The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: harry on October 03, 2013, 05:14:22 pm
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i have 6 embdens they all look the same to me same size etc how do i sex geese....something to do with a pouch,, and beak colour i believe
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Mine are autosexing so much easier but I'd have thought you could tell by behaviour. My ganders will come up and see me (with varying degrees of animosity depending on the season), the geese hang back a bit more. And, yes, they are slightly smaller but not sure about the pouch - when they're young, I think the size of the pouch is more a feature of age than gender. My pair from last year both have lovely big pouches, my young goose who was hatched early in the season is just getting one and the young gander who is the youngest is still quite streamlined. But like I say, mine are a different breed so maybe this is completely different (and useless to you!),
H
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If you stand not too far away and watch them while they are feeding you will probably notice that some have their heads up far more often, and others will spend more time feeding. This won't be apparent at a quick glance so take your time
The "heads up" are the boys on guard and the eaters are the girls. This behaviour seems to become more apparent as the flock matures. There is a slight difference in the voices but this takes a while to get your ~"ear in"
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I know people get scared by the prospect but the easiest way to sex geese and duck is to vent sex them. They say its harder with geese after a certain age but i have done it on adults and babies. Its very easy to do and totally accurate! Best thing is to get someone to show you how or there are some videos on youtube which are the next best thing. It doesnt harm them in the least and it will make your life so much easier!
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Surely adult ducks are easy to sex just by looking at them? I'd certainly not be keen to upend an adult gander either - thank goodness I don't have to!
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Surely adult ducks are easy to sex just by looking at them? I'd certainly not be keen to upend an adult gander either - thank goodness I don't have to!
yes of course, its obvious with ducks when they are adult. I just sex the ducklings at day old and sell the excess males. With geese i also do them at day old, when i had africans i would always check the adult males to make sure they had their bits in order as some strains have problems with being ummmmm a bit short lol and so they cant do the job! For geese size matters! Haha
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We have Embdens. this years hatch are now showing signs of gender when you compare them. Ganders slightly larger and more erect, slightly thicker neck and slightly larger head, generally looking a bit more masculine. Their behaviour definitely gives them away as they reack maturity though.