Sebastopol geese - selecting breeding stock, color genetics, and color improvement

[CelticOaksFarm]

We are keeping 1 totally smooth goose because of color and head shape to pair with a very curly gander in hopes of better curled color

 

[pete55]

Im afraid this is one decision that you have to judge for yourself. To justify using a totally smooth bird then it should really be excellent in type, vigour and health so its quality adds to your flock's overall quality.

As its totally smooth it brings no contribution to feather quality to the party so to speak which is why its strengths must lie in other areas. Im sure you'll have fun assessing the strengths and weaknesses and its all a learning curve.

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

X100 what Pete said. We will use the smooth goose we have ONLY because her head is lovely, and she is a COLOR we are trying to work on. In whites I wouldn't select a fully smooth bird for breeding because of the lack of feathering, and producing more birds who aren't feathered out.

 

[Glenmar]

Here's some photos. I have a smooth bird and the rest are very curly. They will be a year old in March.

 

[Goose and Fig]

I am having an impossible time finding a lavender mate for my smoothbreast gander. It looks like I might be pairing him with his smoothbreast blue (split for lav) daughter just for the sake of making a few more lavenders. I really don't need any more smooth birds, but I don't see any other option at this point.
If anybody would be interested in the totally smooth lavenders next spring, please let me know. I can hatch more if I know the ones I don't need will have a good home.

(my farm site and email are temporarily down. 2 kids' birthdays in one week kinda drains the bank!

)

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

Amy I feel ya, I have two Lav girls I am hunting a gander for. Since quality curly Lav boys are slim I am grey hunting this fall.

 

[kimberly35042]

I may have a nice grey gander that I may let go of. Good possiblity he is split for buff. I'm going to give him one more month and wait for weather to cool some more and see how he looks after all his feathers come in. Nice medium size for a colored bird and round body.

 

[kimberly35042]

I want my colored birds to look like my whites and these colored birds have white in them. Not that you don't get some junk but I am pretty picky at culling and don't put anything out to be bred from that is not good enough to use. I have always enjoyed these birds and do not concentrate on selling but making a better bird that I enjoy looking at. So please don't tell me that there are no quality colored birds out there because there are.

Jenifer, your birds are absolutely amazing. Would you mind sharing how many generations of breeding it took before you get to a quality level like this? (I hope that makes sense!!).

 

[fowlman01]

Being picky and culling hard will get you to where you want to go.

Walt

 

[Jenifer Kraus]

Hi Kim, Thank you for your nice complements. Those white and the saddleback are actually half siblings. Their mother is a Smooth breasted Saddleback. The beginning of my my heavily feather whites came in 1 generation. They were not a matched pair and did not come from the same people. Their genetics clicked perfectly. Joy just has good genetics behind her and passes it on to her kids. The saddleback in the picture was out of Joy to a different gander. They just keep getting better. I have her daughters, granddaughters , and great grands. I just love em. Not that all of them come that easy and others have taken longer and are still working on them, but having lots of fun. I have never worried about breeding for color because if they don't look like a sebastopol they are just a color, and I have sent my fair share of pets down the road to new pet homes. I am already thinking of who I will pair up for next year and I have already made some decisions and that's what makes it so fun.