ASHTON WATERFOWL

 Domestic Geese

The ancestors of the domestic goose are derived from two distinct wild species. Western (European) breeds have been developed from the greylag, and Asiatic breeds such as the African and Chinese from the swan goose. Despite their separate origin, the Asiatics and greylag types do inter-breed.

	Asiatic breeds African Geese
	Chinese geese
Asiatic Crosses Crosses of the Asian and European types have produced distinctive breeds of Russian geese such as the Tula, Arsamas and Kholmogory, plus the beautiful blue German Steinbacher. Steinbacher goose - a Eurasian cross

Western breeds White breeds range from the heavy white Embden (up to 34 lbs) down to the tiny white Czech at only 9-11lbs. As well as these white birds, there are the beautiful American and Brecon Buff and the grey Toulouse. Geese also come in 'pied' varieties - the Grey Back and Buff Back - as well as the curly-feathered Sebastopol. These breeds were all developed from the wild greylag.	Brecon Buffs
Out of the 14 UK standardized breeds, only a few breeds - the Brecon Buff and arguably the autosexing breeds - are indigenous to the UK.
Buff Backs are similar in weight to the Brecons. They can be produced by crossing a white goose with a buff gander (the buff gene is sex-linked), but several generations are required to perfect the markings.Buff Backs are pied geese. 'Pied' is a typical European colour pattern produced by the 'spot' gene, and is popular in many countries surrounding the North Sea and Baltic. In Sweden, large grey back 'spot' geese are known as Skanegas; in the UK, 'spot' geese are called the Grey Back and Buff Back. There are differences in size and shape between the regions, but the 'spot' colour-pattern is the same throughout e.g. in the Oie Flamande, Twente, Oland and pied Pomeranian	Buff Backs
Czech geese
Pilgrim geese and other Autosexing breeds (Shetland, West of England) Normandy geese at a show Avicultura article auto-sexing
German Pomeranian geese are single-lobed. 'Pomeranian' is strictly a type rather than a colour. This breed is standardized in Germany in white, whole grey and grey back. In the UK, grey back is the popular colour, but the grey is equally popular on the continent. The German birds also have a distinctive, bold head, and an orange-pink bill - rather than just plain orange.
Sebastopol geese

Toulouse

The Embden (left) originated in Germany, but is a popular breed in the UK and USA. Along with the Toulouse, it was the first goose breed standardized in the UK in 1865. British birds are heavier than German birds and reach up to 32 lbs in exhibition strain ganders. Any white goose is not an Embden. There are many varieties of commercial geese which are white, but these are generally smaller and easier to breed because they have been developed as commercial crosses for a high output. The true UK Embden has a proud stature and reaches a metre in height. Ganders weigh 28-34lbs and females can reach 28lbs. They typically lay about 30 eggs.

Embden at a show in 1961 

Left: Captain Harrop's winnng Embden in 1961

Emden sold in 1984