Geese

Geese are wonderful for keeping on a hobby farm. They are a versatile breed that require little food, virtually raise themselves, watch over your property, and supply eggs, meat, and down. Though they are large in size, geese actually eat less than chickens or ducks. In the summer, they tend to prefer grass and in the winter (if you are in a cooler climate) only require lower-protein grains like oats with a small amount of corn thrown in.

Geese are also relatively healthy are suffer from practically no contagious diseases. They also have a long life – often living for 20 years or more. Unlike other birds, though, geese tend to be monogamous – preferring to stay with one mate for years. A pair (one male, or “gander”, and one female, or “goose”) is ideal. Some owners, however, like to match one male with two females.

Most types of geese are good for meat, but some notable breeds are the American Buff, Brecon Buff, Chinese, Cotton Patch, Pilgrim, Pomeranian, Shetland, Toulouse, and Tula.

If you are looking for geese specifically for eggs, the types you should consider are the Brecon Buff, Embden, Pilgrim, Pomeranian, Steinbacher, Tula, and West of England.

The Sebastopol is a great breed if you are looking for an ornamental duck.

If you are in search of geese that will help weed your property, you can check out the Chinese, Cotton Patch, and Shetland.

Picture:Breed:
african-gooseAfrican:
Origin: Unknown
Coloring: Gray, brown, black, white
Production: Meat
Breed Note: Extremely large, weighing up to 18 pounds
american-buff-gooseAmerican Buff:
Origin: U.S.
Coloring: Brown, fawn, white, orange, yellow
Production: Meat
Breed Note: Averages 16 pounds at maturity
brecon-buff-gooseBrecon Buff:
Origin: United Kingdom
Coloring: Buff, blond, brown
Production: Meat, eggs
Breed Note: Lay roughly 10 to 25 eggs in the spring
chinese-geeseChinese:
Origin: Asia
Coloring: Multiple
Production: Meat, weeding
Breed Note: Popular weeders, love to go around and eat weeds
cotton-patch-gooseCotton Patch:
Origin: Unknown
Coloring: Gray, white, orange
Production: Meat, weeding
Breed Note: Very rare in today's time and in need of help
embden-gooseEmbden:
Origin: Netherlands, germany
Coloring: White, orange
Production: Meat, eggs
Breed Note: Prefer to live near some sort of water source
pilgrim-geesePilgrim:
Origin: Unknown
Coloring: Yellow, gray, white, brown
Production: Meat, eggs
Breed Note: Known for being calm and personable toward humans
pomeranian-geesePomeranian:
Origin: Germany
Coloring: Buff, gray, brown, red, blue, white
Production: Meat, eggs
Breed Note: Great "watch birds" as they greet newcomers noisily
sebastopol-gooseSebastopol:
Origin: England
Coloring: White, orange
Production: Ornamental, meat
Breed Note: They have curled feathers which makes it harder for them to fly
shetland-gooseShetland:
Origin: Great Britan
Coloring: White, gray, brown, orange
Production: Meat, weeding
Breed Note: Will forage for food year round
steinbacher-geeseSteinbacher:
Origin: Germany
Coloring: Blue, gray, cream, buff
Production: Meat, eggs
Breed Note: Ganders must be isolated from each other because they will fight
toulouse-gooseToulouse:
Origin: France
Coloring: Gray, buff, white
Production: Meat, exhibition
Breed Note: Will wonder on occasion, don't like to be in the same place
tula-gooseTula:
Origin: Russia
Coloring: Gray, buff, brown
Production: Meat, eggs, fighting
Breed Note: Noted for their parrot like beak extending from their forehead
west-of-england-gooseWest of England:
Origin: United Kingdom
Coloring: White, gray, orange
Production: Meat, eggs
Breed Note: An auto-sexing breed