Which geese are better white or gray: breed descriptions and their differences, how to choose

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

The best breeds of gray geese

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

1. Large grey. An adult male can weigh 7 kilograms, a female - 6.5.
2. Chinese. Representatives can be both white and gray. In addition to 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 a two-month-old chick already weighs 6 kilos, which indicates high precocity.
4. Tula fighters have a grayish-beige or gray-brown color, up to 25 eggs are laid per oviposition. The mass 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 pen is not a fundamental factor. Poultry differs in several characteristics, so the comparison of varieties should be made by a set of indicators, and not just by color.

Popular white goose varieties

Among the birds of this color, there are options with other shades, as well as colorful, with a pattern and characteristic patterns, as well as having a completely pure color:

1. Lindovskys (Gorky, Linda) are considered one of the largest: a goose hangs up to 8, a goose - up to 7 kilos.
2. Kholmogory. 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 kilos, a three-month-old teenager weighs almost as much as an adult bird.
4. Emden are heavy breeds, the male will pull 10 kilograms, the goose - 8.
5. Italian. This variety is known for being the origin of the gourmet foie gras, as the fatty liver was originally obtained by fattening Italian whites.Males weigh up to 7 kilograms, females - no more than 6. Goslings at the age of two months reach 4 kilos.

These are just some of the birds bred by man 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 it is believed that gray geese are larger than white geese, in reality this is not entirely true. There are breeds-heavyweights and gray and white. In addition, in each variety there are champions that exceed the average. So there are no pronounced differences between the birds of the two colors.

Gray differs from white only in the color of plumage. It is much more important what breed this or that representative of the goose tribe belongs to.

Which birds to choose?

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

For home maintenance, birds are chosen according to profile features. Heavy and medium-heavy varieties are needed for meat, geese are grown to produce foie gras, which can produce a fatty liver weighing up to 500 grams, good laying hens and hens are needed to breed and sell eggs and chicks. The precocity of the geese and the friendly, peaceful nature are also important.

Both gray and white geese are available in dozens of breeds, so the poultry breeder has a chance to choose a bird according to his needs and needs. Interestingly, within the same breed, representatives of white and gray colors can be found, 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 pen, but on a set of indicators.

Heavyweight gooses give a higher meat yield, and medium-weight birds are more profitable for fattening, as they absorb less food. Such geese mature faster, therefore, under a number of conditions, they can be more profitable than representatives of especially large breeds.

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