An Introduction to Geese

(Page 3 of 3)

March/April 1984
By Guy Alks 
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The Toulouse, with a striking fold of skin—the dewlap—under its chin, acquired its name from the French village of Toulouse, which is noted for its goose production. This huge, blocky fowl is quiet and slow-moving, so it's easy to handle and to fatten up. Ganders usually weigh about 26 pounds and females around 20. The breed's egg production is generally 20 to 35 yearly, but sometimes as many as 60! Even so, since its egg fertility rate is very low, this breed doesn't reproduce consistently well. The birds are also hard to come by, expensive, and difficult to raise with any success.

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Of all goose breeds (lights and mediums included), the Embden is the most frequently raised by commercial breeders. A large yet sprightly bird, this snow-white fowl is noted for its rapid growth rate, enormous size, and amazing fertility. Most adult males weigh around 26 pounds (the females average about 20), but some Embdens have been known to tip the scales at a whopping 30 pounds! Although this popular waddler's egg production averages 25 to 35 yearly, it lays predominantly fertile eggs. With everything the Embden's got going for it, it's little wonder that this portly bird is the hands-down favorite among professional fowl keepers!

ORNAMENTAL BREEDS

The graceful Canada goose is among the largest of the ornamentals, weighing from 10 to 12 pounds. And — although it's primarily a wild bird — it can be pinioned (by having the last joint of one wing clipped off to prevent long flights) and kept in captivity. However, this breed is high-strung and therefore somewhat difficult to care for. Also, if crossbred with a domestic gander, a Canada goose will produce sterile offspring.

Some authorities consider the Greylag to be the "great-granddaddy" of all domestic geese. And despite the fact that this small (four- to five-pound) wildfowl is an active roamer, it will hatch and care for its young in captivity.

The long-legged, small-bodied (4-1/2- to 51/2-pound) Egyptian geese are native to Africa and Southern Europe. They can be pinioned and raised in captivity as ornamentals, but because they're extremely illtempered, Egyptians are not recommended for novice goose raisers.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Books on raising geese are few, but here are a couple of sources you might want to check into: Keeping Domestic Geese by Barbara Soames  from Sterling Publishing Co., and The Book of Geese by Dave Holderread  from Hen House Publications.

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  • Karen Schoening 7/22/2009 9:51:48 AM

    Good article -- geese are great. We have 26 right now, including 4 Roman Tufted goslings that are not quite a week old (one-year-old mother hatched 6, we sold 2). Thanks to the geese we have only had to mow our front yard twice this year.

    I would just add: Shetlands can also be sexed by color; most Toulouse sold in the US are NOT the large dewlap variety; and there are both standard and larger dewlap varieties of African geese. Our Sebastopols were born and bred here in Montana and so far the cold hasn't seemed to bother them -- although the muddy fall weather doesn't do much for their appearance.

    The only thing bad about geese is that they are addicting and the babies are irresistable -- which is why we have 26!!

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