Sexing?

[docdubz]

I goofed up and lost track of which of my goslings are ganders. I have 7 embdens, 3 are definitely female and 4 were straight run and one of them looked like it was maybe female but the color kind of in between male/female. They are 5 weeks old no so theres no way to color sex them. Ive read that once they start growing its better to wait til they are mature to vent sex them, is that true? Also ive read mixed things on whether or not too many ganders is bad. I was going to let them grow out together for a while and then cull one or two ganders depending on if that one straight run is actually a female. Am I asking for trouble by doing that?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

That's how I would do it. Let them grow and remove ganders as they make troubles. You should be able to tell as they mature by voice and general size and demeanor. I haven't dealt with multiple gander. One is enough for me. Hopefully someone more experienced can offer advice.

 

[docdubz]

That's how I would do it. Let them grow and remove ganders as they make troubles. You should be able to tell as they mature by voice and general size and demeanor. I haven't dealt with multiple gander. One is enough for me. Hopefully someone more experienced can offer advice.

Should I just assume that aggressive ones are ganders? Since Ive posted this at least one of them has been biting the others and ripping feathers out but Im hesitant to cull because Im not sure if its a gander. Also, one of them stands out from the rest has being less afraid of me and more willing to leave the rest of them and approach me, I cant tell if I should interpret this as being aggressive or friendly.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

These are 5 weeks old now? Do they go outside? Aggression at that age could be because they need more room or are bored.

I didn't see any male based behaviors from my gander until he was mature. He used to run just as fast as the girls and didn't start guarding until he started mating.

 

[docdubz]

These are 5 weeks old now? Do they go outside? Aggression at that age could be because they need more room or are bored.

I didn't see any male based behaviors from my gander until he was mature. He used to run just as fast as the girls and didn't start guarding until he started mating.

They hatched april 12th so 6 weeks now. I had to move them exclusively outside and take their shelter away because they were constantly getting bit, especially at night. They are in a pen that is about 50'x80'. The biting got worse and I managed to catch at least one of the culprits in the act. It (im guessing he) bit another gooses wing so hard that the wing is broken or dislocated and sticking out to the side. I grabbed the little jerk and removed him, havent heard any crying since.

I'm not sure how to deal with the broken wing, the way it is sticking out to the side doesnt look like something Id expect to be fixable.

 

[docdubz]

Heres what the wing looks like. If I didnt see it with my own eyes I would have thought a predator did this but, no I watched the one gosling grab that wing and yank.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

That looks like Angel wing. It's either genetic or from too much protein in their feed. It's not broke, it's twisted. Some have had luck wrapping it. I personally haven't had luck keeping wrap on. Mine was a muscovy duck.

 

[docdubz]

That looks like Angel wing. It's either genetic or from too much protein in their feed. It's not broke, it's twisted. Some have had luck wrapping it. I personally haven't had luck keeping wrap on. Mine was a muscovy duck.

Could an injury make it stand out? Cuz I didnt notice it prior to the jerk goose biting and pulling. I had been supplementing with 20% chick starter because that is all I could find but managed to get a couple bags of 17% all flock. Finding feed for these geese hasnt been easy.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Angel wing can happen pretty quickly. I don't think another gosling tugging on it would have made it worse.

I raised mine on Purina flock raiser. They got increasingly larger amounts of grass daily which probably helped cut the protein.

@casportpony , are you familiar with angel wing? I can't think of who to tag in.

 

[casportpony]

Read these:
Angel Wing Treatment
Wrap for angel wing

Technical stuff.

Source:
http://avianmedicine.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/46.pdf