Domestic goose

Domestic goose

Description

The domestic goose is a large, sturdy waterfowl bred in many varieties, most weighing around 3.5 to 7 kg, with some heavy breeds reaching up to 10 kg. Compared with its wild ancestor it stands more upright, carries a plumper, fat-laden rear end, and often shows white, grey, or pied plumage with an orange bill and legs.

Habitat

This is a domesticated bird kept on farms and smallholdings across the world rather than a wild species. Most breeds descend from the wild greylag goose (Anser anser) of Europe, North Africa, and western Asia, with geese first domesticated thousands of years ago, as far back as the Bronze Age.

Diet

Geese are grazing herbivores that feed mainly on grass, clover, and other green plants, supplemented with grains, seeds, and vegetables. On pasture a flock can meet much of its own food needs simply by grazing.

Reproduction

A goose typically lays a clutch of about 5 to 15 eggs, though laying breeds can produce many more over a season, and the eggs are incubated for roughly 28 to 35 days. Geese are attentive parents and fiercely defend their goslings.

Lifespan

Domestic geese are long-lived birds, commonly reaching 15 to 20 years, and with good care and nutrition some individuals live 25 to 30 years.

Did you know?

Geese make excellent living alarm systems: their sharp eyesight and loud, insistent honking at any disturbance mean they have been kept as guard animals since antiquity, famously credited with warning the Romans of a night attack on the Capitol.