometimes a female mule will be able to produce offspring. Personally in a couple years I would let them sit or put eggs in the incubator if they lay some.
 

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