CHAPTER X
Breeds and Varieties—How to Mate to Produce Exhibition Specimens—Preparing Geese for the Show—Catching and Handling
Breeds of Geese. There are six standard breeds of geese consisting of the following: Toulouse, Embden, African, Chinese, Wild or Canadian and Egyptian. All of these breeds consist of a single variety with the exception of the Chinese which is composed of two. The Toulouse is known as the Gray Toulouse, the Embden as the White Embden, the African as the Gray African, the two varieties of the Chinese as the Brown Chinese and the White Chinese, the Wild or Canadian as the Gray and the Egyptian as the Colored.
The first four of these breeds are the ones which are commonly kept in domestication. In a general way it may be said that these breeds are meat breeds for the reason that they are kept mainly for the production of meat. The Wild or Canadian and the Egyptian are more in the nature of ornamental breeds since they are not so commonly kept and are principally to be found where ornamental water-fowls are maintained. The Chinese are sometimes classed as ornamental geese on account of their smaller size but they are much more commonly kept than either the Canadian or the Egyptian and make a good market fowl where the demand is not for such a large carcass.
In addition to the standard breeds there are several other rare breeds among which is the Sebastapol which is kept purely as an ornamental breed by reason of its peculiar feathering. The Sebastapol is a white goose in which the feathers of the upper part of the body show a twisted or frizzled condition which gives it much the general effect of the feathers being curled. In addition to the standard breeds of geese there are kept on a great majority of farms ordinary common geese of no definite breed or variety. These geese in general are of smaller size than the larger standard breeds and have probably arisen as the result of the crossing of the standard breeds and the subsequent deterioration in size and color marking is due to careless breeding and selection.
In some sections and for certain special purposes definite crosses of standard breeds are made for the production of table geese having certain desired qualities. For this purpose the African ganders are very popular used upon the Toulouse geese. To some extent there is produced and marketed a goose known as the mongrel goose. This has excellent table quality and is in good demand on account of its superior eating qualities and its rapid growth. It is produced by using the Wild or Canadian gander upon Toulouse, African or Embden geese. The result of this cross is a hybrid goose which has much the appearance of the Wild goose but which will not breed although the females will lay eggs. As a rule Toulouse or African females are used for the cross rather than Embden as from the latter there is a greater tendency to get a lighter cross which would not resemble its Wild father so closely and might not therefore be so readily recognized as genuine mongrel geese.
Nomenclature. The term geese is used to indicate the birds of both sexes taken as a whole and also as a plural form for the word goose. The term goose is used to distinguish the female of the species. The male is given the specific name of gander to distinguish it from goose. The young of both sexes are termed goslings. In giving the standard weights for the different breeds of geese the birds are classified as adult ganders and young ganders and as adult geese and young geese. By adult goose or gander is meant a bird which is over one year old, by young goose or gander is meant a bird which is less than one year. Not infrequently in connection with market reports use will be made of the term "green geese". This indicates birds which are marketed when they are of large size but still young and immature, the green referring to this immature condition.
Size. An idea of the size of the different standard breeds of geese can best be secured by giving the standard weights. They are as follows:
| Breed | Adult Gander | Adult Goose | Young Gander | Young Goose | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toulouse | 26 | lbs. | 20 | lbs. | 20 | lbs. | 16 | lbs. |
| Embden | 20 | " | 18 | " | 18 | " | 16 | " |
| African | 20 | " | 18 | " | 16 | " | 14 | " |
| Chinese | 12 | " | 10 | " | 10 | " | 8 | " |
| Wild or Canadian | 12 | " | 10 | " | 10 | " | 8 | " |
| Egyptian | 10 | " | 8 | " | 8 | " | 6 | " |
Popularity of the Breeds. Of the different standard breeds kept the Toulouse is undoubtedly the most popular in this country probably due to its large size as well as to its quick growth. The Embden follows the Toulouse closely in popularity. The Chinese geese are probably third most numerous in numbers while the African ranks fourth. In certain sections the African seems to be very popular and one would expect to find more of this breed than seem to be present on farms. Neither the Canadian nor the Egyptians are to be found in any great numbers, the latter in particular being very rare.