Hi all...I have a question about goose feathers on a Toulouse. Are their chest feathers supposed to be smooth? I have an Embden goose and her chest is smooth, but my gander's looks "fuzzy" like it's just the down.
He came to us like that in the fall...he's 2-3yrs old. I thought maybe a molt would smooth him out a bit, but I'm not sure he went through one in the fall. Frankly, I'm not sure what his regular molt routine is and the former owners weren't much help with random info like this.
His wing feathers look a little scraggly too...but again, he's been this way since we've gotten him. He's got little bald patches on the "elbows" of his wings...I joked with Miss Lydia that it was his Goose-Pattern-Baldness. He's always had it since arriving...so, I don't think there is issues with mites or anything. He's healthy and maintaining weight. He's on grower feed, lots of veggie scraps and, now, pretty much free-ranges all day.
He and the goose didn't get much chance to bathe over the winter because it was SO cold around here...but they've had periodic baths since the end of Feb and have their own pool now that it's warm that they have access to daily.
What's funny is, except briefly (and I mean brief...in and out...that's it) to mate, he won't get in the pool to bathe. We gave him and the ducks a pool last fall when we got them. He didn't use it then either, but I thought it was because of the move and the stress. Now, our Embden makes a bee-line for the pool the minute I let them out in the morning. He will go and dunk his head and splash water over his back, but he sits outside the pool to preen.
Is this just the differences in their personality? Or (as I suspect) could it be because he was never given access to a pool when he was little? Should I be concerned about the feathers?
Thanks.
He came to us like that in the fall...he's 2-3yrs old. I thought maybe a molt would smooth him out a bit, but I'm not sure he went through one in the fall. Frankly, I'm not sure what his regular molt routine is and the former owners weren't much help with random info like this.
His wing feathers look a little scraggly too...but again, he's been this way since we've gotten him. He's got little bald patches on the "elbows" of his wings...I joked with Miss Lydia that it was his Goose-Pattern-Baldness. He's always had it since arriving...so, I don't think there is issues with mites or anything. He's healthy and maintaining weight. He's on grower feed, lots of veggie scraps and, now, pretty much free-ranges all day.
He and the goose didn't get much chance to bathe over the winter because it was SO cold around here...but they've had periodic baths since the end of Feb and have their own pool now that it's warm that they have access to daily.
What's funny is, except briefly (and I mean brief...in and out...that's it) to mate, he won't get in the pool to bathe. We gave him and the ducks a pool last fall when we got them. He didn't use it then either, but I thought it was because of the move and the stress. Now, our Embden makes a bee-line for the pool the minute I let them out in the morning. He will go and dunk his head and splash water over his back, but he sits outside the pool to preen.
Is this just the differences in their personality? Or (as I suspect) could it be because he was never given access to a pool when he was little? Should I be concerned about the feathers?
Thanks.
