by Judy Evans

Created on: April 08, 2010

The Chinese goose is a popular and well known domestic goose. The Chinese goose, like the African, comes in two colours – white and brown. There are also two types. The American exhibition type is lighter than the English type.

History
The Chinese are sometimes referred to as Swan Geese because of the elegant carriage of the neck. This dignified pose is a carryover from their forebears which were the wild swan geese of Asia.

Appearance
They are a refined, elegant bird with a long, graceful neck. For all their beauty and dignity, they are good layers, very active foragers and produce good lean meat.

It is a lightweight goose, with adult ganders (males) averaging 12 pounds and adult geese (females) 10 pounds. The feathers are close-fitting, making the bird appear lighter than perhaps it is. The head is relatively small and is held high. The bill is long and slender. The basal knob is large, rounded and should extend well above the crown of the head. The knob of the gander is slightly larger than that of the goose. This factor comes into its own when sexing the young stock. The neck is well-arched, long and slim. The short, compact body has a prominent chest and smooth breast. It does not have a keel. The tail should be held high. High tail carriage in ganders is an indicator of virility.

Colour
The Brown Chinese goose has a brown head, a dark russet-brown stripe down the back of the neck and a cream throat. The body is a rich mix of brown and fawn. In adults, there is a narrow band of almost white feathers between the bill and the knob.  The bill is glossy and black, the shanks and feet a burnt orange and the eyes brown.

The White Chinese has white feathering, blue eyes and bright orange feet, knobs and bills. White Chinese goslings are a bright canary yellow.

Both the Brown and the White Chinese geese were accepted into the American Poultry Association’s Standard of Perfection in 1874.

Breeding
Between 30 and 40 eggs are laid in a year although some birds will do better than these figures. Normally, the older the goose, the less eggs. In general, they are more productive than other breeds. A ratio of four to six geese per gander is acceptable.

Feeding
Geese feed on grass and herbaceous plants. This breed is a very active forager and makes a good ‘weeder’. In some catalogues, they are even referred to as ‘weeder geese’.

Behaviour and Care
The Chinese are most responsive geese, easy to tame, and so friendly they can be forever in your way. They make good watchdogs. They are alert and vocal and will make lots of noise if anything untoward occurs. Knobs can freeze if temperatures drop below -51C. The flock must be able to shelter away from cold weather.

The Chinese goose is economical and generally cheaper to purchase than other breeds. Being smaller and such active foragers results in less need for supplemental feeding.

The American Breeds Conservancy lists the Chinese on its ‘watch list.

Sources:
http://www.albc-usa.org/cpl/wtchlist.html#geese
http://www.avianweb.com/swangoose.html

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