Mary Allen
Even the Greeks, Romans, and Germans kept domestic geese as pets. Their ancestors are the wild greylag geese, so named because of the color of their feathers.
Characteristics
What do domestic geese and gray geese look like?
Like all geese, domestic geese and gray geese belong to the Anatidae family and are pretty big chunks: Domestic geese are 75 to 90 centimeters long and when they are fattened they weigh four and a half to five and a half, sometimes even up to six and a half kilograms. The breed of Emden geese even weighs ten to twelve kilograms. Wild geese are usually lighter than domestic geese and, like greylag geese, weigh only three to four kilos.
Domestic geese have white plumage. The feathers of the gray geese are light gray to brownish. Domestic geese and gray geese belong to the swimming birds. That means they live in and on water and their flesh-colored feet are webbed so they can swim better. The legs are reddish in color. Males and females are almost indistinguishable from their external characteristics. Around July, the geese begin to molt: which means they gradually get new plumage.
Where do domestic geese and gray geese live?
Today, the white domestic geese are spread all over the world by humans. Most wild geese live in the northern hemisphere. Many breeds in the Arctic but winter in milder regions. Greylag geese, for example, are found in Europe, North America, and Asia. Their range extends from Iceland to western Siberia and from Portugal across North Africa to Afghanistan.
Some greylag geese are still breeding here, but most are in northern and eastern Europe and Asia. In Germany, greylag geese can mainly be seen in the Danube area and in northern Germany. Many animals migrate further south to the Mediterranean region and even to North Africa for the winter. Since only a few animals breed here, you usually only see greylag geese when they are migrating.
Like almost all wild geese, greylag geese need a habitat with lakes and rivers that are densely surrounded by reeds, rushes, or forests so that the animals can hide well when breeding. They can also be found in swampy areas. It is important that they find fields and meadows near these wetlands. This is the best place to see the greylag geese when they are looking for food. In the meantime, however, greylag geese can also be found on lakes in parks.
What types of goose are there?
There are numerous domestic goose breeds today. The most important include the Diepholz goose, the Emden goose, the Pomeranian goose, and the Rhenish goose. The wild geese are divided into two groups: the field geese with ten species, which include, for example, the greylag goose, and the sea geese with six species.
There is an eastern and a western breed of the wild greylag goose. The beak of the western breed is more orange-red. A close relative of the greylag goose is the bean goose. It is the same size but darker in color on the head, neck, and forewings. The pink-footed goose is smaller than the greylag goose and only comes to Britain and a few patches of western Europe in winter. Examples of sea geese include Canada goose, brent goose, barnacle goose, and Hawaiian goose.
While the first three species, like the greylag goose, live in and on the water and are migratory birds, the Hawaiian goose has a very special way of life. This goose, which weighs about two kilograms and has brownish plumage, lives exclusively on a few islands in the Hawaiian Islands group, namely Hawaii, Maui, and Kauai. However, it does not inhabit the coast there, but the interior of the island.
In Hawaii, for example, they can be found on the volcanic cone of Mauna Loa. There she lives on lava fields at an altitude of 1500 to 2500 meters. In this area, there are far and wide neither lakes nor streams. But because the humidity is very high and it rains frequently, there are plenty of grasses, bushes with berries, and many other plants. The breeding season is from November to February. The geese build a nest on the lava floor and line it down.
The eggs are incubated for about a month. Unlike other geese, the young are not precocial, but only leave the nest when they are two to three months old. Hawaiian geese are among the rarest gees, and they are highly endangered: they used to be hunted and they fell victim to animals introduced by humans such as dogs, cats, and rats.
By the end of the 18th century, only about 30 Hawaiian geese had survived. However, birds were raised and released in a reintroduction program, and today there are an estimated 1,000 free-roaming Hawaiian geese again. However, they are still considered endangered.
How old do greylag geese get?
Greylag geese can live up to 17 years. Domestic geese can even get older.