20+ Goose Breeds: A to Z Guide

Goose breeds range from small, light egg layers like the Chinese to big meat geese like the Embden and Toulouse, with ornamental and heritage breeds in between. Here are 20 types of geese from A to Z, with the size, eggs, temperament, and conservation status of each one.

Most American hatcheries carry somewhere between four and seven goose breeds, usually from this list: the African, American Buff, Chinese, Embden, Pilgrim, Roman, Sebastopol, and Toulouse.

You can sometimes find the specialty breeds from smaller hatcheries and backyard breeders, if you know to look for them. A few of the European breeds on this list are rare in North America, or not available here at all.

If you’re new to geese, start with my beginner’s guide to raising geese, and these things to know before getting geese. For the common breeds, I’ve linked a full breed guide in each section below.

Choosing a Goose Breed

Choosing a goose breed starts with what you want from the flock. Some breeds are bred for meat, some for eggs or weeding, and some mostly for their looks.

Temperament, size, and climate matter, too. Here’s what to think about as you read through the breeds.

Breed Purpose

Meat breeds are the big, heavy geese, like the Embden, African, and Toulouse. They grow fast and make a big roast, but most of them lay fewer eggs.

For eggs, the Chinese goose lays more eggs than any other breed. Medium breeds like the American Buff and Pilgrim make good all-around homestead geese, and ornamental breeds like the Sebastopol and Tufted Roman are kept mostly for their looks.

Temperament

Some breeds are known for being calm, like the American Buff, Pilgrim, and Sebastopol. Others, like the Chinese and African, are loud and alert, and they make good watch geese.

Handling matters more than breed, though. Hand-raised geese are devoted to their owners, and they welcome them in as part of the flock. Even so, there’s always the occasional gander that just can’t be tamed.

Size

Light breeds like the Chinese, Roman, and Shetland weigh about 6 to 12 pounds. Medium breeds like the American Buff, Pilgrim, and Sebastopol run about 10 to 18 pounds.

The heavy breeds, like the Embden, African, and Toulouse, can reach 20 pounds or more. All of them start out as little fluffballs, but most geese are fully feathered and nearly full grown by 8 to 10 weeks.

Foraging Ability

Most geese are good grazers, and grass can make up much of their diet in the growing season. The light breeds tend to be the most active foragers.

If you want weeder geese, the Chinese and the Cotton Patch both have a long history of weeding crops. The heavy dewlap Toulouse is a poor weeder by comparison.

Egg Production

Geese don’t lay year-round like chickens. Most breeds lay in late winter and spring, and most lay somewhere between 20 and 50 eggs a year.

Chinese geese lay the most, with up to about 100 a year with good management. Here’s how a goose egg is different from a chicken egg, plus a long list of goose egg recipes for the spring glut.

Lifespan and Laying Years

Geese are long-lived birds, and Texas A&M’s vet school says well-kept geese can live well into their teens. A goose can keep laying for up to 10 years, though a gander’s fertility tends to drop off sooner.

Most geese start laying at about a year old. They lay more and bigger eggs in their second year than in their first.

Hardiness

Most goose breeds are very cold-hardy, thanks to their thick down. Breeds with curly feathers, like the Sebastopol, need more protection in cold, wet weather, and knobbed breeds like the Chinese and African need shelter to keep frostbite off the knob.

In a hot climate, give every breed shade and water to bathe in. The Livestock Conservancy calls the Cotton Patch very tolerant of hot, humid climates.

Autosexing Geese

Some goose breeds are autosexing, which means you can tell the ganders from the geese by their color. That makes it much easier to plan a breeding flock.

In North America, the Pilgrim is the one you’ll see most, with mostly white ganders and gray geese. The Cotton Patch, Shetland, West of England, and Normandy are autosexing, too.

Goose Breeds at a Glance

Here’s a quick way to sort the breeds by size. Weights and egg counts vary a lot between sources and strains, so each breed section below gives the ranges.

For conservation status, I used The Livestock Conservancy for the United States and the Rare Breeds Survival Trust for Britain. A few of the European breeds are hard to find in North America.

The heavy breeds are the big meat geese, with ganders around 20 pounds or more:

• African
• Embden
• Toulouse

The medium breeds make good all-around homestead geese. These are the ones you’re most likely to find in North America:

• American Buff
• Pilgrim
• Pomeranian
• Sebastopol

The rest are hard to find here. These three are British:

• Brecon Buff
• Buff Back and Grey Back
• West of England

And these come from France, Germany, and Missouri:

• Landes
• Normandy
• Steinbacher
• Tufted Buff

The light breeds are small, active foragers, and the Chinese lays more eggs than any other goose:

• Chinese
• Cotton Patch
• Czech
• Oland
• Roman and Tufted Roman
• Shetland

African Goose

African geese are big, upright meat geese with a knob on the forehead and a dewlap under the chin. Despite the name, they descend from the wild swan goose of Asia, like the Chinese.

They grow fast into a lean roasting goose, and they’re loud. That voice makes them a good alarm, but not a good fit with close neighbors.

• Main use: Meat
• Size: Ganders about 22 pounds, and geese about 18
• Eggs: 20 to 40 extra-large white eggs a year
• Status: Watch, according to The Livestock Conservancy

American Buff Goose

American Buff geese are calm, medium-size geese with soft apricot feathers. They’re one of the few goose breeds developed in North America, and the American Poultry Association accepted them in 1947.

They make good mothers and steady grazers, and they’re a nice size for a small homestead. I had a Buff gander who’d crawl into my lap if I sat down in the grass.

• Main use: Meat, and a good pet goose
• Size: Ganders about 18 pounds, and geese about 16
• Eggs: About 10 to 25 large white eggs a year
• Status: Watch, according to The Livestock Conservancy

Brecon Buff Goose

The Brecon Buff comes from the hills of Breconshire in Wales, where Rhys Llewellyn started the breed from farmyard geese in 1929. The British Waterfowl Association says he had a flock that bred true buff in 4 to 5 generations.

They’re buff all over, with the body feathers edged in almost white, and they have pink bills and feet. The British Waterfowl Association calls them alert, active, and friendly, and good grazers.

• Temperament: Alert, active, and friendly
• Size: Ganders 16 to 20 pounds, and geese 14 to 18
• Origin: Wales
• Status: Priority breed on the Rare Breeds Survival Trust watchlist

Buff Back and Grey Back Geese

Buff Backs and Grey Backs are the same type of goose in two colors. They’re mostly white, with buff or gray markings on the head, neck, back, and thighs, and they come from the pied geese of the North Sea and Baltic countries.

In Britain, both were standardized in 1982. They’re calm, friendly, reasonably plump geese, and they’ll often go broody if you keep them as a pair or trio.

• Main use: Meat and eggs
• Size: Ganders about 18 to 22 pounds, and geese about 15 to 20
• Eggs: 20 to 30 eggs in spring
• Status: Priority breeds on the Rare Breeds Survival Trust watchlist

Chinese Goose

Chinese geese are light, upright geese with a long neck and a large knob on the forehead. They come in white and brown, and they descend from the wild swan goose of Asia.

They lay more eggs than any other breed, they’re active weeders, and they’re loud. Our Chinese goose turned out to be the friendliest in our flock, and my son calls her Ambulance.

• Main use: Eggs, weeding, and as a watch goose
• Size: Ganders about 12 pounds, and geese about 10
• Eggs: 40 to 100 large white eggs a year with good management
• Status: Watch, according to The Livestock Conservancy

Cotton Patch Goose

Cotton Patch geese were once common on farms in the southeastern United States, where they weeded cotton and corn fields up until the 1950s. The Livestock Conservancy says they likely descend from European geese brought over in colonial times.

They’re autosexing. Ganders are all or mostly white, and geese are mostly dove gray to brownish. They’re docile, active grazers that handle heat and humidity well, and they can fly well after their first year.

• Main use: Weeding
• Size: Ganders 9 to 12 pounds, and geese 8 to 10
• Eggs: A good goose could once lay up to 90 eggs a year
• Status: Threatened, according to The Livestock Conservancy

Czech Goose

The Czech goose is a small, lively white goose from Bohemia, in what’s now the Czech Republic. It was a small table goose there, and the British Waterfowl Association calls the geese excellent mothers.

They have orange-red bills and legs, and they’re hardy birds. Egg counts vary a lot by source, from 10 to 20 a year up to about 45.

• Main use: Meat
• Size: Ganders 11 to 12 pounds, and geese 9 to 10
• Eggs: 10 to 45 large white eggs a year, depending on the source
• Origin: Bohemia, Czech Republic

Embden Goose

Embden geese are big white meat geese from northern Germany, named for the town of Emden. They’ve been in the American Standard of Perfection since 1874.

Oklahoma State calls them the tallest goose breed, and one of the biggest along with the Toulouse. They grow fast, and Metzer Farms says they’re the most common goose for commercial meat.

• Main use: Meat
• Size: Hatchery ganders about 20 pounds, and geese 15 to 16
• Eggs: About 10 to 45 extra-large white eggs a year
• Origin: Northern Germany

Landes Goose

The Landes goose comes from France, where it was developed from the gray Toulouse goose. Both ganders and geese are gray, with orange to yellow bills and legs.

It’s raised mostly for foie gras, in France and in other countries like Hungary. It’s a quiet, calm breed, and the big American hatcheries don’t sell it.

• Main use: Foie gras
• Size: Ganders about 13 pounds, and geese about 11
• Eggs: About 40 eggs a year
• Origin: France

Normandy Goose

The Normandy goose is a French breed that was very common in Normandy until the middle of the 20th century. It was a traditional Christmas goose there, raised for meat, down, and feathers.

It’s autosexing, too. The gander is always white, while the goose is gray and white. It’s a hardy, medium-size goose and a heavy grass eater, and the geese sit their own eggs.

• Main use: Meat and down
• Size: Medium
• Autosexing: Yes, with white ganders and gray and white geese
• Origin: Normandy, France

Oland Goose

The Oland goose is a small, nimble Swedish landrace goose, and one of only two local Swedish goose breeds that survive. It’s mostly white, with gray-brown areas on the head, neck, back, and thighs.

The geese have good maternal instincts, and the flock will guard hard against intruders. Gothenburg’s Slottsskogen Zoo calls it critically endangered, with only a little more than 100 left.

• Main use: Pets and guarding
• Size: About 9 to 12 pounds
• Eggs: 20 to 30 eggs a season
• Status: Critically endangered in Sweden

Pilgrim Goose

The Pilgrim is an American breed, though its history is a bit of a mystery. Waterfowl breeder Oscar Grow claimed he developed it in Iowa, and his wife named it for the family’s move to Missouri. The name was first recorded in 1935.

It’s autosexing, too. Ganders are mostly white, geese are soft dove gray, and you can tell them apart from the day they hatch. They’re calm, personable geese, and good foragers and parents.

• Main use: Meat and eggs
• Size: About 13 to 14 pounds
• Eggs: 35 to 45 white eggs a year, according to The Livestock Conservancy
• Status: Threatened, according to The Livestock Conservancy

Pomeranian Goose

Pomeranian geese come from northern Germany, where farmers developed them from the greylag goose in the 1500s. In Germany they come in white, gray, and saddleback colors, but the American standard only recognizes the gray and buff saddlebacks.

They have pinkish-red bills, reddish-orange legs, and blue eyes. Temperament varies, and they tend to greet visitors noisily, so they make good watch geese.

• Main use: Meat
• Size: Ganders 17 to 25 pounds, and geese 15 to 20
• Eggs: Up to 70 white eggs a season, though most lay fewer
• Status: Critical, according to The Livestock Conservancy

Roman and Tufted Roman Geese

Tufted Roman geese are small white geese from Italy, and many have a puff of feathers on the head like a tiny helmet. In North America, the names Roman and Tufted Roman get used for the same bird.

They’re small enough to pick up and carry, and they make a plump roaster for their size. I have young kids who love to snuggle our geese, and Romans are some of the friendliest around.

• Main use: Meat, and as a family goose
• Size: Ganders about 12 pounds, and geese about 10
• Eggs: 25 to 35 large white eggs a year
• Status: Critical, according to The Livestock Conservancy

Sebastopol Goose

Sebastopol geese are the curly-feathered geese, with long plumes that drape over the back and sides. They come from southeastern Europe, around the Black Sea and the Danube River.

They’re gentle, quiet, and broody, but those curls don’t keep them as warm or dry as a regular goose. They can’t fly, either. My daughter has always wanted one of these little fluff buckets.

• Main use: Ornamental
• Size: Ganders about 14 pounds, and geese about 12
• Eggs: 25 to 35 large white eggs a year
• Status: Threatened, according to The Livestock Conservancy

Shetland Goose

Shetland geese come from the Shetland Islands of Scotland, where they’ve been kept since at least the 1600s. Crofters used them to graze wet pasture, which helped keep down liver fluke for their sheep.

They’re small, very hardy, and autosexing. Ganders are white with blue eyes, while the geese are about half white and half gray, and both have pale orange to pink bills.

• Main use: Grazing
• Size: Ganders 8 to 12 pounds, and geese 6 to 10
• Eggs: About 20 to 30 large white eggs a year
• Status: Critical, according to The Livestock Conservancy

Steinbacher Goose

The Steinbacher comes from Thuringia, in Germany, where it was bred as a fighting goose from local geese crossed with Chinese geese in the late 1800s. Most are calm with people and other geese, except in mating season.

In Germany, they come in gray, blue, buff, and cream, and the blue variety joined the American standard in 2011. They have an orange bill with a black tip, and they were first imported to the United States in 2004.

• Main use: Meat
• Size: Ganders 13 to 15 pounds, and geese 11 to 13
• Eggs: 30 to 50 large white eggs a year, according to The Livestock Conservancy
• Status: Critical, according to The Livestock Conservancy

Toulouse Goose

Toulouse geese are big, soft gray meat geese from southwestern France. They come in two types, the production Toulouse most hatcheries sell and the heavy dewlap Toulouse with a deep keel and a fold of skin under the bill.

They’re calm, gentle geese, and they’re not as noisy as some breeds. We had an aggressive Toulouse gander one year, though, and he didn’t stay long.

• Main use: Meat
• Size: Production type 14 to 20 pounds, and dewlap ganders 20 to 26
• Eggs: 20 to 40 extra-large white eggs a year
• Status: Watch for the dewlap type, according to The Livestock Conservancy

Tufted Buff Goose

The Tufted Buff is a buff goose with a helmet-like tuft on its head. According to Metzer Farms, Ruth Book of Granby, Missouri created it by crossing a Tufted Roman with a Buff goose.

It’s an easygoing goose, but it’s hard to find. It isn’t in the American standard, and Metzer Farms no longer carries it.

• Main use: Meat, and as a pet
• Size: About 13 to 15 pounds
• Eggs: About 20 to 30 eggs a year
• Origin: Missouri

West of England Goose

The West of England goose is an ancient breed from southern England, especially Devon and Cornwall. It’s autosexing, and the female goslings have gray markings on the head and back right from hatch.

Adult ganders are white, and the geese have a gray and white saddleback pattern. They’re calm and rear their own young readily, and The Livestock Conservancy notes the Pilgrim may be related.

• Temperament: Calm, and friendly with handling
• Size: Ganders up to about 20 pounds, and geese up to about 18
• Eggs: 30 to 40 eggs a year in spring
• Status: Priority breed on the Rare Breeds Survival Trust watchlist

Goose Breeds FAQs

These are the questions that come up most about goose breeds, from the biggest breeds to the top layers.

Goose Breed Guides

A closer look at the common hatchery breeds.

Chinese Goose Breed Guide

Toulouse Goose Breed Guide

Tufted Roman Goose Breed Guide

Raising Geese

More help with raising geese on the homestead.

Raising Geese ~ 8 Things to Know Before Getting Started

Raising Geese: A Beginner’s Guide

Sebastopol Goose Breed Guide