Young Pilgrims: 2 males after same girl, leaving second girl out...

[Last Train Vnyd]

I have 2 male pilgrim geese (Dandelion and Clover) and 2 female pilgrim geese (Daisy and Violet) who are just under a year old. They are starting to act like they are entering their first breeding season and I have actually witnessed Daisy and one of the males mating. The problem is that both males seem to want Daisy and are not paying attention to Violet. The males are not fighting as of yet but I feel sorry for Violet. Within our flock I have a silver Appleyard drake (Coriander) who lost his mate (Paprika) this past fall and he seems to be taking an interest in Violet. Does anyone think that the drake is throwing a wrench in the natural coupling that should be taking place between the geese or is he just doing that because they are the odd-man-out together? Should I separate off one of the males with Violet? I do not want to disrupt the flock relationship, but I'm not sure if things will right themselves naturally or if I need to intervene. I am also not sure which male it was that I saw mating with Daisy and don't want to take away the male she has chosen. I am hoping to find a suitable sized duck for my drake as well so that might help. Any advise and experience with this is welcomed! Thank you!

 

[livininbrazil]

I have 2 male pilgrim geese (Dandelion and Clover) and 2 female pilgrim geese (Daisy and Violet) who are just under a year old. They are starting to act like they are entering their first breeding season and I have actually witnessed Daisy and one of the males mating. The problem is that both males seem to want Daisy and are not paying attention to Violet. The males are not fighting as of yet but I feel sorry for Violet. Within our flock I have a silver Appleyard drake (Coriander) who lost his mate (Paprika) this past fall and he seems to be taking an interest in Violet. Does anyone think that the drake is throwing a wrench in the natural coupling that should be taking place between the geese or is he just doing that because they are the odd-man-out together? Should I separate off one of the males with Violet? I do not want to disrupt the flock relationship, but I'm not sure if things will right themselves naturally or if I need to intervene. I am also not sure which male it was that I saw mating with Daisy and don't want to take away the male she has chosen. I am hoping to find a suitable sized duck for my drake as well so that might help. Any advise and experience with this is welcomed! Thank you!

Hi. I´d be inclined to figure out which gander the goose likes best, then pen the other two in together. Once they form a pair, they should be ok. You can let them out again once they have good-sized goslings, and they should be fine to mix again with the others.
And then a duck or 3 for your drake, for him to leave the geese in peace. I like the names, by the way!

 

[Last Train Vnyd]

Thank you for your advice. The drake was taken out of their area and the two couples are still together. They are now paying attention to both girls but definitely have a favorite. For the most part everyone is getting along pretty well. And the drake is going to get a new girl this weekend.

 

[livininbrazil]

Thank you for your advice. The drake was taken out of their area and the two couples are still together. They are now paying attention to both girls but definitely have a favorite. For the most part everyone is getting along pretty well. And the drake is going to get a new girl this weekend.

Well, what you may find now is that the bigger gander may take the two geese for himself, so just keep an eye out. If it seems this is the case, it still may be a good idea to separate them, not so much because of squabbles, but because then you´ll, have two pairs that you know the goslings aren´t all from the same father. Have they started nesting yet?

 

[Last Train Vnyd]

They have definitely started laying their eggs, and at least one of the girls seems to be very interested in housekeeping in the nest box (large dog house). However, they are out of the house more than they are in. I am hoping she will take to sitting full-time soon. I don't have an incubator yet and I am not sure which model would be best for all sizes of eggs (guinea through goose) so my plan is to let them try their hand at it this year. They are not even 1 year old yet so I was surprised that they started laying this year. I didn't expect a nest full until next year. As far as separating the couples, I could not tell which male was either females' favorite and didn't want to split the wrong birds up. :-(
Next year I think I'll split them into couples in January. They seemed to hit breeding temperament in February.

Any suggestion on good incubators??

 

[livininbrazil]

They have definitely started laying their eggs, and at least one of the girls seems to be very interested in housekeeping in the nest box (large dog house). However, they are out of the house more than they are in. I am hoping she will take to sitting full-time soon. I don't have an incubator yet and I am not sure which model would be best for all sizes of eggs (guinea through goose) so my plan is to let them try their hand at it this year. They are not even 1 year old yet so I was surprised that they started laying this year. I didn't expect a nest full until next year. As far as separating the couples, I could not tell which male was either females' favorite and didn't want to split the wrong birds up. :-(
Next year I think I'll split them into couples in January. They seemed to hit breeding temperament in February.

Any suggestion on good incubators??

Hi Vnyd, Pilgrims tend to be very good parents, I doubt you need an incubator unless you want to raise lots of goslings. You may have success this first year with the geese, although they´re young, but the first eggs will be small so you may want to make omelettes with those, and wait for the eggs to get a better size. I don´t let my first-year females hatch out their eggs, but that´s just me.
Once geese have formed their pair, they´ll stick in it year after year, so it´d be good to see which goose belongs to which gander. You´d soon know if you split the wrong birds up.