what breed please?

[Highlander]

Quote:
I did have great intentions of vent sexing this time round Pete but I think I was afraid of hurting them or doing some damage so I didnt. I guess I'm just chicken!

 

[pete55]

Well not quite as clear cut as I hoped as the bill in the gosling picture is lighter towards the tip and darker at the base. However in the pictures the down appears dark. For what it's worth I think its a female Embden type but others may have a different opinion.

I can remember this little one hatching at the same time as some of my Dewlaps

 

[Highlander]

Quote:
Well fingers crossed!

Yep that's right. You did quite a bit of hand holding that month, it hasn't been forgotten!

How are yours doing? I have found a breeder of Dewlaps near me that I thought I might pay a visit to next spring, you'll be holding my hand again I'm afraid!

 

[pete55]

Hi

Overall we're very pleased and are running on a few youngsters including some young ganders split for Buff. The best youngsters have been from the old Holderread gander and we're running on 2 sons and 3 daughters. They're very big and starting to develop their keels and dewlaps.

We've also managed to get a trio of Buffs but they still look a little rough in feather and need to put some weight on. Hopefully they'll look a lot better in the Autumn but are showing good promise.

Next year we're pairing the Holderread gander with his 2011 daughter to try and get some offspring with the typical Holderread type. We'll also pair him with one of the Buffs and try to breed some Holderread sons split for buff.

We'll leave the Buff Gander with his Buff female for buff offspring but also intend to mate him with the biggest Holderread daughter which should give us some high quality Buff females. All theory at the moment but this year's results have moved our breeding programmes forward ready for 2012.

What are the Dewlaps like that you've sourced and which lines are they from?

Pete

 

[shelleyd2008]

The only thing about it that doesn't scream 'Embden' to me is the size, it seems a bit small for a 3-month-old. It's hard to tell sexes on goslings by down if you have no others to compare them with, but it does look pretty dark. I still say it's probably a female Embden.

Here are a few pics of this year's Embden babies, mostly all girls:

1 boy and 1 girl in this pic, girl in 'back'

Front left to front right (^ pattern): White Chinese, female Embden gosling, Mama goose, female gosling, papa goose, 'uncle' gander, 2 female goslings

left to right, front to back:
male gosling, White Chinese, female gosling, female gosling, female gosling, 'uncle' gander, papa gander, mama goose

Boy:

 

[Highlander]

Quote:
beautiful! why do they all have to look so similar darn it!

 

[shelleyd2008]

They have subtle differences, like Mama has a prominent 'keel' bone that makes her stand out, and one of the 'uncles' has both beak and feet with a 'pink' tinge. Of course, they've each got their own personalities, so that helps

Though I do have a bit of difficulty telling the girl-goslings apart. However, the boy is always the first to shout a greeting (second actually, the big-mouth Chinese is usually first

-), so I'll always know which one he is

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
How did you rule out Shetland geese? I would expect them to be more common in Scotland then they are here in the US? mind I am not saying he (gander) is not a Pilgrim.