When introducing chickens, it is often best to allow as much space as possible so the bird that is lower in the pecking order can escape but the reverse seems to be true of geese. Removing the gander and confining geese in a small area seems to help the females bond.
First year matings are not always that fertile and if they are, they can be difficult to hatch or a little weak as goslings. First year ganders will mate less than second year ganders which can be another reason for lower fertility. More success can usually be had if an older gander is used with first year geese. Do not give up with young ganders though, from their second year onwards, they will usually be vastly improved. There will usually be less fighting if the ganders in the flock have been raised together.
Geese usually prefer to mate on water. Water deep enough to bathe in will help to keep the geese clean which also keeps the eggs they lay clean.
Goslings tend to grow slowly and have to be kept to a slightly older age than other breeds before being ready for market. Because of their size they are not good foragers but do well in confinement. The flesh is coarser than that of the Emden, and the proportion of bone and offal is high. The progeny of a Toulouse goose crossed with an Emden gander grow rapidly and have good fleshing qualities. The Emden sometimes spelt Embden is a heavy breed that originates from Hanover in Germany.
It is a prolific breeder and has a quiet disposition. Currently it is the most popular breed in New South Wales. The breed is most suitable for crossing with other breeds.
Emdens are reasonably good egg producers up to 40 eggs per season ; they are good sitters, early maturing and good foragers. Because feathers from Emdens are white, they are of greater value than feathers from other geese. Goslings can be sexed at day old with a reasonable degree of accuracy, as females have a darker down than males. After a few days, however, there is no difference in feather colour.
There are two colour varieties of this breed: the White Chinese and the Brown Chinese. Both originated in China and are smaller than the Toulouse or Emden. The Chinese is distinguishable from other geese by the knob or protuberance on its head. Chinese geese go broody and are the better layers, laying as many as 50 eggs in a season. Because of this they are ideal for crossing with other breeds.
Chinese and Emden crosses produce desirable goslings of white fleshing qualities more economically than do the pure breeds. The African breed is a variety of the Chinese, slightly larger because of the infusion of Toulouse, giving the breed a dewlap. The breed possibly originated in India, and is not as good an egg producer as the Chinese.
The Sebastopol is basically a fancy breed. This helps them become more mobile and generally have more energy. This gets them in prime breeding condition so they build up the minerals they need for producing better eggs, better fertility, better hatchability and stronger goslings.
Kind of like when women change their diet and take certain tablets in the lead up to getting pregnant to help ensure a healthy baby. Finally you could try to put them in a flock together and some other gander will probably end up mating with the female anyway.
A lot of people think geese need water to mate in. This is not necessarily the case. They will mate anywhere… the middle of the paddock, on the road, wherever. It could be as simple as a puddle in a paddock, or a little kiddy pool.
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