Pilgrim Geese thread

[MrsSalo]

They run away from me when I get too close...not ready for me jut yet

 

[livininbrazil]

They made it through the night although I didn't sleep much! This morning they see
To be walking around crying(squeaking) a lot. But, they sure ate up their lettuce! I assume they are still missing Mom, Dad and the other goslings ...

Geese are just so family oriented. Mine at 9 + months of age still call for their parents when I split them up.
Beautiful babies. I read on these threads that racoons can be fearsome predators and can drag a gosling to the wire and kill it. Do you have racoons near you?
You´ll be able to get them very tame if you give them lettuce each day, a bit at a time, they´ll get nearer and nearer. I got a trio of adults a couple of years ago, very little human contact, and they´ll come and eat out of the pot in my hand now.

 

[Miss Lydia]

They run away from me when I get too close...not ready for me jut yet

Best thing to do is just sit with them, like livin said if your quiet and sit still and bring lettuce they will be eating out of your hand in no time.

 

[Tivona]

I got my new babies today. A pair of 5-6 week old goslings. They are adorable. I have them outside in an enclosed dog kennel at the direction of the lady who brought them out. They have been outside at her house. I have the secure but, the "mommy" in me is worried about them and predators. I will be finishing off a wood coop for them over the weekend. I haven't seen any predators around but, know having our new babies could draw them in. Our yard is fenced...am I over reacting?

Love the new babies! Congrats on getting them. I agree with Miss Lydia. Predators can be very determined. I know my pen was checked every night for a long time. Lately I haven't had them coming but one night with a door not secure is all it takes sometimes. Make sure you lock them them safe every night. Most predators are not stopped by a fence from my experience. As far as them missing their parents and siblings, yeah they probably are but they should adjust fast. They will be fine and pretty soon they will be following you around, thinking you are their family.

 

[SHE_WOLFIE]

You can have 3 or 4 girls to one male. They say you should not have too many males or they will fight more than mate. This year we had about 55 out of 60 some eggs hatch.I only had maybe 5 that were not fertile i did loose a few in the shell but that was before i figured out the humidity in the hatcher was too high and the goslings were swelling to much to turn properly for hatch. I just pulled 2 out of the hatcher tonight and i have 2 more that were still wet, one hatching and the last of the 6 doing nothing right now. I find the fertility in mine have always been very high actually but i do have a very diverse gene pool in my flock. This year we had 11 breeding Pilgrims 5 males and 6 female. I plan on keeping 9 more girls this year out of the 30 goslings i still have here to sell. I also had 2/3 off my goslings hatch out female this year. So i will have no problem selling pairs and trios this year.

 

[SHE_WOLFIE]

Question for all the Pilgrim owners out there concerning fertility of the breed. Just how busy are your geese in mating season?

I've had Embdens that would mate any time of the day or night, and didn't care who saw. I think that my Embden gander could have handled a half dozen girl geese and had them all with fertile eggs. He was a gentleman about it and the girls, his mate and some female ducks, loved him and flirted with him no end which no doubt helped his abilities. The Toulouse I had was not as active as the Embden but certainly did his job. My Pilgrims were very private about it. I only heard them maybe four times the whole breeding season, and I never saw the act. I had 7 babies hatch so obviously there was mating done.

I have heard many times that the fertility of the Pilgrims is lower then for other breeds. I had 13 eggs in the nest and got the 7 babies and one more that didn't hatch. Plus the first egg laid that was eaten but fertile. Plus I sold at least 6 of which at least 2 hatched as I understand. So my pair had a grand total of 20 eggs of which half were fertile. I am wondering if they mate less as a breed causing the lower fertility or if its some other reason.

The reason I am asking is I am thinking of getting another female if I can find an unrelated one to make my pair into a trio. I just am not sure how well my boy Cirrus could handle fertilizing two females. I know others have and have had trios work I am just wondering if it would be worth adding another female to my pair. What do you think, add another girl if I can or not? Think my boy Cirrus can handle fertilizing another girl next year?

You can have 3 or 4 girls to one male. They say you should not have too many males or they will fight more than mate. This year we had about 55 out of 60 some eggs hatch.I only had maybe 5 that were not fertile i did loose a few in the shell but that was before i figured out the humidity in the hatcher was too high and the goslings were swelling to much to turn properly for hatch. I just pulled 2 out of the hatcher tonight and i have 2 more that were still wet, one hatching and the last of the 6 doing nothing right now. I find the fertility in mine have always been very high actually but i do have a very diverse gene pool in my flock. This year we had 11 breeding Pilgrims 5 males and 6 female. I plan on keeping 9 more girls this year out of the 30 goslings i still have here to sell. I also had 2/3 off my goslings hatch out female this year. So i will have no problem selling pairs and trios this year.

 

[SHE_WOLFIE]

Ok, so you are in Massachusetts and still have Pilgrims laying/sitting. This gives me hope that my search for eggs/goslings this season is not in vain.

Robin where are you at again? I am in central Illinois and i still have 20 left for sale.

 

[eyeofthechicken]

I've been on vacation for 10 days ,my how my babies have grown!!!

 

[RoboDuck]

Ok, so you are in Massachusetts and still have Pilgrims laying/sitting. This gives me hope that my search for eggs/goslings this season is not in vain.

Robin where are you at again? I am in central Illinois and i still have 20 left for sale.

<<<<<< is a very willing customer if you are willing to ship to Georgia.

 

[RoboDuck]

I've been on vacation for 10 days ,my how my babies have grown!!!

The one back left looks mad. lol