Coloured Sebastopols
I fell in love with Sebastopols while at a local farm - and I had to have some. But like everything on the farm I wouldn't just be happy with the common white Seb, that would have been to easy. Instead I decided to import 8 colored Sebastopols from Dave Holderread's Waterfowl Preservation Center in 2009. Dave Holderread, an expert in waterfowl breeding, had been developing different colors of Sebastopols for years and I was lucky enough to acquire some before he sold his flock.
Our goals
I breed Grey, Grey Saddleback, Buff Saddleback, Blue and Lavender Sebastopol's focusing on type while retaining colour.
Our goal is to breed quality coloured Sebastopol's towards APA standards for whites. Coloured Seb's are not yet recognized, but can and are often shown in the USA as a variety.
Some colours are closer to this goal then others.
FAQ
Do you have pictures of breeding pen?
Yes, every year we post pictures of the breeding pens on facebook and instagram.
Can you distinguish colour in the down phase?
Yes...but...
Buff, Lavender and Lilac are difficult to distinguish in the down phase. White can mess this up even more. We separate the eggs when they go into the hatchers, but occasionally freshly hatched goslings escape from their little rooms in the hatcher and get mixed up. Sometimes tags fall off, and I get mixed up. I'm human, I try to be as accurate as possible.
Curly and Smooth Breasted
We occasionally use smooth breasted Sebastopol's in our breeding program. We cannot distinguish which goslings will be smooth or curly breasted until they are adolescents. Smooth breasted Seb's crossed with curly's produce some offspring with amazing feathering, and some believe less chance of wing issues (twisted wing tip) which is common in curly white Seb's due to their feather placement and weight. In the UK both smooth and curly breasted varieties are recognized and shown. Actually across most of Europe both smooth and curly breasted are shown.
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Cost
Cost per m/f vent sexed pair - $300 (2022)
Shipping within Canada
Cost for shipping goslings via Westjet as of 2021 estimation = $35 ( crate) + $50( delivery) + $150 ( flight) + cost of goslings
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Hatching eggs
I do not like selling hatching eggs. Sebastopol fertility is 75% at home on average. Typical hatch rates seen on shipped eggs are 0-50%. The cost of shipping is approximately $60 per box + $25 per eggx (X) eggs = very small chance of hatching, much less then 75% chance. I don't find the risk is worth the bad feedback I will receive.
Waiting List
Yes I have a waiting list, that starts being populated as of January of each hatching year. I ask people to email me with what they are requesting, location (if shipping is required). I contact everyone ( email) on the list at the same time with availability, pens, colour and sex.
Can you hold goslings or adult birds?
No, I sell goslings first come/pay first served. I no longer hold goslings that are not paid in full due to multiple no shows over the years. Adult birds I can hold while ground transport is arranged.