Almond Valley Heritage Centre has hatched four rare Shetland Geese in an attempt to help repopulate the native population.
The Shetland Goose is listed on the Rare Breed’s survival trusts priority watch list, meaning they are in danger of becoming extinct.
Born in West Lothian, the four fluffy little goslings will grow into birds developed to cope with the challenging conditions on the northernmost isles.
There are more Shetland Geese now than there have been in the past thanks to breeders like the team at Almond Valley, but it remains a balancing act of getting the numbers up while keeping the gene pool wide enough to be sustainable.
Breeders hope that one day there will be an established signature genome for the breed - a unique breed of goose with a distinct genetic make-up - if this isn’t achievable, it’s possible that Shetland Geese could become a breed of the past.
There are four adult Shetland Geese at the Almond Valley Heritage Centre, two pairs of adult mates - now joined by the four goslings.
Shetland Geese will pair for life and are inseparable with the gander making sure no one else gets to his goose.
If a goose’s partner dies - sometimes the goose will mourn for a period, but will usually find another partner.
Shetland Geese will lay around 20 eggs, depending on age, breeding condition and the weather, usually starting in February.
The northern-Scottish geese are smaller than the typical white farmyard type of goose, with the males being mainly white and the females grey and white.
As the four baby geese grow up - they will develop their breeds distinctive blue eyes as well as the unique pink beak and legs Shetland Geese are known for.
Craig Holmes of Almond Heritage Centre said: “Shetland Geese are incredibly rare, especially pure birds.
“We’ve bred them here before - although we’ve only hatched two in the last two years, so it’s amazing that we’ve been able to hatch four this year.
“It’s early days yet so we’ll see how they develop - once they get to about eight to 12 weeks old their waterproof feathers will start to come through, then we’ll have a better idea of if they’re gonna make it or not.
“Once they’re mature enough we’ll move them on to other rare breed survival facilities, this helps avoid inbreeding and supports the propagation of the birds in Scotland.”
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