Pilgrim Geese thread

[RoboDuck]

I am not sure. The place was selling off all their geese and had already sold the parents. It is a reputable place so I trusted they knew what they were talking about. The person that helped us collect then from the brooder was not the "goose person" and could not answer many questions. I hope they go orange because they look awfully pink to me right now.

 

[DuckBoy323]

I talked to the fella that I bought em from he said they can inbreed, I just gotta keep an eye out for anything weird or unusual. And I got a pair. A year and a few months old the gentleman said they were. Also they hatched out 8 goslings in March. Ill post pics of them later. They're really a beautiful waterfowl.

 

[livininbrazil]

I am not sure. The place was selling off all their geese and had already sold the parents. It is a reputable place so I trusted they knew what they were talking about. The person that helped us collect then from the brooder was not the "goose person" and could not answer many questions. I hope they go orange because they look awfully pink to me right now.

Well, unless you want to show them and breed them as up to standard, it´s no big deal really.
Cottonpatch are supposed to have pink bills, pilgrims orange, (otherwise they´re quite similar in colour, behaviour, etc...but some are a bit of both, some apparently go more orange as they get older.... They´re still lovely birds to have around, whatever colour the bill is.
How many can you see actually have grey feathering on the wings, and how many actually have white?

 

[livininbrazil]

I talked to the fella that I bought em from he said they can inbreed, I just gotta keep an eye out for anything weird or unusual. And I got a pair. A year and a few months old the gentleman said they were. Also they hatched out 8 goslings in March. Ill post pics of them later. They're really a beautiful waterfowl.

The most likely problem with inbreeding is that they can get infertile and maybe get a bit smaller, and maybe undesirable traits, like too much grey in the feathers for the males, etc....which, if they´re just for the joy of having them, isn´t a big problem. But, if you can find others, then the next generations will be stronger for it.

 

[DuckBoy323]

I plan on breeding em and have a flock of Pilgrims. What would you suggest? Buy some goslings and raise em up to breed with the Pilgrims I have now, and have them breed with the young goslings of next years hatch? I was thinking buying some Pilgrims next year around the time the older goose starts to sit so when they hatch I'll have goslings to pair up with the ones that I'd order.

 

[livininbrazil]

I plan on breeding em and have a flock of Pilgrims. What would you suggest? Buy some goslings and raise em up to breed with the Pilgrims I have now, and have them breed with the young goslings of next years hatch? I was thinking buying some Pilgrims next year around the time the older goose starts to sit so when they hatch I'll have goslings to pair up with the ones that I'd order.

Well your pair is already obviously bonded,so they´ll breed next year. Let her sit on, say, 8 eggs, if she lays that many, And yes, you could buy some goslings in, raise them yourself and then when they´re 2 - 3 months old, let them into the flock, assuming you have plenty of space in case of bickering, but they won´t bicker much. Then the following year they should pair off nicely. What size flock would you like to have?

 

[cluckcluckluke]

Quote:
Oh yeah there are a few cases where you might want to do it, but further down the line defects can pop up so I don't plan on doing it. But yes with waterfowl I have no idea, but from the sounds of it, it's ok.

 

[DuckBoy323]

At least 2 pairs. Maybe a few more. I'd sell some of the goslings but keep breeding em.

 

[livininbrazil]

At least 2 pairs. Maybe a few more. I'd sell some of the goslings but keep breeding em.

Oh, just a small one then. It may be good to keep at least 3 pairs, as, although they should live a very long time, things do happen...egg-binding can cause death, and sometimes they´ll eat something that is bad, or someone´s dog gets in...if you have a few pairs at least, you can replenish when and if things go wrong.
I now have 6 pairs here and a few extra females which won´t breed until next year.
As regards inbreeding, have a read up about closed flocks. a closed flock is where someone hasn´t added any new blood for many generations. If you start off with a good variety of sources, this shouldn´t cause any problem. In fact, this is how many breeds were created in the first place. Have fun with your geese.

 

[DuckBoy323]

I see. Thanks for the info. Do the ganders tend to have grey on their backs? Or are they mostly all white like an Embden?