Which breeds of geese are better and larger: white or gray, differences, how to choose

Geese are profitable to breed, they are unpretentious, quickly gain weight, in adulthood they weigh from 7 to 12 kilograms and are famous for their appetizing meat. All this is the basis for raising poultry on farms and in the backyards of rural residents. But novice poultry farmers often have questions about which geese are better for farming: white or gray, and how to choose the best breed.

The best breeds of gray geese

Over the years and even centuries of selection, numerous representatives of poultry have been bred, each of which has a number of differences that make them unique:

1. Large gray ones. An adult male can weigh 7 kilograms, a female – 6.5.
2. Chinese. Representatives can be either white or gray. Apart from color, there are no differences between representatives of the breed. A gander weighs up to 5.5, a goose - up to 4, a two-month-old gosling - up to 3.5 kilograms.
3. Toulouse. These are large, “raw” birds weighing up to 9.5 kilograms (male), while the chick at two months already weighs 6 kilos, which indicates high precocity.
4. Tula bettas are grayish-beige or gray-brown in color and lay up to 25 eggs per egg laying. The weight of a gander is 6 kilograms, a goose is 5, a chick at 2 months can weigh up to 3.9.

The dark color of the feather is not a fundamental factor. Poultry differs in several characteristics, so comparisons of varieties should be made based on a set of indicators, and not just color.

Popular varieties of white geese

Among the birds of this color there are variants with other shades, as well as variegated ones, with patterns and characteristic patterns, as well as those with completely pure colors:

1. Lindovskie (Gorkovskie, Linda) are considered one of the largest: a goose weighs up to 8 kilos, a goose weighs up to 7 kilos.
2. Kholmogorsky. These birds can be either pure white or gray in color. There are also piebald individuals with grayish-beige spots on a white background. Very large birds: males can weigh up to 10, and geese – up to 8-9 kilograms.
3. Danish legart. This breed has an amazing precocity and a very docile, calm and friendly character. The male can grow up to 8 kilograms, the female gains up to 7 kilograms, a three-month-old teenager weighs almost like an adult bird.
4. Emden breeds are heavy breeds; a male can pull 10 kilograms, a goose – 8.
5. Italian.This variety is famous for giving rise to the gourmet dish foie gras, as the fatty liver was originally obtained by fattening the Italian whites. Males weigh up to 7 kilograms, females - no more than 6. Goslings at two months of age reach 4 kilos.

These are just some of the birds bred by humans for captivity. Each variety has characteristics on the basis of which it can be classified as heavy, medium-heavy or medium-light representatives. The same classification is used when dividing into meat and egg breeds. There are also mixed varieties of egg and meat.

What is the difference between a gray goose and a white goose?

Although there is an opinion that greylag geese are larger whites, in reality this is not entirely true. There are heavyweight breeds that are both gray and white. In addition, in each variety there are record holders who exceed the average. So there are no pronounced differences between birds of two colors.

Which birds are better to choose?

When choosing an option for breeding, color does not play a major role. Selection is carried out according to other indicators: body weight, egg production, requirements for food and living conditions or unpretentiousness, maternal instinct, the number of eggs in the clutch and the percentage of goslings hatching and other characteristics.

For home keeping, birds are selected based on their profile features. For meat, heavy and medium-heavy varieties are needed; to produce foie gras, geese are raised, which can produce fatty livers weighing up to 500 grams; for breeding and selling eggs and chicks, good laying hens and hens are needed.The precocity of geese and their friendly, peaceful character are also important.

Both gray and white geese come in dozens of breeds, so the poultry farmer has a chance to choose a bird according to his needs and needs. It is interesting that within the same breed there can be representatives of white and gray colors, as, for example, in the Kholmogory breed.

So, when choosing a suitable breed for breeding, you need to focus not on the color of the feather, but on a set of indicators.

Heavy goose birds produce a higher meat yield, while medium-weight birds are more profitable for fattening, since they absorb less food. Such geese mature faster, so under a number of conditions they can be more profitable than representatives of particularly large breeds.