We always knew that at some point we would be adding Heritage geese to the homestead. We wanted an animal in addition to the turkeys that would sound an alarm if anything were amiss and we liked the idea of being able to raise them with the ducks and having them bond to each other. We spent quite a lot of time researching the various breeds. It was also important to find a breed that not only preferred to forage for its own food, but thrived from doing so.

American geese were our second choice of goose breed for the homestead, our first being the more endangered Cotton Patch. After a year with Cotton Patch, we parted ways and opted to focus on our second choice.

I had read the horror stories from other goose owners and was prepared to have loud, hormonal “cobra chickens” on the property. I’m still fairly new to American geese, but I’m going on my third breeding season with them and they have been a dream. They are extremely perceptive to the goings on of the properties’ inhabitants. They also decide what should and shouldn’t be allowed and which visitors are or are not okay without first receiving a thorough talking to. Once they figure out what’s considered normal, they will alert to anything that doesn’t fall within their predetermined specifications as such. They are friendly to the point that they will eat out of my hand, but they are wary of visitors that they don’t know. They have been excellent foragers requiring little supplemental feed and even during winter they were seen actively grazing. I love my American geese. They have been a beneficial addition to the homestead and I couldn’t imagine hobby farming without them.

We brought our Buff gander and Blue goose in as goslings in March and May of 2020, respectively and bred them together in 2021.

When paired with the Buff gander, the Blue goose produces female goslings in Buff and Lilac and males in Gray and Blue that will be split to Buff. I really appreciate having a flock that is autosexing. Even though I can vent sex with a high rate of success, I don’t enjoy doing it.

For the 2022 breeding season, I brought in more geese to further my lines. I purchased a Buff goose and bred her to a Blue gander, neither of which was related to anyone I currently have here. This breeding resulted in Blue and Gray goslings in both genders with the males being split for Buff. I retained a male and female in Blue.

During this same year, I test bred the two female Lilacs I had retained from 2021. Based on their offspring, I was able to ascertain that they were in fact Lilac. In 2023, they will be bred to the blue gander I retained from the 2022 breeding. This pairing will produce goslings in both genders in all the colors; Gray, Blue, Silver/Lavender, Lilac, Cream, and Buff.

The Blue goose that I retained from the 2022 season will join my autosexing flock in order to give me more sex-linked goslings.

I have two sets of breeding trios. It’s taken me three years to obtain the genetics to meet my particular goal. It’s important for me to be able to offer goslings in all the colors from unrelated, quality parents. Some of the colors look fairly similar at a young age, but I am able to distinguish the difference between them by about three weeks of age. Those preferring specific colors will need to wait until they can be accurately identified.