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Is It A
Goose or A Gander?
We do not vent sex the geese who come into
our sanctuary. Vent sexing requires tipping the goose upside
down and poking around, which is the last thing we want to do to a rescued
animal. Instead, we do what the geese do. We learn to
recognize the gender of our newcomers visually, vocally and
by their behaviors.
No doubt, if you see a penis protruding--your goose is a
gander!
--Photo donated by the Garey Family
Males will commonly initiate mating behavior
and attempt to mount females on water. Males will often swim
more frequently in small ponds while females will often
stand on the shore and avoid going in because they know what
will follow.
When a new goose is introduced to an existing
gaggle, a newly introduced female will commonly run away from the approach of
the existing alpha gander (although timid ganders may also
run away). On the other hand, a newly
introduced male will often
engage in a brief dual with the existing alpha gander to vie for leadership
and establish the pecking order.
Furthermore, an existing alpha gander is more
likely to only approach a newly introduced female once
in
confrontation and ignore her after she runs off. On the
other hand, an existing alpha gander will sometimes approach
a newly introduced gander multiple times to reaffirm his
leadership and authority.
Some females will instigate fights. Females are
sometimes seen "cheering on" and coaxing their ganders to
fight with a newly introduced gander. Females will get close to the
action, but rarely participate in these confrontations.
Females lay eggs seasonally. Eggs tend to
appear between February - June. First year and older females often do not lay
eggs.
Here are some further gender "tells" that we've
learned about a few of the more common breeds who have come
into our sanctuary:
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