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White Geese Breeds

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Besides swans, geese are the largest waterfowl. Despite being classified as such, these birds spend the majority of their time on land.

Geese are social birds. They stay loyal to one mating partner throughout their life, and they are protective of other geese in their group.

There are various geese breeds across the world, with plumage ranging from brown, black, and grey to all white. In this article, we shall only focus on the breeds with white plumage.

Here are ten white geese breeds.

Snow Goose

snow geese flying

Birds of the snow geese breed come in five color variants: adult white morph, adult blue morph, adult intermediate morph, juvenile white morph, and juvenile blue morph.

The adult white morph has white plumage with black primary wing feathers. The juvenile white morph, on the other hand, has white plumage with some dusky grey areas on the wings, neck, and head.

Both the adult and the juvenile white morphs have pink bills and legs.

Snow geese are vegetarians, and they feed on plants such as shrubs, grasses, willows, and forbs. There’s almost no limit on the plant parts they eat; they will also feed on seeds, leaves, stems, roots, and tubers.

Snow geese spend most of their time feeding and resting. But they also spend some time remaining alert to threats. Their ability to fly, swim, and walk quickly is an advantage for them in avoiding threats.

Like many geese breeds, snow geese stay with their mates throughout their life. They usually choose a mate with the same morph as the family they originated from.

You’ll commonly find snow geese near ponds, coastal marshes, streams, lakes, and areas where snow thaws quickly without leading to a flood.

Emden Goose

Emden Geese swimming in a pond

Emdens are the tallest and largest breed of geese, standing at over three feet in height. The only other breed that rivals them in size is the Large Dewlap Toulouse.

They are one of the oldest domestic goose breeds in the world, dating about two centuries back. Emden geese are thought to have originated from Germany. However, some other sources believe they originated from Denmark.

Adult Emden Geese have white plumage, while those younger than twelve months might have some grey feathers. The ganders commonly weigh 24-31 lbs. while the geese (females) weigh 20-24 lbs.

The towering birds have short, bright orange beaks on an oval-shaped head. Their feet are also short and orange.

Roman Tufted Goose

Roman Tufted geese may have been around for up to two millennia, dating back to the times of ancient Rome. Italians of that time revered, these birds as sacred to Juno, the goddess of marriage.

These birds lay between twenty-five and thirty-five eggs every year and can live up to twenty-five years. They are commonly bred for their eggs and meat. Although, in some cases, they are used as ornamental birds.

Roman Tufted is a small breed with pure white plumage. Although these birds should have white plumage, you may find some with grey or buff feathers.

They have oval heads with a tufted feather atop like a crown. Roman Tufted geese are alert, calm, pleasant, and they make good watchdogs.

Sebastopol Goose

Sebastopol Goose resting in the farm

This breed of geese was exhibited first in England in 1860. They were also callede Danubian geese in some areas.

The Sebastopol geese are domestic birds. They are usually bred for ornamental purposes, but they may also be bred for their eggs. On average, a Sebastopol goose will lay between twenty-five and thirty-five eggs each year.

Sebastopol geese have curly feathers which limits their ability to fly.

The feathers on the neck are generally smooth, but those on the other parts of their body are usually curly.

One subdivision of Sebastopol geese is based on the form of the breast feathers: they are either smooth or curly.

Their plumage can either be white or buff. The varieties with white plumage have blue eyes, and those with buff plumage have white eyes.

Czech Goose

big white wild Czech Goose

Czech geese are domesticated waterfowls with purely white plumage. They resemble the Roman Tufted geese to an extent. However, Czech geese are smaller than Roman Tufted geese.

The Czech Geese, also called Bohemian geese, are found in two varieties: crested and non-crested. They have orange to orange-red beaks with legs of the same color.

Czech geese are kept for their tasty meat. Besides their meat, they are also kept for feathers and eggs. These low-cost birds produce ten to twenty-five eggs each year.

Czech geese are great foragers, and they feed on plants such as cereals, grass, and poultry food. They are friendly, noisy, and active.

Slovak White Goose

Two Slovak White Goose resting

The Slovak White goose is indigenous to Nitra, Slovakia. It is an endangered breed with a population of around 100 gander and 200 geese.

This breed of geese is known for its meat, feathers, and liver. You can expect between twelve and thirty-five eggs every year. The breed is rustic, so you have to allow it to graze.

They can live for up to twelve years, with the females growing as heavy as 13 lbs., and males around 15 lbs.

Ross’s Goose

Ross’s Goose swimming in lake

This breed of geese come in three morphs: adult white morph, adult blue morph, and juvenile white morph.

The adult blue morph variant is uncommon, and those that fall under this variety have dark-grey plumage with a white tail and a white head.

You’ll find Ross’s geese in Louisiana, California, New Mexico, and Texas during winter.

Sometimes, you may even find them among other geese breeds (such as Snow geese) – away from their usual winter location.

These birds breed in Canada on the dry, low arctic tundra. They forage in agricultural fields and marshes on items like peas, barley, wheatgrass, and wheat.

Wintering Ross’s geese also eat millet, rice, chickweed, grass, and corn.

White Chinese Goose

White Chinese Goose in a pond

The Chinese Geese have either white or brown plumage; they have orange bills, orange feet, and an orange knob on their forehead. The white variants have blue eyes.

If you need eggs, this breed is one of the best you can get. A Chinese Goose produces between forty and one hundred eggs per year. Which is about two-to-four times the average of other geese breeds.

Chinese Geese are great foragers; they are sometimes called weeder geese for their ability to feed on weedy areas.

You may have to supply them with commercial goose or turkey feed during the fall and winter months when there’s a shortage in forage.

White African Goose

The African goose comes in 3 plumage colors: white, buff, and brown. The white variant has pure white plumage, orange bill, and orange knob.

The male adults are taller than the females; they also have higher-pitched calls relative to the females. The females have large keels, and they are stockier than the ganders.

The African goose is quite similar to the Chinese goose. In fact, the African goose may have originated in China. But you’ll find that African geese are heavier, more docile, and have a larger dewlap than Chinese geese.

Also, African geese do not lay as many eggs as Chinese geese. On average, expect twenty-five to forty eggs per year compared to the Chinese geese’s forty to one hundred.

West of England Goose

West of England Geese and other geese on farm

This is an autosexing breed of geese. The West of England geese and the Pilgrim geese are the only breeds whose sex is known at hatching.

For the West of England geese, the males have white plumage, and the females have grey & white plumage. Both sexes have orange-pink legs, webs, and beaks.

The West of England geese originated in the United Kingdom, as the name suggests. They produce an average of twenty to fifty eggs per year and are bred for both meat and eggs.

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