Toulouse Goose
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The Toulouse goose is a breed of domesticated goose derived from the Greylag Goose Anser anser.
As the name suggests, it originates from the area around Toulouse in southwest France. It is a large bird, with a weight of up to 9 kg. The original grey colored breed is a very old one and the name has been recorded back as far as 1555. The breed was first brought to the United Kingdom by Lord Derby in 1840, who imported some of them to England, and from then onwards the French Toulouse were used as breeding stock with the consequence that by 1894, English breeders had produced a massive bird. The 'Toulouse' in France, although kept in greater numbers, have never quite equaled such weights.
Personality:
The bird has a very trusting nature and a placid disposition, with the consequence that it doesn't thrive in flocks of mixed breeds. More aggressive geese will greatly distress the 'Toulouse', putting it off mating and sometimes resulting in its losing out at the feeding trough.
These are very domesticated birds, easily bewildered by more active breeds. They do not need water or a pond. However, being water fowl, they love bathing and playing in water and will also mate in water.
They are not great wanderers, preferring to stay close to home, making them ideal for a large garden or orchard, where they will thrive. Interestingly, individual geese vary, and others thrive in mixed flocks and become severely aggressive, biting and hissing, while others are placid and prefer to follow around smaller ducks as opossed to other geese.
Breeding:
The breed is a good layer of eggs, producing as well as any other goose breed. They rarely have problems producing fertile eggs, although problems can occur during severe weather in the winter and spring, as is the case with most breeds. A good goose will lay up to 160 eggs a year.[1] However, these birds are not good sitters.
The breed makes an excellent table bird.
References
- Hugo, S. (undated). Geese: the underestimated species. FAO Agriculture Department.
- Batty, Joseph (1996): Domesticated Ducks & Geese: Beech Publishing House. ISBN 1-85736-091-5
See also
- List of goose breeds
- Toulouse (OSU)
Copyright: Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia.org
Diet / Feeding:
Ducks and geese generally feed on larvae and pupae usually found under rocks, aquatic animals, plant material, seeds, small fish, snails and crabs.
Feeding Ducks and Geese ...
We all enjoy waterfowl and many of us offer them food to encourage them to come over and stay around - and it works! Who doesn't like an easy meal!
However, the foods that we traditionally feed them at local ponds are utterly unsuitable for them and are likely to cause health problems down the road. Also, there may be local laws against feeding this species of bird - so it's best to check on that rather than facing consequences at a later stage.
- Click here to find out which foods to feed them that will offer the nutrition they need to survive a cold winter and remain healthy
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