I've enlisted some folks to talk to about the metamour situations; I definitely need some reality checks because I'm triggering on them hard, and I also need to talk about time/energy allocation.
However! What I really want to do right now is talk about geese!
I need to decide which geese I'm keeping, which geese I'm actively breeding, and what I have capacity for. Turns out I love geese and I love many different types. Here's what I have and what's going on:
Pilgrims: these are the most common auto-sexing geese in North America. This means you can tell males from females because they have different colouring. It also means there's a pretty good genetic base for them. They're a medium size goose and pretty docile; they mix well with the other geese and I've seen them hold their own without picking a fight. They are certainly more standoffish than the chinese geese I raised them with, but also less aggressive towards other geese. Pros: I like auto-sexing breeds, they're no trouble at all, they would be easy to keep genetically diverse, they're popular so I could sell babies well. Cons: I'm not as in love with them as I am chinese or saddlebacks, I don't feel as strong a need to do breed preservation on them, less people-seeking. Currently: Two "lines", one gander and 3 geese total.
Pomeranian saddlebacks: These were my first geese and I love them. They are beautiful, laid-back and practical geese. They are a medium size. Good setters and good parents so far. They get along well with the other geese. They are similar in endangered status to pilgrim geese in north america, but I believe are much more common in Europe so the breed is in less danger of dying out. Pros: low-maintenance, beautiful, I have an excellent start to a flock. Cons: less people-seeking, maybe less popular to sell goslings. Currently: 2 "lines", 2 mature ganders, 2 mature geese, 5 unsexed 2018 goslings.
White chinese: I raised these babies from little (along with 2 of the pilgrims). They splashed in my bathtub. They come up to me when I call and get chest pets. We yell at each other when we're outside (I like noisy geese I guess), they're the loudest in terms of most frequent honking. They're a smaller goose so they're more work for less meat on a carcass. They're the most aggressive geese I think I have so far; the pretty much head gander is one of my white chinese, and he's by far not the biggest goose I have. Pros: I completely love these geese. We are friends. Great foragers. Cons: maybe not great setters? smaller meat weight, aggressive to other geese/ducks, my current genetics are not great, don't need preservation. currently: 1 line, 6 geese (2 of whom are airplane), either 4 geese 2 ganders or 3 of each.
Brown chinese: these seem a tiny bit more sedate than the white chinese, but my pair is 4 years old and the whites are 1 year so maybe age is a factor. They are stunningly beautiful, also small, also very social: though I didn't raise them they will talk to me lots and come close to eat, though I haven't petted one yet. they're reasonably independent and have laid a lot of eggs. Pros: beautiful, good foragers, friendly. Cons: maybe not great setters, don't need preservation. Currently have 1 pair.
Embdens: these are enormous geese, they're basically the cows of the geese world. They're basically unflappable (ugh) and they're the most comfortable with bustle. I got them as "free bonus geese" with my pilgrim gander and at first didn't find them pretty at all but they are growing on me. Because they're so huge they'd be great meat birds. Goslings auto-sex but not adults. I'm curious how they'd do if hand-raised; I bet they could be very friendly. Pros: stick closer than some other geese, great meat birds, get along well with everyone, never need to worry about gene pool size. Cons: rumour is bad setters, not as pretty or as full of personality as the other geese. Currently: 1 line, 1 pair.
Classic (not tufted) Romans: beloved of Juno, protectors of Rome, these are the loudest geese I have in terms of earsplitting single honks. They're wary and took time to like me, but now we talk to each other a lot. They're small geese but not as small as Chinese. They can fly over fences (well, over cattle panels at least) and they are mildly aggressive from time to time. They are vanishingly rare here, as in, I may have a significant percentage of the Canadian population. Pros: I love them, rare breed, manageable size, smart, religious significance. Cons: genetics will be awful to maintain, may not mix well with other geese over the long term, not so sure about containment in breeding season, aggression to other geese may be a problem. Currently: 1 line, 2 geese 1 gander probably related.
Shetland: small auto-sexing breed, can fly, looks like saddlebacks in marking. Excellent foragers, very hardy. I don't have any of these yet but was considering them. Same issues with raising a super-rate bird where genetics are difficult to source and maintain.
African: same beautiful markings as brown chinese but bigger. Some of them have a dewlap (which I don't think is pretty) but others don't. Likely better meat birds than the chinese but maybe with similar personalities. I have considered mixing the african and chinese and to size them up a little. I don't have any of these currently.
For the rare breeds (roman, pilgrim(?), shetland, saddleback) I'd need to have at least 2 and ideally 3 "lines" or different breeding groups for each breed to maintain my genetics. For more common breeds (embden, pilgrim(?) , chinese, african) it would be nice to have two breeding groups of each so I could offer non-sibling breeding pairs for sale, but in no wise necessary. As you can see, that's a lot of little pens during breeding season. It would be nice to have to divide them up a little less in spring, so I should probably pare back a little and be very deliberate here.
My final property goals include many smallish greenhouses that could double as breeding pens in the spring (nothing is going on in there anyhow in February/March).
Anyhow. I currently have communication ongoing about importing Roman geese from the states. I should look into importation from the EU and what regulations are involved with that. I'm excited about this project.
However! What I really want to do right now is talk about geese!
I need to decide which geese I'm keeping, which geese I'm actively breeding, and what I have capacity for. Turns out I love geese and I love many different types. Here's what I have and what's going on:
Pilgrims: these are the most common auto-sexing geese in North America. This means you can tell males from females because they have different colouring. It also means there's a pretty good genetic base for them. They're a medium size goose and pretty docile; they mix well with the other geese and I've seen them hold their own without picking a fight. They are certainly more standoffish than the chinese geese I raised them with, but also less aggressive towards other geese. Pros: I like auto-sexing breeds, they're no trouble at all, they would be easy to keep genetically diverse, they're popular so I could sell babies well. Cons: I'm not as in love with them as I am chinese or saddlebacks, I don't feel as strong a need to do breed preservation on them, less people-seeking. Currently: Two "lines", one gander and 3 geese total.
Pomeranian saddlebacks: These were my first geese and I love them. They are beautiful, laid-back and practical geese. They are a medium size. Good setters and good parents so far. They get along well with the other geese. They are similar in endangered status to pilgrim geese in north america, but I believe are much more common in Europe so the breed is in less danger of dying out. Pros: low-maintenance, beautiful, I have an excellent start to a flock. Cons: less people-seeking, maybe less popular to sell goslings. Currently: 2 "lines", 2 mature ganders, 2 mature geese, 5 unsexed 2018 goslings.
White chinese: I raised these babies from little (along with 2 of the pilgrims). They splashed in my bathtub. They come up to me when I call and get chest pets. We yell at each other when we're outside (I like noisy geese I guess), they're the loudest in terms of most frequent honking. They're a smaller goose so they're more work for less meat on a carcass. They're the most aggressive geese I think I have so far; the pretty much head gander is one of my white chinese, and he's by far not the biggest goose I have. Pros: I completely love these geese. We are friends. Great foragers. Cons: maybe not great setters? smaller meat weight, aggressive to other geese/ducks, my current genetics are not great, don't need preservation. currently: 1 line, 6 geese (2 of whom are airplane), either 4 geese 2 ganders or 3 of each.
Brown chinese: these seem a tiny bit more sedate than the white chinese, but my pair is 4 years old and the whites are 1 year so maybe age is a factor. They are stunningly beautiful, also small, also very social: though I didn't raise them they will talk to me lots and come close to eat, though I haven't petted one yet. they're reasonably independent and have laid a lot of eggs. Pros: beautiful, good foragers, friendly. Cons: maybe not great setters, don't need preservation. Currently have 1 pair.
Embdens: these are enormous geese, they're basically the cows of the geese world. They're basically unflappable (ugh) and they're the most comfortable with bustle. I got them as "free bonus geese" with my pilgrim gander and at first didn't find them pretty at all but they are growing on me. Because they're so huge they'd be great meat birds. Goslings auto-sex but not adults. I'm curious how they'd do if hand-raised; I bet they could be very friendly. Pros: stick closer than some other geese, great meat birds, get along well with everyone, never need to worry about gene pool size. Cons: rumour is bad setters, not as pretty or as full of personality as the other geese. Currently: 1 line, 1 pair.
Classic (not tufted) Romans: beloved of Juno, protectors of Rome, these are the loudest geese I have in terms of earsplitting single honks. They're wary and took time to like me, but now we talk to each other a lot. They're small geese but not as small as Chinese. They can fly over fences (well, over cattle panels at least) and they are mildly aggressive from time to time. They are vanishingly rare here, as in, I may have a significant percentage of the Canadian population. Pros: I love them, rare breed, manageable size, smart, religious significance. Cons: genetics will be awful to maintain, may not mix well with other geese over the long term, not so sure about containment in breeding season, aggression to other geese may be a problem. Currently: 1 line, 2 geese 1 gander probably related.
Shetland: small auto-sexing breed, can fly, looks like saddlebacks in marking. Excellent foragers, very hardy. I don't have any of these yet but was considering them. Same issues with raising a super-rate bird where genetics are difficult to source and maintain.
African: same beautiful markings as brown chinese but bigger. Some of them have a dewlap (which I don't think is pretty) but others don't. Likely better meat birds than the chinese but maybe with similar personalities. I have considered mixing the african and chinese and to size them up a little. I don't have any of these currently.
For the rare breeds (roman, pilgrim(?), shetland, saddleback) I'd need to have at least 2 and ideally 3 "lines" or different breeding groups for each breed to maintain my genetics. For more common breeds (embden, pilgrim(?) , chinese, african) it would be nice to have two breeding groups of each so I could offer non-sibling breeding pairs for sale, but in no wise necessary. As you can see, that's a lot of little pens during breeding season. It would be nice to have to divide them up a little less in spring, so I should probably pare back a little and be very deliberate here.
My final property goals include many smallish greenhouses that could double as breeding pens in the spring (nothing is going on in there anyhow in February/March).
Anyhow. I currently have communication ongoing about importing Roman geese from the states. I should look into importation from the EU and what regulations are involved with that. I'm excited about this project.