List of goose breeds


This list contains breeds and landraces of domestic geese as well as species with semi-domestic populations. Geese are bred mainly for their meat, which is particularly popular in Germanic languages countries around Christmas. Of lesser commercial importance is goose breeding for eggs, schmaltz, or for the fattened liver. A few specialized breeds have been created for the main purpose of weed control, or as guard animals and for goose fights.
Goose breeds are usually grouped into three weight classes: Heavy, Medium and Light. Most domestic geese are descended from the greylag goose. The Chinese and African Geese are the domestic breeds of the swan goose ; they can be recognized by their prominent bill knob.
Some breeds, like the Obroshin Goose and Steinbach Fighting Goose, originated in hybrids between these species. In addition, two goose species are kept as domestic animals in some locations, but are not completely domesticated yet and no distinct breeds have been developed.

Breeds

The plumage of male and female goose is usually the same. However, there are few auto-sexing goose, which are sexually dimorphic and the gender can be recognized on the first look by plumage. In general, ganders are white and females are either entirely gray, or pied gray and white.