What kind of geese are these?

[kayla_sayswa]

A fella gave me a couple goslings. any idea what kind they are?

Also...how do you tell them apart? My daughter wants to show one at the fair but we're not sure what gender they are. One has a more rounded tail whereas the other one has a v-shaped tail. Aside from one being a touch darker in the saddle and neck feathers, they are identical.

 

[cutechick2010]

African???

 

[kayla_sayswa]

I thought African too, but their beaks are more orange than any other African goslings I've seen. But I coudl be wrong. The fella said they could be Toulouse - thats what hatched them out but he said he had an African gander and a Buff goose (is that the term for a female?) at his place at the time, too. I suppose they are just mixed breed...

No biggie..I am just curious.

 

[NYRIR]

I have some I am not sure of either...but those sure are nice looking geese...beautiful

 

[shelleyd2008]

They are not Africans, those are production Toulouse.

ETA: You can't tell the sex of geese by appearance (except in Africans and Chinese or breeds with auto-sexing colors). You tell which is which by behavior. A gander is more outgoing (aggressive), even as a baby. I know my 'baby' 3-month old Embden ganderling likes to 'challenge' the dogs quite often.

 

[sebastopol]

I don't know. They aren't Africans nor Toulousse.

 

[Oregon Blues]

If they were hatched by a Toulouse and his gander was an African, then they are Toulouse African crosses.

They are lovely birds and look like nice conformation for market birds to me. They can be entered in the fair as "other Varieties", or maybe there is a market class to enter. They won't be eligible for best in show, or even best of variety, but you will have a very good time and it is a good start to learn about showing birds.

If you like showing, then the cost of a good purebred to show is quite low in comparison to what other hobbies cost.

I tell the difference between my males and females when the goose (yes that is the female) starts laying eggs. My dominant gander is very high-headed and watchful. The younger gander is not. So body posture and behavior can be used to sex, but it isn't 100% reliable.

 

[bufforp89]

AfricanXToulouse...I have 3 myself that I hatched here and they look identical to yours.

 

[Orange Ribbon]

Wow, African Toulouse geese. With just a wee bit o' Irish goose mixed in to whiten the tail feather tips. HA! I'm messing with you. It does look like African and Toulouse though. Anyway, I have to say I like them.

 

[pinkyglory123]

mine look just like yours, and I have seen several posters with identical birds. Could they just be poor or "hatchery quality" Africans? No offense mine are hatchery birds which could have been several breeds or mixes...mine look exactly like yours.