The African Goose

Uses: Crossed with Toulouse for meat production, sometimes as a broody.

Eggs: 10 to 40 per year. Colour: White

Weight: Gander: 10-12.7 Kg, Goose: 8.2-10.9 Kg.

Colours: Brown / Grey (most common), Buff, White

Useful to know: The dewlap is slow to develop in some African Geese, taking 12 to 36 months to develop fully. Usually a gentle breed, despite their size.

Photo: African Gander.

African Geese are some of the largest domestic geese, the Ganders weighing up to 12.7Kg. They are close relatives of Chinese Geese and have a similar ‘knob' above their beak, being a descendent of the Swan Goose (rather than the Greylag that other breeds of geese are descended from. Despite the confusing name, African Geese are believed to originate from China. African's are often crossed with Toulouse Geese to create a commercial hybrid bird used for meat.

In France, the African Goose is called L'oie Africaine. The Brown / Grey was standardized in the UK in 1982, the Buff in 1999 and the White in 1982.

Books

• Domestic Geese - C. Ashton - P.17-22
• Keeping Ducks and Geese - C. & M. Ashton - P.52-53
• British Waterfowl Standards - P.8-10
• British Poultry Standards - P.353-355

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