Sebastopol Geese For Sale
Updated 02/28/2024 – No geese for sale, currently.
Please read this page before messaging me with questions. I’m ignoring a lot of messages, because they’re wasting my time with questions that are already answered on this page. Like I say further down the page, I’m actually a nice person, but the sheer volume of these unnecessary messages is making me cranky.
Just to get two of the most commonly asked questions out of the way …
-Contrary to popular opinion, geese are not going to effectively guard your chicken flock. They might provide an early warning system, but hawks are still going to get your chickens. If you have eagles, coyotes, or fox, the geese are not going to fight them off, but become some predator’s lunch.
-I do not sell singles to situations where there are no other geese. Geese are highly social and need to be kept with at least one other goose. You, or a flock of chickens, are not going to be able to adequately provide the kind of socialization needed by a goose. Because all of my geese are raised within a flock, I will not be so cruel as to remove one of them from the society of other geese.
Policies
Below are the policies by which I sell my birds. They are not up for debate. I get a lot of people who ask me to make an exception. If you decide to be one of those people, don’t be surprised if I walk away from the conversation. I’m actually a nice person, but after 20 years of owning a business, I’ve been subjected to a lot of customer shenanigans. It’s turned me into a cranky old broad who has no desire to engage in said shenanigans. I get plenty of monkey business from the geese.
Pricing and Payment.
I don’t haggle. My prices are as stated. I accept cash or PayPal.
Local pickup only
My birds are available for pickup here at the farm. I don’t deliver. I don’t meet up somewhere. I don’t go to poultry shows. You have come to the farm and get them.
I’m located in northeastern Indiana. If you want an idea of how close I am to your location, my zip code is 46580. I am located about 10 minutes southeast of Warsaw.
I don’t ship live birds. I’ve heard far too many stories from other breeders of birds dying in transit. Some of the stories have been horrific. I invest a lot of time and love into raising them, and I’m simply not willing to risk entrusting them to the postal service. Also, I don’t ship (or sell) hatching eggs.
Waiting List/Holds/Deposits
I don’t keep a waiting list. If you’re interested in goslings in the spring, hatching usually happens in May, and you will need to keep your eye on this page for availability. Please don’t message me asking me to contact you when I have geese available.
I usually put adults and youngsters up for sale again in early fall. I’m very busy during the growing season, so this page tends not to get updated in the summer.
Generally, I don’t like to hold birds, and prefer to sell on a first come, first served basis. However, on those occasions when I agree to hold birds, I require a 50% non-refundable deposit, the balance due at pickup, and the birds must be picked up within 21 days. Not 25 days, not 22 days.
About My Breeding Program
I’m of the opinion that American breeders have so agressively bred Sebastopols for curl, that they’ve sacrificed wing quality. I’ve even heard some breeders say messy wings just go along with the breed. I disagree. It’s entirely possible to breed curly Sebastopols with nicely formed wings. To that end, I use European style smooth breasted Sebatopol geese in my breeding program, with a view to improving wing shape and overall feathering. While twisted wing tip is a prevalent issue among the American birds, it’s not an issue in the European birds. The occasional messy wing will show up in my birds from time to time, but for the most part, I’m producing curly birds with wings that tuck neatly. Personally, I love the smooths, and think they’re very handsome birds. Unlike the curly birds, the smooths can get a little lift (thanks to straight, strong primary flight feathers), and it’s not uncommon to see mine take a low swoop across the pasture. However, they prefer to stay with the flock, and don’t usually try to fly over my fences. About the only time I’ve had an issue with a bird flying a fence, is if I try to separate it from the flock, or in fleeing a threat.
I do keep a few white geese in my flock, which are what the American Poultry Association recognizes as the breed standard. However, my area of interest is color genetics. Through careful record keeping, and targeted breedings, I’m attempting to understand color in Sebastopol geese, while at the same time maintaining and improving upon the standard of perfection in regards to the physical characteristics of the birds. One of my big frustrations when trying to bring new geese into my flock, is finding birds from breeders who have kept careful breeding records. It’s not uncommon to get a new bird, and then discover that there are genetic factors in the bird’s background that the original breeder was not aware of. When buying a goose from me, you will be provided with as complete of a pedigree as I’m able to give.
It appears some people trying to contact me about geese are not receiving my replies. If you’re using a free email account through hotmail, gmail, or yahoo, please be aware that their spam filters are notoriously aggressive. Be sure to check your spam folder if you haven’t heard back from me.
I can be contacted at rebekah @ birdworms.com, without the spaces to either side of the @ symbol. I’ve had to remove the message box on this site, due to excessive spam.
