2 Month Old Saddleback Pomeranians

[plantcityhomestead]

My Poms are 2 months old now, and it looks like I may not have any great breeders. What do you think?

Here's the entire gaggle. They move too fast to get a good shot.



This one looks like it is developing the best markings.



The one looking at the camera has an incredibly pink bill and feet. I am pretty sure she is female. Her markings are better than some, but not very clean. She is always the first out of the pen and looking for adventure. First to get a name.....Pinky.



The guy on the right is definitely a male...huge neck and legs.

 

[scratch'n'peck]

They are a wonderful gaggle. Since I don't breed, I don't really notice if they conform to the breed standards, but I still enjoy goose photos.

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

I would ask Kawonu, MrsMagoo1, and Oregon Blues as the first two raise buff SB and OB has grey

 

[Oregon Blues]

I've seen a lot worse. Where did you get them from?

The markings are a little bit off for showing. Bills and feet should be pinkish. I can see some pinkish feet and some orange bills. For their age, bodies look about right. They will fill out more and be more stout as they get older.

I bought an entire flock this spring and one of the geese has broken color on her neck. Otherwise she is quite nice, so I intend to breed her and see. If she produces too many goslings with the broken color, I will move her on to a nice pet home.

I think I probably like your goose on the left of the photo, second head down. Way over-marked on the neck, but a nice shape. It's not possible to say for sure with just a photo. Nor is it really possible to give an evaluation at such a young age.

 

[Going Bhonkers]

(I dont know what Pomeranians are supposed to look like, but yours birds are very pretty!!)

 

[plantcityhomestead]

I've seen a lot worse. Where did you get them from?
I purchased them from a local breeder. He is a friend of a friend, and had a very nice female he was breeding from. I didn't see the male.

The markings are a little bit off for showing. Bills and feet should be pinkish. I can see some pinkish feet and some orange bills. For their age, bodies look about right. They will fill out more and be more stout as they get older.
All but Pinky have very orange bills, but the feet have a little better color. Is the orange dominate, or if I breed Pinky, is there a chance I can improve the color? I don't really plan to show, but I don't want to breed bad birds, but I don't know how much I can improve them. With the orange bills, I am afraid they may not be 100% Pom. It will be a while before the lobes show.

I bought an entire flock this spring and one of the geese has broken color on her neck. Otherwise she is quite nice, so I intend to breed her and see. If she produces too many goslings with the broken color, I will move her on to a nice pet home.
What characteristics would you look for in the gander in breeding her?

I think I probably like your goose on the left of the photo, second head down. Way over-marked on the neck, but a nice shape. It's not possible to say for sure with just a photo. Nor is it really possible to give an evaluation at such a young age.
Is there any purpose in using an over-marked bird in breeding, or should I be looking for other homes for them? I get terribly attached to my geese, and I really don't plan on keeping all of them, so I am trying to make decisions as early as I can. I will post some photos a couple of months from now when they are fully feathered.

Thank you so much for your input. I really want to learn, and there just isn't much information out there.

Cindy

 

[Oregon Blues]

Have you purchased an American Standard of Perfection, yet? It will help you to read all the information about judging and to read the standard for Pomeranian Geese.

Buy it directly from the American Poultry Association. It is well worth every penny of the purchase price.

 

[plantcityhomestead]

Have you purchased an American Standard of Perfection, yet? It will help you to read all the information about judging and to read the standard for Pomeranian Geese.

Buy it directly from the American Poultry Association. It is well worth every penny of the purchase price.

OB, I use a friend's copy, but it doesn't really say anything about how to breed to get to the SOP. I have not even started breeding any poultry yet, I am trying to learn before I start. Can you recommed any good resources?

cindy

 

[1MrsMagoo]

My goodness, they look all grown up: Seems like you only got them yesterday.

Wish I could be of some help, but I am still trying to sort things out myself...lol. I just ordered by own APA Standard Book so maybe that will help me a bit. I am in relatively the same position you are though concerning sorting out the breeders.

As to the orange bills and legs: I have noticed with these birds, as they get older their bills do get pinker, so have not given up on the youngest with orange bills yet. Also, with their legs and feet...so long as the foot itself is pink as they grow you have a chance for that bird to have the pink coloration on the legs and feet.

Something else I have noticed is that their markings get better and more distinct with age. The oldest of the goslings I hatched this year are now 5 months and finally have what I consider to be their adult feathers. The markings on the youngest of this batch finally became completely apparent in the last couple of weeks: She is about three weeks younger than the others. Only one of the four birds I hatched in January has a nice light pink bill, with just a hint of orange at the base. The rest have orange that bleeds to reddish/hot pink. Their markings are all over the place and I really hope their are some pictures in the SOP, or I'll be left going

So, given this, I would say that yours are still too young to make any final judgments: I would give them a few more weeks.

Their aren't any waterfowl shows around here other than county and the state fair, so I'm not worried about showing them right now. However, like you, I do want to breed toward the SOP. I guess our best route may be to make a Pomeranian thread and then all four of us that have them can talk on one thread.

Seriously though, with such a rare breed, it is going to be difficult to find much help.

Of all those that raise Pomeranians on here, I would say the Oregon has the most knowledge when it comes to quality issues. It just isn't fair for the rest of us to lean on Oregon all the time to evaluate our birds.

The International Waterfowl Breeders Association does have photos of a Buff Saddleback goose and gander on their page. If this is what they are saying show birds should look like, at least we'd have something to look at and a starting point.

 

[plantcityhomestead]

My goodness, they look all grown up: Seems like you only got them yesterday.
They have more than doubled in size in the last month. It is amazing to me how fast geese grow.

Wish I could be of some help, but I am still trying to sort things out myself...lol. I just ordered by own APA Standard Book so maybe that will help me a bit. I am in relatively the same position you are though concerning sorting out the breeders.
Just having a support system is a big help. I just found out that one of my neighbors have a female that she picked up at an auction for next to nothing, and she has beautiful markings, but she is older and my friend does not have a male. She is new to the breed too, and isn't even sure she is going to keep the goose. I am hoping if she sells her, she will be mine. I sure wish the APA had a good publication on breeding geese. Descriptions and pictures aren't much help. I'm glad we have our group here.

As to the orange bills and legs: I have noticed with these birds, as they get older their bills do get pinker, so have not given up on the youngest with orange bills yet. Also, with their legs and feet...so long as the foot itself is pink as they grow you have a chance for that bird to have the pink coloration on the legs and feet.
This is great to know. All of mine have pink feet and legs. I will give them more time.

Something else I have noticed is that their markings get better and more distinct with age. The oldest of the goslings I hatched this year are now 5 months and finally have what I consider to be their adult feathers. The markings on the youngest of this batch finally became completely apparent in the last couple of weeks: She is about three weeks younger than the others. Only one of the four birds I hatched in January has a nice light pink bill, with just a hint of orange at the base. The rest have orange that bleeds to reddish/hot pink. Their markings are all over the place and I really hope their are some pictures in the SOP, or I'll be left going

So, given this, I would say that yours are still too young to make any final judgments: I would give them a few more weeks.
Too bad we are so far apart, we need to get our pink birds together, unless they are both girls, or guys.

Their aren't any waterfowl shows around here other than county and the state fair, so I'm not worried about showing them right now. However, like you, I do want to breed toward the SOP. I guess our best route may be to make a Pomeranian thread and then all four of us that have them can talk on one thread.

Seriously though, with such a rare breed, it is going to be difficult to find much help.

Of all those that raise Pomeranians on here, I would say the Oregon has the most knowledge when it comes to quality issues. It just isn't fair for the rest of us to lean on Oregon all the time to evaluate our birds.

The International Waterfowl Breeders Association does have photos of a Buff Saddleback goose and gander on their page. If this is what they are saying show birds should look like, at least we'd have something to look at and a starting point.
I think we should try to show, just to get feedback from the judges. Usually they know quite a bit about breeding. In the meantime, we can start our huge group and hope we don't crash BYC. I think that Oregon has the best birds I have seen, so I hope she continues to help us get to her level. If we get some good birds eventually, maybe we can have a group of 6 or 7 next year. I wish geese hadn't gotten such a bad rap as a fatty bird, and being aggressive, and needing a pond, so people stopped raising them. It grieves me to think how many varieties have been lost, and I think geese are the best poultry I have ever raised as a pet or as meat. I may not be able to save the Poms, but I will talk about the joys of geese to anyone who will listen.

Cindy