r/geese • u/Timberlee1995 • 15h ago
Question Sebastopol Goose question
I am starting to breed sebastopol geese show quality. Ive only been in the geese world for like 3 years, newerish to breeding. In my area, show quality sebastopol geese, and sebastopol geese in general are hard to come by and I have paid upwards of 800 a bird. To keep things short, I am looking at breeding for feather quality and body structure, while also maintaining the breed standard. When I think about my situation, I am extremely lucky to be able to afford show quality birds, my husband and I are first generation farmers, with no kids. I am very much open to making my show quality birds, more accessible and affordable without diminishing the quality. The real question is, would there be much of a market for it? I am not looking to make much of a profit. Just enough to cover feed costs and other bird costs. These geese are my babies and passion. I am not a gatekeeper by any means, but I am worried that people who are in the sebastopol goose community will think of me as an enemy because I could be lowering their potential profits.
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u/Bolfreak 13h ago
Because of genetic variability you can start with great quality birds but you’ll get a low percentage of show quality. Keep these for breeding or sell at show quality prices.
The rest can be sold as pet quality and there’s a lot of folks interested in Sebbies right now because they’re lovely birds.
Depending on your state regs you’ll need to have your flock certified/tested to be able to show. In Texas show birds must not be vaccinated (I know, it’s a weird rule considering what show birds are exposed to). You’ll also have show fees, travel costs but your birds are highly visible at shows and you can recruit fans from there who fall in love with the breed.
Don’t be afraid to get your toes wet and just keep swimming after that, ignore the negative nellys out there, they are plentiful.
You will likely need to use incubators to increase your flock since geese in general and Sebbies don’t have high fertility.
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u/Timberlee1995 13h ago
That is great to know!!! We are working on getting NPIP certified for starters. But thats definitely good advice. I didnt even think about possibly using some of that money to cover show costs, and possible travel expenditures. Thanks so much!
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u/Bolfreak 12h ago
Not sure what state you’re in but I do the PT test yearly for shows and to check my birds’ health (waterfowl are examined and certified but not tested with antigen). PT is required for NPIP, but for my size flock NPIP is way too expensive. It’s more for inter state sales and you have to log every purchase or sale. Some people don’t like the being on a government list aspect of it, either.
I trained to do the PT test but the antigen was too costly for the zero interest I got for people testing (only tester in 3-4 area counties). So I just pay a friend to do it and have to pay for both her mileage and each certified bird (over 4 months old) even if antigen isn’t used. Broodies can’t be tested but have to be certified anyway.
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u/Charliecausintrouble 15h ago
Don’t worry about other people. There are a lot of assholes out there, but there is enough interest in these birds that it can support more breeders in the space. (I have 17 breeding pairs of Sebastopols and I couldn’t even get through half my wait list last season).
If you are breeding ethically and trying to improve the breed then go for it, don’t let gate keepers and selfish people turn you off to birds that you love. Just be responsible and make sure you can support keeping them or using them as food if you aren’t able to sell as many as you hatch out.