Mary Allen
With the hump on its head and the swan-like curved neck, the hump goose is a noble representative of its kind. But their origin also makes them a special breed of geese.
The mute goose is different from the other geese breeds. It is the only one that does not descend from the greylag goose but is the domesticated form of the wild swan goose (Anser cygnoides). Although its neck curves like a swan, there is no question that the mute goose has no swan ancestors. However, the exact history of its origin cannot be determined.
As Horst Schmidt writes in the book «Gross- und Wassergeflügel», it is assumed that mute geese have been in human care for several centuries. Their origins are believed to be in China or Japan. There are also references from the 15th century where large white geese with humps and throat skin were kept in India, as Schmidt further writes in his work. The geese spread from east to west across Persia to Russia. In Germany, the first mention goes back about 250 years, when geese with conspicuous black humps were described for the first time. In Switzerland, the breed has always been seen at national poultry shows for 83 years. They had the largest representation in 1982 with 21 animals at the National in Bern.
The Way From Asia and Africa
In the beginning, the mute goose was known by various names such as swan goose, trumpeter, or Chinese goose. There is also an amusing anecdote in Schmidt’s book. The first President of the USA, George Washington, was presented with the mute geese. Then-Governor Morris gifted the geese and some pigs to the President and imported them directly from China to the United States, which led to the mute geese becoming widespread in North America.
The second breed of the breed made its way out of Africa. It is the big brother of the well-known hump goose. The much larger African mute goose reaches a bodyweight of 7 to 8 kilograms, while the mute goose weighs 4 to 5 kilograms.
However, the two breeds have in common the coloring of the plumage. They are bred in the colors grey-brown and white. The African mute geese came to America from Madagascar and then to Europe. They are also descended from the swan goose and resemble the mute goose in many parts. A clear difference is a strongly pronounced dewlap, which can be found as a skin fold or small pocket under the throat. One of the breed characteristics of the goose is the double dewlap on the belly, which can be very pronounced in old age. A single dewlap or even a missing dewlap would be considered a fault in a beauty pageant.
With an erect posture and a neck curved like a swan, the mute geese present themselves as elegant beings among their own kind. A clumsy body or a thick, short neck is frowned upon. The slender figure is created by the medium-high stand and the long and wide wings that lie close to the body. Especially with young animals, it is not uncommon for the wide wings to tilt outwards during feather development. Technical jargon refers to these wings as tilting wings. They form when the quills grow out of the primaries and, filled with blood, rotate outwards under the weight.
Loud Voice and Black Bumps
In his book, Schmidt describes an old breeder’s trick. A lady’s stocking was pulled over the head and torso of these geese and the head and legs were released from the opening. Because of the stocking, the wings stayed close to the body and no longer bent outwards. This method is said to be much more successful than holding the wings together with rubber or tape. But opinions differ among experts. Some advocate putting on the stockings, others are against using such animals inbreeding. Rather, they advise slaughtering such geese on Martin’s Day in November.
With the trumpeting voice, mute geese can make themselves heard by the owner. The black forehead hump stands out as a typical feature. This is somewhat weaker in the goose than in the gander. Especially in older animals, the hemispherical hump increases in size. In the white coloration, the beak and hump are not black, but reddish-yellow in color. The white animals are usually a bit stronger than the grey-brown ones.
The plumage color of the grey-brown shows a sharply defined dark brown stripe on the back neck to the shoulders. The front stop and the upper chest are whitish pales. In addition to the black beak, there are dark brown eyes, only the legs glow orange-red. The grey-blue is recognized as the third color impact. The brown color areas are covered with blue or gray feathers. However, this color variant has not yet been sighted in Switzerland.