when do goslings start feathering out? worried over 6 1/2 week olds

spish

De Regenboog Kippetjes
13 Years
Apr 7, 2010
1,856
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316
Belgium
i have 2 young goslings who are nearly 7 weeks old and have not a single feather in sight.......if i remember correctly a gosling we hatched out in march had tail and wing feathers by 5 weeks of age...but he was brought up by his mum...these two have been 'hand' reared.
could it be something lacking in their diet? ive been giving them waterfowl crumbles and they have access to grass outside 24/7...they also get salad and veg scraps from the kitchen....
 
This was my gosling at 5 weeks 1 day:
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And here he is at 6 weeks 5 days:
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I don't know what could be the matter with your goslings. What kind are they? Maybe different kinds grow up differently? Mine is a White Italian/White Danish, an Embden type.
 
havent a clue what type they are, they have brown grey and white fluff, one has a black beak, the other has an orange!
 
There's a hybrid gosling at one of our local lakes that is about 5 or 6 weeks old and is just starting to get feathers. It is still pretty downy. There's a much older youngster that is almost full size and still has a bit of down sticking out. Don't know how old he is.
 
Spish, if you're feeding waterfowl crumbles and allowing grazing, its nothing you are doing wrong. I suspect they might just be "late bloomers". Do you see any signs of feathers at all? Pin feathers/quills?

If they continue to stay "naked" I would say its genetic. I know an entire human family that has a gene defect, and they have NO hair or fingernails, whatsoever. While rare, it happens. Perhaps these geese have a similar genetic issue.
 

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