Wild gray goose is found throughout Europe, in Asia. For the winter, he flies to Northern India, Southern China and Southern Europe. Likes large bodies of water. Eats exclusively plant foods. Has a live weight of 3-4 kg or more. The female lays up to a dozen eggs. Of these, on the 28-29th day, chicks are hatched, which in two days leave their native hearth. At the first time of their life, they are under the supervision of their parents, and having learned to fly (at 2-3 months of age), they are released from parental care.
domestication. Of all the poultry that exist today, geese were the first to be domesticated. Wild gray species - in Europe, Nile - in North Africa, Syrsko - Chinese swan - in China. Drawings of the Nile goose, bred in Egypt as early as 3 thousand years BC, have been preserved.
The domesticated form of the Nile goose disappeared and it did not take part in the creation of modern breeds. Traces of a wild gray goose were also found. In Greece, for example, this bird was bred as early as 1 thousand years BC. The Romans also knew the forms of keeping geese, twice a year they practiced plucking down. Their geese were the subject of a cult and were kept in the Capitol itself.
In the past, almost every peasant household bred geese. It was profitable. Daily goslings, goose meat, feathers and down were exported from Russia. Geese were also fattened to obtain a large fatty liver. Currently, almost half of the geese of the former USSR are concentrated in Ukraine.
Appearance. The head of the geese varies in shape. A strongly squeezed head from the sides, with an elongated beak, is undesirable. The beak can be straight, curved and concave. Geese of some breeds (Chinese, Kholmogory) have a bump above the beak.
The neck of geese is of various lengths. A relatively short neck characterizes a good fattening type of geese. A strongly elongated neck (within the same breed) occurs in geese with a narrow body of weak constitution.
An elongated and compact body is inherent in the most heavy geese. The chest is rounded, well developed, rather wide. The back is wide with sufficient length. The wings fit snugly to the sides.
At the base of the abdomen of some geese, one or two skin folds of various sizes are formed, sometimes hanging down to the ground (Kholmogory, Toulouse geese). The length of the legs is not the same for geese of different breeds. The color of the legs is different.
Moult. Adult geese renew their owl plumage twice a year. The first - at the beginning of summer, after the end of the laying period, the second - in the fall. In the first molt, geese change plumage, in the second, autumn - only medium and small and tail feathers.
Nutrition. The goose is a pasture bird, herbivore. Geese willingly consume a large amount of fresh grass and overcome a distance of 2-3 km without much difficulty. When raising geese, pastures are the cheapest source of feed.
reproduction features. The geese have a clearly expressed desire to create stable married couples, so the distribution of ganders is carried out before the start of the breeding season (3-4 geese per male). The egg production of geese is from 10 to 50 eggs per year. Basically, geese are able to mate from 6 months of age, but some individuals, only from 9 months.
Eggs and their placement. The weight of a goose egg is from 150 to 190 g (on average - 170 g). The duration of planting goose eggs is 28-30 days.
Chick development. Goslings have a high growth intensity, and grow especially fast in the first month of life. If at daily age the live weight of goslings is 100-120 g, then at 30 days old - more than 2 kg. For 60-70 days of growing, goslings with good feeding and maintenance increase their initial live weight by 35-40 times, reaching 4-4.5 kg.
Age features of the bird. The duration of the use of geese in the herd depends on the breed and the number of eggs laid. Breeds with low egg production and with a preserved egg-laying instinct are fertile for 5-6 years. Geese with high egg production and heavy breeds are fertile for 3-4 years.
Behavior in the herd. In the breeding season, males have special care and attention to the females of their family. Sometimes they remain hungry for several days, protecting their females from other ganders.
In one small village, geese on a pond often unite in one herd, and ganders, especially "aggressive ones", are able to mate with 8-10 geese
Since ancient times, geese have been wild migratory birds. After their domestication, they became a favorite delicacy on the table. In some regions, the goose is a sacred bird. Their habitat is quite wide - almost all continents except Antarctica. They like to be near rivers, small lakes, swampy areas.
There are species of mountain geese. And yet, many underestimate the mental abilities of these birds, thinking that they are stupid. However, they have many features that few people know about. Next, the most interesting facts about these amazing birds.
How geese became pet birds
These birds have been known for a very long time. They managed to tame them in ancient Egypt about 4000 years ago. The Egyptians considered one of the geese that lived on the banks of the Nile to be the creator of the world. His nickname was "Great Gagatun". The ancestor of modern poultry is the wild gray northern goose.
Mystery of birth
In ancient times, no one saw how geese mate and lay eggs, so it was believed that they emerge from seashells. Therefore, until the 13th century, the Catholic Church did not prohibit the use of birds during fasting.
The fact is that the goose carefully masks its nest with small branches and leaves, for better heating of the eggs, plucks its own downy feathers. When she needs to go away, the male starts guarding the nest, he always stays nearby and will never let the predator in. It can cripple a dog and injure a person.
Flight Mastery
Geese are great flight masters. They are very hardy and able to overcome long distances at incredible heights. This is no longer necessary for domestic species, but wild, especially gray and mountain species of geese, are able to rise into the sky to record levels. Recently, a flight was recorded at a distance of 10 thousand meters from the ground! A person, without special devices, at such a height, will suffocate, and due to low pressure, he will lose consciousness.
Birds fly mainly in flocks or in the form of a wedge, the latter of the methods, according to the laws of aerodynamics, almost doubles the flight range. Geese, flying to winter in warm lands in a wedge, take care of each other. When the bird flying in front gets tired, another one will surely replace it. A flock can be formed from three individuals, or it can number a thousand birds.
Devotion
Like swans, albatrosses and some other species of birds, geese are also inseparable from their soulmate throughout their lives, and they live a lot, from 20 to 30 years. The choice of a partner takes place in the third year of life, after which, only death can separate the birds. If the domestic gander has several geese, he will still choose one, all the rest will obey her. In the event of the loss of a half, the geese mourn for a long time before choosing a pair again, and some remain completely alone.
The special structure of the genitals
The genital genitalia of the gander are very reminiscent of a spiral in shape, and in length they can reach the size of the bird itself. The goose ovary is formed of the same complex shape. Since a pair of birds is inseparable, but the female can be abused by other ganders, nature has rewarded the goose with several extra pockets in the ovarian cavity, in which unwanted sperm is blocked, and she will not be able to produce offspring from a "foreign" bird.
"Like water off a duck's back"
The well-known expression "like water off a duck's back" came from the fact that goose feathers repel water. Birds secrete a special fatty secret, which they distribute throughout the body from the tail.
Old way of writing
In ancient times, goose feathers were used for writing. In order for the pen to be used, it must be sharpened with a knife, which later became known as the penknife. Later, in the 19th century, steel pens were used for writing.
veneration of the geese
In various ancient cities, geese were revered and considered sacred. So, in ancient Rome, when the geese saved the defenders of the Capitoline Hill from the attack of the Gauls with their cry, birds began to be depicted on the victorious emblem. It is also known that in the Temple of Juno, geese were kept as sexual symbols, ranking birds as a fertility cult. And the monks of Tibet still consider these birds sacred, associating them with the god Shiva.
A very popular delicacy, foie gras is made from goose liver. Few people know that unscrupulous farmers, in order to get a fatter organ, introduce food by putting a hose down the throat of birds. In many countries this is prohibited by law.
Using geese for help
Geese are known to be fiercely territorial defenders, they hiss loudly and can pinch hard. Some people use it for their own purposes. So, in a small town in Scotland, a flock of "defenders" was engaged in the protection of a small factory for the production of alcohol. In addition, it has been scientifically proven that geese have an excellent appetite. Using this fact, the owners of cotton plantations breed geese to weed the fields in those places where technology is powerless. Birds do not like the taste of cotton plants themselves, so they only pluck out unnecessary weeds.
Here are a few more features of these birds:
- Geese love to swim, and they are good at it. After 24 hours, little goslings hatched from eggs swim on a par with their mother.
- Every year, an adult bird begins a molting period, for 2 whole months geese cannot fly. For their safety, they survive this time near rivers or lakes, so that they can get away from predators by water.
- To communicate with each other, geese use a set of different sounds, which are used in accordance with the situation. Scientists estimate that there are about ten of them.
- Most bones in birds are hollow inside. This greatly reduces weight and aids in long distance flights.
- There is a legend that geese flew to the territory of Russia in the 17th century from Germany. Although in Russia itself there are almost twice as many species of these birds.
The goose was domesticated in ancient times, presumably in the central and northern parts of Europe, from where it spread throughout this territory. In North America, the Canadian goose is domesticated and widely distributed, and in Asia, the knobby Chinese geese.
In Greece, domestic geese were kept and cared for as early as 1000 BC. e. In Rome, as the legend says about the geese of the Capitol - "the geese that saved Rome", they were highly respected. In the same place they were engaged in their fattening, and their fluff, with which pillows were stuffed, was widely used. Large herds of geese were brought to Rome from Central Europe through the Alps. With the intensification of agriculture, an increase in the level of plowing of land, the introduction of cultivated pastures, goose breeding in Central and Northern Europe was gradually curtailed, losing its original significance.
The domestic goose, despite its many thousands of years of history, has undergone few changes, mainly in live weight and color. Through targeted breeding and creating favorable conditions for keeping geese, certain successes have been achieved in the direction of increasing their egg production and feather collection, improving maternal qualities for incubation and preserving offspring.
In this regard, a number of foreign authors tend to believe that in goose breeding one can talk about offspring, and by no means about the names of goose breeds, but their classification is nothing more than the names of the area where they come from. So, on the territory of the former USSR, Kholmogory, Tula, Ural, Chinese, Romny, Toulouse (and a number of other names) geese were bred.
Big gray geese.
The birds are bred in Ukraine. This breed of geese was created by the method of reproductive crossing of Romensky geese with Toulouse geese and subsequent selection and selection of crossbreeds with a large live weight, good meat and high egg productivity. The live weight of one-year-old ganders is 9.5 kg, geese - 9.0 kg.
Egg production averages 60 eggs (record - 85 eggs) with an average weight of one egg - 175-220 g. The safety of the adult population is close to 100%.
When describing this breed of geese from the exterior features, a medium-sized head with a short orange beak with a pink tip should be noted. The neck is of medium length, somewhat thickened towards the base. The body is wide, deep; two skin folds are often found on the abdomen; medium length red legs; the head, upper part of the neck and back are dark gray, the chest is light gray, the belly is white.
Reproducibility: the average fertility of eggs is 90-92%, the average hatchability is 76-88%, the average yield of goslings is 66-70%.
The breed is common in the European part of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.
Rhine geese.
This breed was bred in Germany on the basis of one of the varieties of local Eden geese through targeted selection.
White Rhine geese belong to the heavy type of geese of the meat direction of productivity.
As you can see in the photo, this breed of geese has a massive body, a wide and deep chest, legs and beak are orange, plumage is white:
The live weight of Rhine geese at one year of age is: males - 6.5-7.0, females - 5.3-6.0 kg. The safety of an adult bird is 95-98%; egg productivity - 55 pcs. eggs weighing 170 g per year of oviposition.
Reproductive ability of this breed of domestic geese: egg fertility - 86-89%, gosling yield - 65-70%.
The breed was bred by complex reproductive crossing of local white, Chinese gray and large gray geese.
The main characteristic of this breed of Obroshinsky geese is high egg production and early maturity, the meat is characterized by excellent taste. Live weight of ganders - 7 kg, geese - 6.5 kg. Egg productivity - up to 50 eggs per year of oviposition with hatchability of young animals up to 80%.
Geese are well adapted to grazing conditions.
This breed of geese originated from a wild knobby goose that lives in Northern China and Siberia.
The head of the geese is large; the neck is very long, "swan-like". Body of medium length; well developed chest and cone-shaped growth on the forehead. The plumage is white or brown. Chinese geese are used mainly for crossbreeding in order to increase egg production. They have a relatively high egg production (up to 70 eggs) with a small live weight: ganders 5-6 kg, geese 4-4.5 kg. Geese are able to find a lot of food on their own, after fattening they give good quality meat.
These photos show the breeds of geese described above.
This breed is bred in Ukraine (in Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkov and other regions).
The head is medium in size, without a bump and a "purse", the beak is short, the neck is short and thick; the chest is wide. The body is compact, wide. There are one or two folds on the abdomen. Legs are low. The beak is orange, the end of the beak is black or covered with black dots.
Look at the photos - this breed of geese has pinkish legs, sometimes turning into red; black eyes:
According to the color of plumage, three varieties are distinguished: gray (more common), white and pockmarked.
Roman geese have an average live weight of 4.5-5.0 kg; ganders - 5.5-5, geese - 3.5-4.7 kg; egg production averages about 10 eggs per head. They hatch and feed well.
The breed was bred in France from a domesticated gray goose in a mild climate and plentiful feeding when selecting a producer by weight and ability to quickly fatten. The bird is inactive, not adapted to grazing. The weight of Toulouse geese is 9-10 kg, ganders - 12-15 kg.
Egg production 30-40 eggs. The average egg weight is 170-200 g. The body is very massive, the neck is thick, the head is large with a massive beak. Plumage color: gray head, dark gray neck and back, light gray body and chest, white belly. Tail feathers are gray and white. Some species have a large fat fold on the abdomen and a "purse" under the beak.
This is one of the best breeds of geese for obtaining liver, which goes to the preparation of goose liver pates.
The gray color of their plumage somewhat reduces the value of downy raw materials.
Growing young animals is relatively difficult due to the greater sensitivity of goslings of this breed to drafts, high humidity, and cold.
These photos show the breeds of geese, the names of which are given on this page:
Birds are bred as a result of blood rush to local breeds of Chinese goose blood geese and directional selection under favorable technological conditions. The plumage is white, the legs and beak are orange. In appearance, it is a large, strong bird with slender forms, but much smaller than the Toulouse geese, the live weight of ganders is 7.1 kg, geese - 6 kg.
Italian geese have a fairly high egg productivity (47-60 eggs per year), the hatchability of goslings is up to 70%. The breed is characterized by late incubation of eggs by geese and an insufficiently developed maternal instinct, which makes it difficult to get a business offspring from them.
The video "Breeds of Geese" shows representatives of poultry bred in backyard farmsteads:
Rules for keeping geese for beginners: indoor conditions
In the homestead, any available room can be adapted for keeping geese. You can build a barn from boards, reeds, clay or other improvised building materials.
The room for keeping geese should be dry, well ventilated, but without drafts. The floors in the goose house are made of boards or adobe. They are raised 20 cm above ground level so that soil water does not enter the goose. Keep the bird on a deep ground litter with walking. Sawdust, shavings, straw, peat, crushed corn cobs are used as bedding. In winter, they use an insulating litter: straw, peat, shavings, and in the summer - sawdust, sand. Before laying the bedding, the floor is sprinkled with slaked lime at the rate of 0.5-1 kg per 1 m2 of the floor.
When keeping geese, it is important for beginner poultry farmers to take into account that in winter, if the weather permits, these birds are released for a walk in the walking yard, if there is an unfrozen pond, then they are released and swim. Geese can pinch snow-covered grass or plant rhizomes. In the summer, keeping geese indoors is optional. They can spend the night on the street, but for this it is necessary to separate a special paddock, install feeders, drinkers in it, and if there is no reservoir, install a container with water for bathing.
Drinkers in the goose house are installed in wooden or cement troughs. You can use buckets or other suitable utensils. So that the water does not splash, the litter does not get wet, the drinkers are installed on pallets. In winter, hot water is poured into the drinker to prevent it from freezing.
One of the rules for keeping geese is to install feeders in the goose so that all birds have a simultaneous approach to them. Feeders are made of wood or other materials.
Nests are installed on the floor of the goose coop along the walls. Do this a month before the start of oviposition. The litter in the nests should be the same as in the goose. Nest size: width 0.4 m; length - 0.6; height - 0.5 m. Nests are specially made from a board or a box of a suitable size is adapted.
Watch the video "Conditions for keeping geese" to better understand how to equip a room for growing them:
How to raise geese and how to keep them properly
When caring for domestic geese, their planting density is taken into account. Geese do not like excessive crowding, which, moreover, affects their productivity. The adult population of geese is kept at the rate of 3 heads per 2 m2. Nests are installed one for every 2-3 geese. For 4 geese they keep one gander. The walking area is equipped at the rate of at least 5 m2 per head. It is good if geese can use the pond in winter and summer - this improves their physical development and improves the quality of eggs.
Under normal conditions, geese lay their eggs in late February or early March, but if they artificially increase daylight hours with the help of electric lighting, they can start laying eggs as early as late January - early February.
Geese rush, as a rule, every other day and most often in the morning. In winter, eggs from nests should be taken as often as possible and stored in a cool dry place at a temperature of 5-12 ° C in a horizontal position, laying one in a row. Keep eggs no more than 10 days.
There is an erroneous opinion that breeding geese without water bodies does not make sense. Of course, keeping geese on pasture and near water bodies frees poultry farmers from many worries. But experiments have shown that with good feeding, keeping and caring for geese without water bodies, the productivity of poultry did not decrease - the geese laid eggs with high incubation qualities. If it is not possible to release geese to pasture, they are fed with freshly cut grass, and chopped greens are added to the mash. Instead of a pond, bathing containers are arranged, each time adding clean water to it.
Geese have the shortest breeding season compared to other poultry species. Only the correct preparation of geese for wintering, appropriate maintenance and feeding in winter ensure their high productivity.
Keeping geese: feeding and care during rearing
Geese, more than other types of poultry, require coarse and succulent feed, so from autumn these feeds must be stocked in sufficient quantities, these include: good-quality, vitamin hay, potatoes, carrots, beets, silage, various grain waste. It is necessary to prepare products for feeding geese when keeping birds in a household plot not only for adults, but also for young animals.
The room for geese is kept clean and periodically disinfected. For good care when keeping geese, the room must be ventilated, but drafts are not allowed. The floor is covered with one of the types of bedding: straw, peat, sawdust, dry leaves.
Geese are placed 22-25 heads in one isolated compartment (18-20 geese and 4-5 ganders). Placement is carried out no later than December, as geese create permanent families and it is difficult to get used to new individuals. With the later formation of groups, individual ganders not only do not cover the newly included geese, but even beat them, driving them out of their group. The egg production of geese and the fertility of eggs are reduced.
In winter, in good, sunny weather, geese are bathed in the holes in the reservoirs. To do this, so that the geese, diving, do not fall under the ice, the holes are fenced with a net or a wooden grate, lowering it into the reservoir to a depth of at least 1 m.
For each group of geese, a separate paddock is arranged near the goose house. Geese are very hardy. They spend much more time on the run than chickens. Only in the most severe frosts and bad weather is it better to keep geese in geese. The walk must be cleared of snow. The part of the paddock closest to the poultry house should be covered with straw, on which the geese willingly rest.
In geese, the legs and beak, covered with delicate skin - cere, are most sensitive to cold.
So that groups of geese do not mix, and the ganders do not fight among themselves, the compartments in the goose house and on the paddock are partitioned off with partitions 1 m high. Fences can be wattle, reed, from a wire network.
Geese in the winter should go well-fed. It is impossible to allow overfeeding of producers to obesity, which may adversely affect their reproductive ability. In winter, breeding geese should maintain their normal body weight, which is controlled by periodic weighing. Feeding geese during winter care is done with grain and a wet mash. The best grain feed for them is oats mixed with other grains. Wet mash is made up mainly of bran, turf, clover or alfalfa flour, finely chopped root vegetables and boiled potatoes. Geese are fed at least 2 times a day. In the morning they give a mash, in the evening they feed grain. Feed is laid out in such quantity and order that the whole herd can safely eat food at the same time.
Sand, gravel, seashells or crushed chalk should always be in the feeders, which are placed along the walls inside the goose. Observing the rules for the care and rearing of geese, if the weather permits, they feed and water the birds on the run. Although geese willingly eat snow instead of water, it is necessary to give them water at least once a day so that they can rinse their beaks.
The video "Keeping Geese" shows how to care for poultry:
Slaughter of geese and processing of carcasses
Geese are killed externally, just like chickens. On the left side of the neck, at a distance of 18-20 mm below the earlobe, an incision is made with a knife on the facial branch of the artery and jugular vein without an injection into the cerebellum. The incision should not exceed 1.5-2 cm in length. The carcass is hung up and the blood is allowed to drain.
Feathers are plucked after scalding with hot water (85-90 ° C). Old geese are immersed in water several times. After scalding proceed to plucking.
When processing carcasses, feathers are first removed from the wings and tail, then from the chest, back and legs. With the help of a knife, all fluffs and stumps are removed. Then the carcass is burned on fire.
Geese are one of the groups of waterfowl. From the photo you can see that there are many varieties of these birds. Geese have been known to us since childhood in many fairy tales. But we only know domestic geese, but are there any varieties of these birds?
From the point of view of science, geese belong to the duck family, they are a kind of intermediate link between ducks and swans. Today, on our planet, scientists have about 15 species of these birds.
All geese are characterized by a dense constitution. Geese are birds with a long neck, a powerful, but not long, beak and paws of medium size with membranes. The feather cover of these birds always has a smooth structure, it is very dense and has water-repellent properties. Geese carefully monitor the cleanliness of their feathers, now and then lubricating them with fat located in the coccygeal gland.
Geese living in the temperate climate zone, in addition to the main feathers, also have a thick and dense layer of down, which is designed to protect against cold weather. As for the color of these birds, it does not stand out with bright colors. All geese have a feather cover of rather modest, inconspicuous shades: gray, white, brown. And only certain parts of the body, such as paws and beak, in these birds are painted in more or less bright colors: red-orange or black.
The size of geese varies, depending on the species. Smaller geese (such as the Ross goose or lesser white-fronted goose) weigh between 1.5 and 2.5 kilograms. Ordinary geese are almost twice as large, their weight is from 2.5 to 4.5 kilograms.
The habitat of geese is quite wide, but most of them live in the Northern Hemisphere. These birds inhabit North America, Europe, Asia, Africa. Separate species live in the Southern Hemisphere: the chicken goose lives in Australia, American tree geese and Magellanic geese inhabit South America.
The habitats of geese are: open areas in the tundra zone (typical for white geese and bean goose), treeless banks of rivers flowing in the savannah and steppe (half-fingered, clawed and Egyptian geese, as well as swan geese live there), reed thickets growing along river banks and lakes (habitat for gray geese), as well as the shores of lakes, stretching high in the mountains.
Geese, like other representatives of the duck family, are flocking birds. Migratory species, before flying away for the winter, form flocks numbering several thousand individuals.
Listen to the voice of the goose
The nutrition of geese consists of green parts of plants that grow on land; the aquatic greens of these birds are of little interest. In addition, geese eat grass seeds.
As already mentioned, geese are waterfowl, they keep well on the water, they only dive reluctantly, but they have difficulty taking off. They need a short takeoff run to get on the wing, although compared to the larger swan species, geese take off relatively quickly and easily. Having risen into the sky, these birds feel light, they can fly for several hours without rest.
The breeding season for these birds occurs once a year, nesting time depends on the habitat. Tropical species lay their eggs during the rainy season, while Northern Hemisphere geese begin their nesting season in the spring. The mating rituals of geese are very spectacular: males fight with each other, beat the opponent with their beak and grab the neck.
As for the choice of partners, the geese are monogamous. Once formed a couple, they spend the rest of their lives with their partner.
The laying of the female goose consists of 3 - 12 eggs of a light shade. The father of the family tirelessly protects the nest and the female from external encroachments all the time. Incubation lasts 25 days. The chicks that were born are already sufficiently formed, they are covered with a yellowish fluff. A month after hatching, the babies are already on the wing.
Geese, a group of genera of webbed-footed waterfowl belonging to the family Anatidae, which also includes swans and ducks. Geese differ from swans in their smaller body size, shorter legs and neck, as well as fully feathered bridles (areas between the eyes and beak). At the same time, the legs and neck of geese are longer than those of ducks, the beak is higher and more laterally compressed, and the plumage of both sexes is not different, but the same. Like ducks and swans, geese have transverse tooth-like ridges on the inside of their beaks - plates - for filtering food particles from silt and water. Their plumage combines black, white, brown and gray colors. Geese are more connected to land than ducks or swans and feed mainly on terrestrial vegetation. However, they are also excellent swimmers. In flight, they can be distinguished by a special call; in some species, flocks fly in a wedge, in others - in one line (“in single file”). Geese are found near fresh or brackish waters throughout the world, but mainly in the arctic and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, although many species winter in the subtropics and tropics. Birds reach puberty in the second or third year of life, after which they pair up for life. They make nests on the ground; Both the female and the male take care of the goslings.
wild geese
Wild geese are divided into several genera, which include the geese themselves and the genus of geese very close to them. The main external difference between these birds is in the color of the beak and paws: in geese they are black, and in geese they are often red or otherwise colored. Some of their types will be discussed below.
The gray goose (Anser anser) is found only in the Eastern Hemisphere. It differs from other gray geese in lighter plumage and a very narrow white stripe at the base of the light beak (sometimes it is completely absent). Weight - up to 6.6 kg. It lives in the south of Siberia, in the forest regions of northern Europe, the Caspian and Black Sea regions.
Bean goose (Anser fabalis) is a brown-gray bird with a characteristic beak color - dark with an orange band in the middle. Weight - up to 4.5 kg. Breeds in the tundra and taiga of Eurasia, migrates to the southern regions of the Eastern Hemisphere for the winter.
The Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) is the most widespread North American goose. Its length is 64-109 cm, the plumage is gray-brown with a lighter chest, black head and neck, a bright white spot on the cheek and a white stripe on the tail. Natural nesting sites range from the Arctic to the north of the United States, but the species is also acclimatized in the UK and Scandinavia. In flight, the flock forms a wedge.
The White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons) is a gray-brown bird 66–86 cm long with a white forehead, black stripes on the belly and a white sickle on the uppertail. The species breeds in the Arctic, in the tundra zone of America and Eurasia, and migrates to the subtropics for the winter.
The white goose (Chen hyperborea) is a snow-white bird 58–79 cm long with black wingtips. Breeds along arctic coasts (in Siberia - only on Wrangel Island), migrates far to the south for winter, in America - to the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic bays south of Delaware.
White-tailed goose (Philacte canagica) is found mainly in Alaska. It is a bluish-gray bird 66–71 cm long with a black and white scale pattern, a white head and back of the neck. In winter, it can be seen in the western coastal states.
Red-throated goose (Branta rufiolis). This species is smaller than others, but the brightest in plumage: the neck and chest are red with white edging, spots similar in color on the cheeks, two white spots at the base of the short beak, the belly and back are black. Breeds in the tundra of Eastern Siberia, winters in the south of the Caspian Sea.
Black goose (Branta bernicla). In this species, the head, neck and chest are black, the back is dark gray and there is a light stripe only in front of the neck. It breeds in the tundra of Eurasia.
Barnacle goose (Branta leucopsis), like the two previous species, is found only in the Eastern Hemisphere. It differs from the black goose in the white plumage of the head (except for the back of the head). It breeds in the mountainous tundras of Europe up to Novaya Zemlya.
domestic geese
The goose is one of the oldest domestic birds. According to biblical texts, ancient Roman manuscripts and Chinese documents, geese have been bred for 3000 years, primarily as a source of nutritious and tasty meat. A large body, slow movements and a calm disposition, as it were, pre-adapted this bird to domestication. Modern breeds are probably descended from the greylag goose (Anser anser).
Characteristic. Most naturalists believe that of all poultry, the goose is the least modified by man. However, while most wild geese are monogamous, domestic geese are usually polygamous. In addition, most wild geese are colored in one way or another, while white plumage prevails and is preferred among domestic geese. They feed mainly on grass in pastures.
Among domestic birds, geese stand out in that males and females are similarly colored and close in size, making sex determination difficult, especially for inexperienced poultry keepers. However, geese, like other ducks, resemble animals in the presence of a penis in males, which is absent in most birds.
Breeds. Modern breeds of geese can be classified according to the size of adult birds. Poultry farmers distinguish three classes of breeds: large (heavy), medium and small. Generally speaking, large geese are the most widely distributed and best adapted for commercial breeding. Medium-sized geese are preferred in home gardens. The so-called small breeds are quite rare, serve mainly for decorative purposes and are bred, for example, in public parks and estates. The most commercially important goose breeds are Toulouse, Emden and African.
Toulouse goose. The largest domestic goose was bred in the vicinity of the French city of Toulouse. These large gray birds were common in European countries for several centuries, providing most of the goose meat produced there. The Toulouse breed was brought to America by immigrants in the middle of the 19th century. and today has become dominant in the United States. It is a massive squat and slow bird. The American Poultry Association (APA) sets a standard weight of 11.6 kg for adult ganders, 9.1 kg for young ganders and adult geese, and 7.3 kg for young geese. Most of the geese bred on large farms are sold before Christmas, a little less than one year old, i.e. weighing like "young geese".
Emden geese, bred in the vicinity of the German city of Emden, have long been the leader among white breeds. Snow-white plumage, blue eyes, bright orange beak and legs, as well as a very proportionately folded long body, raised above the ground higher than that of its probable Toulouse ancestor, make this goose one of the most attractive among its fellows. Not as egg-laying as the Toulouse, and more mobile, the Emden goose was not so widespread. APA determined standard weights of 9.1 and 8.2 kg for adult ganders and geese, and 8.2 and 7.3 kg, respectively, for young birds.
African goose. The majestic African goose, considered an aristocrat among geese, is mostly gray, but with a brownish tint in plumage, making it especially beautiful. There has been much debate about the origin of the breed, but most experts believe that it comes from wild Chinese geese. The African goose has a protruding rounded bump at the base of the upper jaw, which is also characteristic of Chinese breeds. However, according to some poultry historians, the blood of ancient Chinese breeds and European descendants of the wild gray goose flows in the modern African goose. Be that as it may, this breed is well suited for large-scale commercial breeding. APA has established standard weights of 9.1 and 8.2 kg for adult ganders and geese, and 7.3 and 6.4 kg for young males and females, respectively.
Other breeds. The medium-sized breeds of geese, oddly enough, are very close to the African in their standard masses. Such birds are bred mainly by small farmers for their domestic needs and amateurs for exhibition purposes. Among these breeds, ancient types are known, for example, variegated (white with brown) Chinese geese, crested Roman geese, known from early Latin texts, Sevastopol geese with long and curly white feathers, pilgrim geese of unclear origin, but bred for several centuries and named after the first colonists who brought European varieties to America, which, as a result of crosses, produced these economically valuable white and gray birds, and, finally, the American fawn geese. The latter represent the ideal commercial type in terms of size, coloration, growth rate under "average" conditions, and suitability for the market. Lush light yellow plumage makes the bird a decoration of the farm. The breed standard set by the APA is 8.2 and 7.7 kg for adult and young ganders and 7.3 and 6.4 kg for adult and young geese, respectively.
Widely known, but rare breeds include Russian fighting geese - Tula and Arzamas.
Breeding. The size of goose eggs, like chicken eggs, depends on the breed, feed and care of the bird. They usually weigh 196–252 g, and are similar in nutritional value and appearance to chicken ones. There is no steady demand for goose eggs as a food product, but many people appreciate their taste quite highly. Goose breeds differ both in the size of the eggs and in the number of eggs laid by the female in a year. Geese lay mainly in the spring, usually laying one to five dozen eggs per season (March to June).
Goslings are hardy, grow surprisingly fast and are relatively less susceptible to disease. After the first three weeks of life, they require almost no artificial heating, except in very cold weather.
It is very easy to keep geese on a farm, as adult birds require shelter only in winter and are usually satisfied with a barn. Geese spend all their time on the ground and lay their eggs there, rarely using their nests. Goslings in the summer are almost all the time on the street, needing only the simplest sheds. In goose pastures, white mountain clover, alfalfa, or bluegrass are grown.
