Rescued a goose today - can someone tell me the breed(pics)

[Kimmyh51]

Hi guys

I normally rescue ducks not geese. in fact this is the first goose I have rescued, or even held. Hoping someone can tell me the breed from the photos and also how to determine its gender?

 

[Iain Utah]

Kudos to you for taking this goose in. He/she (I cannot tell) is adorable! I cannot see top of beak clearly, but I do not think I see any knobs or roundtop for chinese. So if solid white and top of beak is a straight line than I believe embden. If the dark marks are speckles on feathering in the white, then my guess is embden/toulouse cross.

The quickest, hardest and most invasive way to determine gender is vent sexing. Otherwise, if not in a hurry, allow goose to settle in and goose will reveal gender when comfortable and personality emerges. It is spring time, so if a girl, you will see nesting behavior and eggs soon enough.

 

[Kimmyh51]

so there is nothing like plumage or voice(like in ducks) in embden geese to determine gender?

the goose had lots of small brown marks which turned out to be tiny bugs on closer investigation - two different types - one a larger like a small sandfly type thing except brown the other like large mite. i have dosed with ivermectin just in case. as far as i could see feathers are entirely white. no bumps etc on head - a very duck looking goose lol - and the most adorable blue eyes which u cant see in the photo
from my googling embden seemed closest match but was described as a large goose/ Im not experienced with geese but this one doesnt seem that large. obviously much bigger than a duck but not large for a goose...

 

[Iain Utah]

Yes, there are voice and posture differences but are more subtle than ducks. Females will have a sharper more staccato voice. Males are more screechy when calling. Females are smaller, have more horizontal back posture with shorter necks. Boys stand straight up and like to point beaks into air like they are puffing out chests, and strut around.

You probably have a female embden. One easy test is to crush a bunch of egg shells and offer it next to food. A female getting ready to lay will likely eat it. A male will turn his nose. Set up a nest in private area in pen with straw bedding, just in case.

 

[Kimmyh51]

You probably have a female embden. One easy test is to crush a bunch of egg shells and offer it next to food. A female getting ready to lay will likely eat it. A male will turn his nose. Set up a nest in private area in pen with straw bedding, just in case.

its autumn here so I am assuming the crushed egg shell test wont be useful for another 6 mths? To me the voice seems kinda loud - as a duck person I keep thinking of her as a girl because she sounds loud like a girl duck - but then i have no idea what a male or female embden goose sounds like.
Am I going to need to get a mate for her/him if I decide to keep? and if so can anhone comment on how they get along with ducks and whether there might be problems in spring ie territorial. also whats best to feed them?I read that they like grass as long as its short and fresh and green, however here in summer and autumn the grass is brown - ie hay not green. and the ducks are great at destroying whatever grass there is - or mowing it down till each blade is just a green dot on the soil.....
I did a quick google driving back with it that said they like grains, so i gave it some soaked wheat, which it hasnt touched so far, i dont know if thats because they dont like wheat or dont like soaked wheat - or just because its stressed

 

[Kimmyh51]

I found it sitting beside the road a few metres away from a dead goose which looked to be the same breed - a hawk had clearly been at the dead one as the eyes and all the flesh were gone but it may have only been a day or two old- Was this maybe its mate? There were also two dead geese a few hundred metres down the road which a passerby said had flown into overhead power lines and electrocuted themselves - one of them was grey - maybe a pilgrim? and a white one....

there was no water or other geese nearby this one I found and i couldnt think why it woul be sitting by this dead one unless the dead goose meant something to it - and that was one reason I pulled over - thought poor wee thing just sitting there with no food or water and its friend is dead.... but i dont know anything about goose behaviour to know if this is why it was there.....the thought of it sitting there not only watching its mate die but then watching a hawk eat its mate is pretty heartbreaking though...

 

[equustears]

I have Toulouse geese. They are grass eaters. I give them either romaine hearts or a spring mix as a nite time snack or treat on cold winter mornings. They don’t eat much grains , I’ve tried scratch mix for chickens - they pick at it. And I always have a layer pellet available in a pan close to a bucket of water . They have to have water just like ducks to swallow and wash their eyes unless they have a pool . My vet cautioned to only use feed in winter when grasses are not available so that they don’t get fat livers.
In short , I’d try greens to get her appetite going

 

[Iain Utah]

Oh my. That's a sad story! Assumed you were in America and found a dumped domestic goose. Most domestic geese cannot fly. On the other hand, it is near impossible to catch a wild goose loose on the side of a road.

But yes, it likely was the goose's mate. You are very sweet to take it home. He/she will need a buddy at some point, but you have some time to adjust, since you have ducks for company. You appear to be in tune with your ducks different gender differences, so you will figure out the goose. Chances are it is female. Doesn't hurt to try egg shells in fall, though.

Most geese will eat what you feed your ducks, but like fresh grass and corn the best. You can also try fresh corn (hulls removed), lettuces, and watermelon. Most important thing is a bucket or kiddy pool of fresh water.

 

[equustears]

Also , I put the greens in their water bucket . They like to chase and dunk them.
Bless your heart for rescuing her, think of what she saw happening around her.
I also have ducks . The geese and ducks free range here when the weather is good . The geese watch over the flock including the chickens when they’re out pecking .
They sound alarms when hawks or strange dogs are near and ducks come running. I can’t see why she wouldn’t fit in. My drake gets pushy at times around the pool but the geese just move off . No issues

 

[Kimmyh51]

Do geese like green peas (like ducks - who will sell their grand parents, parents, and their own little ducky souls for green peas)? Shes only eaten literally a mouthful or two since arriving two nights ago. Have given her wheat in water, chopped grass (from new shoots) in water and some pellets - the pellets are the only things she touched. she has a paddling pool in the run that shes clearly been using, - i havent seen her sit or wash in it like the ducks do but she is often standing in it


Also has anyone introduced an adult goose to ducks and any tips for getting them to bond? When I do let the goose out is it likely to attack any of the ducks?

The ducks dont seem all that interested - with new ducks they will normally hang about outside the run when the ducks are first put there which they didn't do with the goose...one of the young ducks, bless her wee heart, seems a little scared of this 'huge duck'(maybe?) and always walks around the run the goose is in putting as much space as she can between her and the 'huge duck'

does anyone have any tips to encourage the ducks and the goose to bond? I don't want to put any ducks in with her in case she attacks them. and i also don't want to let her out until shes at least eating. how long do i need to keep her in a run before she should be ok to let out - ie not fly off?

is it possible ?

I have noticed in the evening the goose will normally go out in the run at the end nearest the duck pond, where all the ducks are sitting, and almost looks like he or she is wanting some company, but then could just as easily just be wanting to escape i guess....