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Domestic goose
Domestic goose
- THAT'S ME
- FACTS
- OBSERVATIONS
- MULTIMEDIA
- QUIZ
Dear explorer, dear explorers,
You know me, I am one of the farm animals par excellence. My meat, my fat, my down, my eggs - even my chattering as a warning against uninvited guests and my properties as a weedkiller have made me a universally applicable companion for humans since the Bronze Age.
Your domestic goose
(Anser anser)
Image credit: Bjoertvedt, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Header image credit: Dominicus Johannes Bergsma, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Worth knowing
Original form of most European/American breeds: Greylag goose (Anser anser)
Parent form of most Asian breeds: Swan goose (Anser cygnoides)
In the following, we will focus on those domestic geese that are descended from the greylag goose.
- Size: Up to 1 m body length, depending on breed
- Weight: Depending on the breed, 4 to 12 kg. The heaviest goose breed is the Emden goose.
- Life expectancy: with good husbandry: over 20 years
History
The earliest evidence of goose breeding comes from the Bronze Age in what is now Iraq. There are also realistic depictions of domestic geese in ancient Egypt, where they were used as both food and sacrificial animals. For the Greeks and Romans, the goose was considered a sacred animal, although the practice of stuffing geese to produce fatty livers had already begun at this time.
Appearance
Image credit: JJ Harrison, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
There is no sexual dimorphism in most goose breeds, i.e. females and males look the same. On average, goslings are usually slightly larger and heavier than females. Many goose breeds are white with smooth plumage. However, there are also white-spotted breeds and those that look almost like gray geese in color. One specialty is the Hungarian curly goose, whose plumage looks as if it has permanent waves.
Voice
The well-known cackling of the domestic goose consists of "ahngang-ang" or "gagagag" sounds, is audible from afar and sounds very similar to that of its parent species, the greylag goose. The warning hissing sounds are also typical. However, domestic geese also have a large vocal repertoire with various meanings.
Food
Like their wild ancestors, domestic geese are vegetarians. Naturally, they would feed mainly on grasses, herbs and leaves. When kept by humans, they are also fed grain and ready-made feed. It is important in goose husbandry that the animals always have enough water available.
In some countries, the so-called foie gras, which is greatly enlarged through force-feeding, is a delicacy. In this cruel form of feeding, large quantities of maize porridge or pasta dough are forced into the animals' stomachs several times a day using a stuffing tube - far more than they would naturally eat. This type of fattening is already banned in German-speaking countries, but is still permitted in countries such as France, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Bulgaria and Hungary.
Reproduction
A clutch consists of about 5-8 eggs, but nowadays artificial incubation in an incubator is also common. The incubation period is about 4 weeks. Goslings are called goslings. They flee the nest and immediately follow their parents. In the case of artificial breeding, they can be imprinted on humans very well. The young fledge at around 7-8 weeks, although domestic geese are not particularly good fliers due to their higher weight. Geese only become sexually mature at around 3-4 years of age.
Intelligence
Silly goose my ass - geese are extremely social and adaptive. They can distinguish up to 100 conspecifics by their voice and have a large repertoire of sounds with numerous meanings.
Where to find
Of course, observing tame domestic geese is not on the program of our safaris. But you will encounter their wild relatives on practically every tour throughout the year. Greylag geese all year round, and other species in late fall and winter, most frequently the white-fronted goose. On our "A year in the life of a greylag goose" safari in particular, we delve deep into the world of geese and their relatives.
Videos with special content on the domestic goose
