Toulouse Geese Thread

[livininbrazil]

O.K. I know it is only August and breeding season is still months away. But I hope to be prepared and I am really hoping that my three will become amorous and give me some grand-goslings. As you may know I have three (one male two females) and they seem to be lining up as a couple and an odd-girl-out. Here is my question(s):

If two of them mate, lay eggs and sit on the nest am I going to need to move my odd female into another area? Will the gander tolerate her being in the same pen as his mate and the eggs/goslings?

Do I need to start thing about getting another male for my odd girl out and if so do I need to have a coop, run and so forth apart for them?

If there are goslings will all be o.k. with the male and two females around or will the odd female try to injure the goslings?

I understand that breeding is usually Jan - Apr and that it has a lot to do with the weather. I am in West Texas and our coldest months typically are Feb through Mar. When I say coldest I mean in the teens most of the time with highs sometimes reaching low 30s for days on end. Will the cold mess with their breeding instinct? Is there a chance they will mate, lay eggs to hatch, early Dec-Jan due to the milder weather and loose the eggs to the real cold that follows?

If I need to do another pen and get another male I need to start planning for and building that as well as trying to find a male that is the right age. Also, if I need to get another male is there a special method to introduce him into the flock and/or introduce him to his new girlfriend?

Thanks in advance.

It´s quite normal, this. Geese do tend to prefer to be in a couple.
He´ll prob view her as his 2nd goose, and once the first one is sitting, he´ll mate with that 2nd one. Or the two females may try to share a nest, but this isn´t usually very successful as they´ll normally pinch each other´s eggs, and then some eggs get left out in the cold, etc...
You could get another male and then keep the two pairs separated in their individual pens. It doesn´t always work the way you want if you leave them to it themselves. Here, I have two males enamoured with each other, two males that like the same female.....

, and one gander that is looking after a harem!

An extra female isn´t likely to harm goslings, she´s most likely to have her own nest, whether she has to share a gander or not. The down-side I find is that the gander will try to have all the goslings together, and may steal the 2nd goose´s goslings from her to take to his favourite goose.
With regards to the eggs, the geese will look after that, and if you should get really bad weather and lose the lot, then they´ll start over again. I try to delay mine, not because of the temperature, but because of the dry season. (the later they lay, the more chance of rain bringing new grass.)

If you decide to get another male, pop him in a pen right next to the others for a few days so they can get acquainted, and let them get on with it, hoping that one doesn´t woo both females. (It´s actually far more probable that the new male will have at least one of the females, as the females tend to prefer to mate with new blood, or at least it seems this way with mine. (Except for the crazy enamoured brothers!)
Well, this is what I´ve found, anyway.. hope it helps.

 

[flockman]

O.K. I know it is only August and breeding season is still months away. But I hope to be prepared and I am really hoping that my three will become amorous and give me some grand-goslings. As you may know I have three (one male two females) and they seem to be lining up as a couple and an odd-girl-out. Here is my question(s):
My original pair were very happy until my goose became egg bound with her second egg. She died a few days later. After that I bought 2 female goslings to replace her. My gander raised them. He seems to prefer one goose a little more than the other. In general they are all quite happy. His favorite goose set on her nest of 8 eggs and hatched them all. The second goose lost her nest to raccoons. We shall see what next year brings!
If two of them mate, lay eggs and sit on the nest am I going to need to move my odd female into another area? Will the gander tolerate her being in the same pen as his mate and the eggs/goslings?

Do I need to start thing about getting another male for my odd girl out and if so do I need to have a coop, run and so forth apart for them?

If there are goslings will all be o.k. with the male and two females around or will the odd female try to injure the goslings?

I understand that breeding is usually Jan - Apr and that it has a lot to do with the weather. I am in West Texas and our coldest months typically are Feb through Mar. When I say coldest I mean in the teens most of the time with highs sometimes reaching low 30s for days on end. Will the cold mess with their breeding instinct? Is there a chance they will mate, lay eggs to hatch, early Dec-Jan due to the milder weather and loose the eggs to the real cold that follows?

If I need to do another pen and get another male I need to start planning for and building that as well as trying to find a male that is the right age. Also, if I need to get another male is there a special method to introduce him into the flock and/or introduce him to his new girlfriend?

Thanks in advance.

 

[jtn42248]

Well, time progresses and my three (Sting, Pauline and Lydia) get more and more interesting as each day passes. They seem to be starting to respond to their names and they follow direction, minimally but they do. I take them out to range and when done I say "Sting, take your girls home". He honks a couple of times, turns and walks back into their run and the two females follow him. No arguments, not chasing around, just really well behaved geese.

The relationship between Sting and Lydia is becoming more and more evident. When we go out to the range the two of them stick together and Pauline sticks by my side as if I was her "date". I worry that when and if Sting and Lydia do mate and become parents Pauline will be left out. I think about getting her a gander of her own even though there would be no guarantees they would hit it off. Or, possible another female and let the two of them have some space of their own to be old maids together. Who knows where this all might end up.

 

[livininbrazil]

Well, time progresses and my three (Sting, Pauline and Lydia) get more and more interesting as each day passes. They seem to be starting to respond to their names and they follow direction, minimally but they do. I take them out to range and when done I say "Sting, take your girls home". He honks a couple of times, turns and walks back into their run and the two females follow him. No arguments, not chasing around, just really well behaved geese.

The relationship between Sting and Lydia is becoming more and more evident. When we go out to the range the two of them stick together and Pauline sticks by my side as if I was her "date". I worry that when and if Sting and Lydia do mate and become parents Pauline will be left out. I think about getting her a gander of her own even though there would be no guarantees they would hit it off. Or, possible another female and let the two of them have some space of their own to be old maids together. Who knows where this all might end up.

Hi jtn. you could get another female, but they won´t be old maids together..it´s very likely Sting would mate them. And the new goose would probably become goose no.2, leaving Pauline behind again. I say this, because if I remember right, Lydia is the older one, and the other two you bought together as youngsters? I may remember it wrong.......

If you just have the 3 as they are, Sting will still likely mate Lydia first, and then Pauline, and she´ll have her own gozzies too, and they´ll become one flock. The one down-side is that when Lydia has goslings, and then Pauline does, Sting may take the goslings from Pauline and take them to Lydia (the ganders just love goslings), and that way goslings can be lost.

I found what works for me here when I have a goose without her very own mate, is I fence around her nest a week or so before her goslings come, and that way I can make sure the goslings are bonded, well-fed and strong before I let her out with her gozzies to mix with the others.

Sometimes, a mated pair can 'persecute' a spare goose, but I don´t believe it´s very common, and I doubt yours will, as they already view themselves as family.

You could get another gander, or another goose, but you don´t need to. Rather than buy another one, you could always let Pauline 'keep' a female gosling for company, whether her own or one of Lydia´s..

Hope this helps.

 

[Horsebackrules]

Are Toulouse friendly (generally speaking)?

 

[jtn42248]

Are Toulouse friendly (generally speaking)?

My three are very friendly.

 

[Horsebackrules]

do they get along with ducks? (if you have any)

 

[jtn42248]

do they get along with ducks? (if you have any)

Initially they got along fine with my ducks however once everyone started to mature my gander decided that my drakes were too much of a threat. There was never any real conflict but I did build them their own area (coop, run, range) and move them there to keep the peace. The Blue Swedish drake and the Toulouse gander still nip at each other at the fence that separates them.

There are others here on BYC that have their goose and duck flocks together with no problems. I recently added 17 Cayuga ducks to my flocks and the geese don't pay any attention to them at all so it might just be something between the Blue Swedish and the gander.

 

[Horsebackrules]

Oh, well I heard this could happen so I decided go get all females

 

[marquisella]

ISO a trio or a pair. In New York Shipping is ok.