which gander should I keep?

14 years ago

I thought I had figured out which Pilgrim gander I was keeping, but ran across a site that has specs for keeping the breed pure.(Omniskies). They state that ganders with lots of grey markings are of mixed heritage, and some with a few grey wing feathers may loose them on 1st molt. I have 2 really good contenders,both 3 months old, but they're really quite different. The one that fits the "all white" criteria best is "short", though in prpoportion, compared to the geese and ganders of the same age, has the least grey of all, electric blue eyes, friendly, a nice grey "saddle", just starting his abdominal "lobes", his main issue being "short". The other is slightly taller than the rest of the flock, regular blue eyes, a speckling of grey, with quite large, equally sized "lobes" already. Will the short one catch up? And is it quite likely the larger one will loose his speckling with 1st molt? Could it be the larger one is of mixed heritage? Which would be the best keeper? Oh, dear!!!

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Comments (3)

seramas
14 years ago
Always choose the one closest to the 'standard'. If the shorter on is within the size standard to be called a Pilgrim, then by all means keep him. Being 12 weeks old he may grow taller-he has 6 to 8 weeks more before being all that he will be.

Is he short due to short legs, short neck, smaller body-or a combination of any/all? It would help to see individual pics of the contenders and a group pic to compare them with the hens. Provide a link that list the 'standards' they must meet. This will help to make a better informed guess.
fancifowl
14 years ago
You can work on the colors but if you dont select for good type and size you wont have much in a couple generations and the best color wont matter much.. The more criteria you select for, the slower will be your gain.
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brendan_of_bonsai
14 years ago
If they are eventually ending up on your plate a little mixing wont hurt anyone. If neither looks right then you should assume that they are not, and if breeding for compliance is what you are after then you should start with new birds, if keeping geese is your plan then keep the friendly one, mean geese are no fun.