Geese

Goose production is smaller in scale than chicken or duck production in most countries, and is typically organised around pasture access, since geese graze far more of their diet than most other poultry. Breeds vary in size, colour, and temperament, with heavier breeds favoured for meat and down, and some regional breeds retained for their hardiness and grazing ability.

Meat and down breeds

Larger breeds selected for growth rate, carcass yield, and down quality.

Egg-laying strains

Selected for higher and more consistent egg output than typical dual-purpose flocks.

Grazing/weeder geese

Regional types historically kept specifically for their grazing habit, used to control weeds in crops such as cotton and in orchards and vineyards.

Breed and genetic diversity is documented internationally, including through FAO’s Domestic Animal Diversity Information System (DAD-IS), which records poultry breeds and their conservation status by country.

Geese can meet a substantial share of their nutritional needs by grazing grass and other green forage, more so than chickens, turkeys, or most ducks, and pasture quality strongly influences growth and condition in extensively managed flocks. Formulated rations are commonly used to supplement pasture, particularly for goslings, breeding stock, and finishing birds where faster growth is wanted.

Goose health and welfare depend on adequate pasture or forage access, clean water, shelter from extreme weather and predators, and biosecurity practices that limit disease introduction and spread, including attention to avian influenza risks common to waterfowl.

Because of their intensive grazing, geese interact closely with land use and pasture management, and their historical use as living weeders in cotton, orchards, and vineyards illustrates a niche role in integrated crop–livestock management, alongside their more conventional place in meat, egg, and down production.