The Leine Goose

Uses: Utility - meat (originally), Broody. Showing (now a very rare breed)

Eggs: 20 to 40 per year. Colour: White

Weight: Gander: 7 to 8.5Kg, Goose: 6 to 7.5Kg.

Colours: White, Pied White.

Useful to know: Extremely rare (100 or less birds) found only in Germany at present as far as we know.

Photo: No breed photo here yet. Please Contact us if you can help.

Leine Geese are a medium weight, slim goose with a strong, straight neck and a short tail. Their plumage is pure white or pied white, the bill and feet are orange. Leine Geese are not standardised in the UK, or Germany (where they are called Leinegans).

Leine Geese are named after the Leine River Valley in Germany. They originated in the area between between Goettingen and Hannover in Lower Saxony. This is a rural area that has a lot of accompanying agriculture. As the breed became more popular, it spread south across Northern Hessen to Nordthüringen and in the north up to mouth of the river Leine. The Leine Goose is a good forager and was often kept on the marshes and open pasture land along the river's valley as they were able to withstand the harsh weather conditions.

During the 1950's, under intense competition from abroad, the Leine Goose was in decline and by the end of the decade, the Leine Goose was thought to be extinct.

In 1994, by luck, Mathias Vogt discovered a pair of the original Leine Geese near the town of Hildesheim. After a long search, he also found some others near Solling, and Wedemark. In total, he now had 6 Leine Geese from the original stock. They are still extremely rare in Germany but their numbers and popularity are now slowly increasing once again but their total number is still thought to be below 100.

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