Pilgrim or cross???

[Folcoche]

We got 4 goslings some time ago (supposed to be Pilgrims) but have noticed that they look different. Would they be Pilgrim cross something else?
Thanks!

 

[JRies]

are the 2 in the front boys? Plumage looks more Pomeranian.

 

[Folcoche]

are the 2 in the front boys? Plumage looks more Pomeranian.

Hello,
Good question. We thought only the white would be a boy since we bought "Pilgrims" but we do not know anymore. No sign of trying to mate yet, as they are still too young I think. Thanks for that! We will check what the Pomeranian goose is like and compare.

 

[Amer]

They are mixed breeds. There are some pure breeds with that coloration, but if you bought them as Pilgrims it's safe to say they aren't that.

 

[Goosehill]

Many people refer to any autosexing geese as Pilgrim, which is a type selected from the autosexing geese that were taken to many parts of the world by English settlers. Your geese look very similar to mine, and the closest named variety would be "West of England"- these are geese that were once widely kept and still are in parts of England which are "a bit off the beaten track" so to speak. Similar autosexing geese are found in Normandy and some of the islands off the western coast of Scotland, historical sources describe them as "common geese".

Most of mine have bright blue eyes both sexes but a pair from a different line have grey-blue eyes, becoming paler as they mature. Pilgrim ganders have blue eyes and geese have brown eyes, so slightly different dominance and dilution in the colour genetics.