It can be a little difficult to tell a goose and a gander apart. Other than a couple of autosexing breeds, geese have the same plumage colors. Males and females are also similarly sized and have no real obvious distinguishing characteristics like a rooster’s sickle feathers. So how do you tell the genders apart?
Well, it can be fairly easy once you’re familiar with geese. Read on to find out how to tell the gender of your geese.
Goose Traits
A female goose is called, well, a “goose”. She will generally have a shorter neck. She will also be more timid, tending to stay behind the gander for protection.
When a goose walks around she tends to have her bill in the air, watching intently. Her voice is lower pitched than that of a gander.
During breeding season (spring) you might notice feather loss on the top of her head if you have a gander breeding the geese. During mating the male bites the feathers on the goose’s head which can lead to feather loss.
Gander Traits
A male goose is called a “gander”. His neck will be longer and thicker than the female. He will try to place himself between you and those that he wants to protect.
Ganders tend to move their heads with more snakelike movements and are more likely to try to bite people and other animals. If you approach him when he’s trying to protect his family he will stretch out his neck towards you.
Ganders will have a higher pitched voice and tend to be more vocal than the geese. They also have, in my opinion, more personality than the females.
Do you want to learn how to incubate and hatch your own goslings?
Vent Sexing Geese
Geese can be vent sexed, but be aware that you can damage or kill your geese if you aren’t careful. Do so at your own (and your bird’s) risk. Please proceed with caution.
Okay, now that the disclaimer is out of the way we can dive into vent sexing. These instructions are for older birds. You can hold a younger g
- Catch your goose and place it on the ground, belly up.
- Kneel over the goose using your legs to keep it in place. Hope it doesn’t bite your butt. 🙂
- With gloves on (they’ll probably poop), use your fingers to spread the vent apart while pushing down.
- If the goose is a male the penis should either pop out or be visible (corkscrew shape). If the goose is a female she will not have a penis, obviously.
Tip: If you have multiple geese consider banding their legs (I use colored zip ties like these) to easily tell them apart. For example, you can band ganders on the left leg and geese on the right leg.
Myth: A goose’s lobes can determine if they are male or female.
I’ve heard a number of people say that the number of lobes (the fat deposits that hang between goose legs) can determine the gender of geese. They say that a “W” shape (2 lobes) is a male and a “U” shape (1 lobe) is a female. This is 100% false.
The number of lobes a goose has depends on its breed. The APA Standard of Perfection for American Buffs, my breed of choice, calls for 2 lobes. When geese do not have the proper number of lobes for their breed it is a conformation fault, not a gender-determining trait.
My Gander has decided to hang out with my cow and protect her…. is this normal?
Geese of both genders can and will bond to other animals and people, particularly if there aren’t other geese around. If you do have female geese for your gander you can try penning them all together, away from the cow, and see if that changes the gander’s mind. Otherwise, if he isn’t bothering you or the cow you can let them be.
i have been wandering why my Gander has bonded with my flock of sheep and its very protective on them
Geese can bond with other species of animals if they are around them a lot. In particular, if there aren’t other geese around their instinct to flock will drive them to bond with other animals. Another situation that can occur is a low-ranked gander may choose to bond with other animals because he doesn’t have any geese to mate with (the higher-ranked ganders have claimed all the females).
Hi. We live in town property with big yard. Our geese had 5 chicks, two died, no idea why. We want to keep the other three, one is female not sure about the other two… Would they live happily together as a flock? Can you have more than one male in a flock without problems? Then obviously don’t want any more so we just remove any eggs in future?
Yes, they will all get along well! The males will usually spar a little in the winter to establish dominance. Once that’s sorted they’ll be good until the next winter. And yes, simply remove the eggs so the geese don’t have anything to hatch.
I live in a senior facility having two ponds. A flock of geese and one of ducks claim one pond. Several of us have been trying to determine gender as well as basic behaviors and communication. There seems to be a variety of methods for determining a gander’s identity. Is the shape of his tail involved at all? If so, how? Thanks in advance for educating this 74 y/o Nana. Shirley
The tails on geese are identical for both genders. So unfortunately you won’t be able to tell them apart that way. You should notice significant behavior differences as breeding season approaches that can help you figure out the genders.
However, with ducks the males (drakes) will have a forward-curling tail feather. It’s called a “drake feather” and is only found on male ducks.
I have two emden geese and two Pekin ducks. All are less than a year old. The ducks are very clearly male and female. The geese are more of a challenge. When I purchased them, I paid for a sexed female and left the other to whatever it may be. Well, the indexed bird is very clearly a goose as she’s actively laying eggs. The bird sexed as a female is not laying and is quite a bit heavier than the goose. My male duck mounts everybody, including this seemingly male goose – and the goose kind of allows it. But there is not actual breeding between the two. Is this a dominance thing? Also, my very definite female goose will mount this other goose. But they kind of take turns. I haven’t been able to turn anything up on this behavior. I’m very confused.
Drakes will breed anything that holds still long enough (alive or dead!), including other males. Dominance does come into play, but ducks are extremely lusty birds in general. You do need to have more than 1 female for your drake, for her safety and health.
It does sound like you have two female geese. If you had a gander, he’d be very territorial about the goose that’s laying eggs right now. The ducks wouldn’t be allowed near her or her nest, he’d be hissing and snaking his neck at you, and there would be noisy goose mating daily (ganders make a particular honking after successfully breeding).
As far as the female goose breeding the other, that’s normal in the absence of a male. Female ducks will breed each other if no drake is around (or if he’s busy with another duck), a dominant hen will mount other hens if no rooster is around, cows mount each other if they’re in heat and no bull is around, etc. Totally normal – their hormones say it’s time to breed and they’ll attempt to do so.
Hi. In one video a person said that white geese mate for life. But, if the female die and he doesn’t mate his penis basically falls off and no longer can he mate again. I thinkit shrinks.
My gander’s mate were killed and he was very sad for over three years he was crying everyday. She was going to lay eggs as she was def well rounded. He started swimming with the Egyptian geese and helped raised over 6 sets of baby geese.
Now he founda young geese female. He has several times mated or so i think with this female, but it seems like she cannot lay eggs.
My concern is the part of loosing his male genitals ..
I cannot find anywhere, the statement that this man made if it is the truth.
Please assist
Domestic geese don’t mate for life and they aren’t monogamous. Ganders will breed multiple geese and geese will allow different ganders to mount them. They do form mating bonds each fall and will choose new mates if their previous mate isn’t available.
Ganders do not lose their penis – it doesn’t shrink or fall off. Drakes (male ducks) do shed their penises at the end of a breeding season and grow them again before the next breeding season starts.
My geese start breeding a full month before the girls start laying eggs. I wouldn’t be concerned at all that his new mate hasn’t started laying yet.
Thanks for the articles. I have found everything I needed to know, and have been looking for a while. This is the best info I’ve seen so far.
You’re very welcome!
Hi Katie,
You provided a lot of info, thanks!
Questions for you. My goose laid eggs and soon will be hatching. I would like to keep 1 female, but am worried about the father mating with her. If that is the case then the eggs should just be good for eating?
Also worried about a hatchling, was in 1st incubator when only 1 out of 4 hatched. His siblings are in another incubator and lock down won’t be for another week for them. Momma is sitting on 5 eggs now and very aggressive, can’t get near her. I am worried about the little gosling, as I have been carrying him around with me in a dog pouch bcause he does not want to me alone. He will be 1.5 wks older than the 2nd batch so will he peck at the others when they come? I would try to jam him under momma but she is in a smaller dog kennel and I cannot get my hands in there as she will shear off my fingers, she is very protective. + if I get the gosling under her, won’t she neglect the 5 eggs she has to raise him if she accepts him? My 1st time, I have a pair of sebastpols!
The eggs would be good for eating, but honestly, it isn’t an issue to breed back to the sire for 1 generation. However, it’s not something that you want to do for multiple generations.
The older gosling will enjoy the company of the new hatchlings and while he may nibble at them from curiosity, it won’t hurt them. Thankfully geese aren’t nasty about new additions to the flock like chickens are. He is bonded to you at this point and does view you as “Mama Goose”, so you can expect him to be unhappy when you leave.
You could try giving the gosling to your broody goose. However, from my experience, the goose will either abandon the nest to raise the gosling (all eggs die) or ignore the gosling and remain on the nest (gosling dies). At this point, I’d raise him yourself with the 2nd batch. Once the broody goose has hatched her eggs and is taking her goslings out to range, you can introduce your older goslings. Geese are very enthusiastic about goslings and they will likely adopt the new ones.
The easiest way (for future reference) to give a broody goose goslings or ducklings is to put them in her nest while she takes a break and watch from a safe distance when she comes back. Otherwise, a helper is needed to keep her head busy and the gander away while you shove the babies under her from behind.
Hi Katie,
Thanks, the article is very informative and interesting.
I want the rearing of geese as my business, but my worried is that they have only a season and to my experience they laid many eggs but very few will be hatched. Though this time I used hens and I was lucky to have ten geese. I am preparing them for next season with my hens ready.
Pls can I have better and easier way of hatching them because I cannot afford hatching machine and I’ve bad experience of taking my eggs to commercial hatchers which forced me to use hens for hatching.
Thanks once again for the advice in advance.
You’re very welcome! Have you looked at building an incubator? It’s much cheaper to build one than it is to buy one. Here is one type of homemade incubator: https://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Simple-Homemade-Incubator-for-Chicks.
I live on a small lake in Ohio. This past spring, a mom and dad hatched seven gosling Canadian geese. One of the gosling‘s is lame with a bad leg but can fly. In the beginning, the other geese seemed to help And protect the lame one, but now that it is August, the flock seems to come and go but she (I assume it is a she. I have no Way of knowing) mostly stays behind. Periodically one other goose stays with her (male perhaps?) but I’m wondering if they will all leave her behind or if she’ll go with them when it’s time to migrate. If she stays behind and winters over, will she be able to survive The harsh Ohio winter and what can I do to help her?
I suspect that she’ll migrate when the rest of the flock does. However, if she stays she’ll need food (either waterfowl feed or plain grains such as oats), unfrozen water (does the lake freeze solid or have areas of open water?), and some shelter to help block winter winds.
I also have American buff geese and love them! Our first pair hatched 6 goslings, now just as big as their parents. Now our challenge is to tell the young ones from the old pair. do you have any suggestions?
I put leg bands on the goslings before they’re fully grown so I can tell what generation they are. Once they’re fully grown it’s pretty much impossible to tell them apart from the older adults.
I have a pair of geese but it’s now two years without mating what could be the problem ,from the look of my eyes it’s male and female
It’s unusual that your pair hasn’t mated by that age. Are they a full 24 months old?
Assuming that they’re at least 24 months old, there’s a good chance that your pair are both the same gender. In which case you might try to add at least 1 more bird to your flock. I would guess that you have 2 females right now based on the fact that ganders tend to become protective during breeding season over whatever they become attached to.
I have two pomeranian geese. One is definitely female. Our debate is on the other one. Both their colours differ. The female is much lighter in colour and walks around all day chatty. The other one is darker in colour has a longer neck and is much quiter. Both are very tame and follow me like puppies. Is it safe to say that he is the male.
I think you could probably say the other one is a male. Breeding season will be starting soon in the Northern Hemisphere and you’ll be able to confirm gender with certainty if you see them breeding.
Hi Katie,
Your site is full of excellent information, and I am so happy I found it! … Thank You!
I purchased a trio of American Buff geese late in the spring last year. I’m fairly certain based on your descriptions that I have two geese and a gander. They have done well over the past year , roaming around our property eating grass, weeds seed heads etc. They had access all summer to stream and a small pond in addition to a pan of fresh water in their pen. Over the winter I had to restrict their roaming as they preferred to hang out on our patio turning it into a mine field of poop !
I fenced them into an a grassy area alongside the stream bank. They quickly ate all the grass and weeds. They get supplemental feed ( laying pellets) once a day and have access to the stream for water. I expected breeding behavior to begin earlier this month ( it’s the end of March) and so far nothing. This week I noticed the gander was missing some feathers on his chest ( down was still there) and his wings were being held low. When I picked him up to examine him I noticed he was thinner than I think he should be and he weighs less than the geese. He is eating and drinking fine .. in fact he seems hungry. I am wondering if he has parasites? Or is not getting enough food? Or should be moved to a larger fenced in area with more grass? The other two geese in with him look to be in excellent condition. Should I increase their food? Change from laying pellets to ‘all poultry’ feed? Add supplements?… I read somewhere that Geese need sand so I keep a bowl available. They seem to like it.
Any insight would be helpful! I want to get the gander back in good health before breeding season ends. So far the geese have not started laying. Thank you!!
You’re very welcome!
Geese are usually very hardy and it’s not super common for them to have issues with illnesses or parasites. I would try adjusting their diet first and then see how his weight feels after 2-3 weeks. They do need to have access to grass and weeds or good hay if the grass isn’t growing, so try moving them to different areas to graze and then return them to their main pen at night. A higher protein feed like “all-flock” or a waterfowl blend is great for them to have during the breeding season. Also, the geese appreciate having access to oyster shell when they’re laying and need that extra calcium.
The feathers missing on his breast are likely from breeding a goose. You should keep your eyes peeled for eggs soon!
I have one white Sebastopol goose. And I assume she’s a goose and not a gander. I would like to get one more so she has a friend. Short of sexing her, is there any other way to tell of this goose is infect female and not a gander?
No, there’s no 100% way to say for sure. You could try contacting a company that does bird DNA testing to see if they could sex geese from a feather sample. I’ve not seen any that list geese as a species they do, but it’s worth contacting to double-check. I know of people getting their chickens tested at https://iqbirdtesting.com/ for the blue egg gene so I would contact them first.
I have not sexed my gosling other than the visual darker saddle on the females. But one of my goslings that I pegged as a gander is being (courted) by my 1yr old gander. The gander tried to mate with the little one and almost drowned him/her. Is my gander telling me that this little gosling is a goose not a gander?
Possibly. It could also be an attempt to dominate another male.
We found a brown domestic goose/ gander wandering around an industrial part of town yesterday. It was quite weak and very thirsty. We brought it home but are concerned about a few things . I have a flock of 16 chickens. But I’ve never had a goose and would love some advice if you have any to offer.
We fed and watered it. It jumped into the pool paled around a bit but couldn’t get out. It slept inside last night so that i could keep an eye on it but this morning it’s still quite wobbly on its feet. It falls over quite easily. It wants to sleep but won’t sit down unless it’s on my lap! Otherwise it nods off to sleep standing on one leg but then falls over and wakes itself up again. It only eats chicken food – no greens at all – and very little, at that. It’s not drinking very much either, unless I splash my fingers in the water bowl. Then he copies me and had a drink while he’s there. The same goes for the greens… I chopped up spinach with a pair of scissors and he was only interested in the hands while I was chopping… he looked like he was trying to do what I was doing with the scissors, but never ate any.
He/she loves to be carried about and follows me round like a dog. It refuses to go outside unless I’m going out and then sticks right behind me. It gets rather stressed when I leave the room and don’t allow it to come with me. It doesn’t say much, just hissing a little when stressed… and honked softly twice today even my son walked in, that seemed to perk him up.
I think he thinks he’s a human. He doesn’t want to know the chickens who live in their chicken run on the other end of my garden. When they were free ranging they came closer to check him out, he said something quietly … maybe hissed… but the all turned tail and ran away. And they haven’t been back up to the house again. Very unusual behaviors for my chicken.
So my question… would it be possible to integrate this bird in with the other flock or should I just find it a home where it can live inside. And then… about the tipping over… would that naturally come right when it eventually rehydrates and is all fed up again. Not that it’s skinny. It’s obnoxious been well taken care of. Also… would it help to get another goose? Maybe a gosling?
I’ve never had much luck getting geese to keep company with chickens unless they’ve been hatched and raised by broody hens. So no, I don’t think you’ll be able to truly integrate the bird into your chicken flock. However, getting another goose would definitely make it a happy bird and should ease up its attachment to you.
I suspect that once its fully recovered with food and water it should improve health-wise. That said, there are things that cause loss of balance such as botulism or a head injury. In those cases the goose slowly weaken until they are too weak to eat/drink and will eventually die.
I have a Buff Brecon goose, I’m unsure of the gender. I’ve been assuming she is a female, but I have no idea. She is very high drama, loud and high pitched. She has bonded with my two ducks, that she lives with but has not taken to me or any other human, despite all the time and attention I’ve put in. Could she be a gander? Just wondered your thoughts!
Based on your description it sounds like you may have a gander because they do have higher pitched voices and are more vocal. Generally geese won’t bond to people if there are superior beings (geese or ducks) present.
I have two American Buff geese, which are about 8 months old. I vent sexed both and in both, there was a mass that protrudes out of the vent when pressure was applied, but it was smoother and not corkscrew shaped. Will it look like this if the gander holds it in? With my Brown Chinese geese, the corkscrew penis shot out and it was quite obvious I had males, but not so clear cut with the Buffs.
The shape is the same across all breeds of geese. When vent sexing geese I have a rule that corkscrew = male and no corkscrew = undetermined, potentially female.
hello! question about about removing hatched baby goslings and raising them to be people friendly… we wanted to keep a female and sell the rest. But watching how the ducky moms were constantly searching for their babies and very out of sorts for awhile last season when we did this (and didnt do it soon enough and the babies were just little frightened things before they went to their new homes)… what is the best way to remedy this? It is the 1st batch of goslings (mama buff and dad is sebastopol as the french toulouse gander didnt get dibs this season it seems)
Thank you!
The ideal solution would be to hatch them out in an incubator so they never encounter an adult bird to bond with. The second best option is to carefully watch the broody bird and remove goslings as soon as they’ve hatched rather than let the mother raise them.
i have three geese. they are now three years old but the goose has laid no eggs.
They have two acres to run in and a hutch for sleeping at night.
What can i do to prepare a better nesting area?
I would recommend closing them into the hutch at night so nothing can get in to eat eggs. I’ve had issues with skunks raiding goose nests – even while a broody goose is on the nest! Once you find your first egg, deeply bed the area where you want them to have a nest in the hutch with straw and place the egg on top. I aim to have a loose pile of straw about 3ft high for them to build a nest with.