Geese Breed Focus - Chinese

@keiferlou cute pictures of your new goslings. They look like Big Bird next to your ducklings, lol.

keiferlou said:

Thanks for this post! I just picked up a couple of these guys 2 weeks ago to add to my crew. I had researched and narrowed it down to this breed or the Embden because I wanted an "alarm system" goose but also a friendly one that would be cool with petting and attention. My feed store had both breeds in the the bin and the Chinese just felt like the right ones. Immediately, they were big fans of people! Sam and Bowie are the friendliest baby birds I've ever had. They prefer to sit in your lap or follow you around the yard. I'm looking forward to many entertaining years with these kids!

Bowie on the left, Sam on the right



Bowie and Sam with the new ducks, trying to figure out the swimming thing

Click to expand...

@sumi
That photo was of my wonderful Ranaya. She was part of my original flock that I started in 2009. She had an untimely death last year, and I miss her greatly.

Ranaya was the only Chinese goose I owned, and she was loud, obnoxious and a brat. When she was a gosling she liked to ride around in the pocket of my housecoat. As an adult she liked to sit in my lap, chew my hair, take laces out of shoes, and lead the ducks. She laid an ungodly amount of eggs, and though at times she seemed like she might sit, it seemed like she couldn't stand not being part of everyone's business. None of my other geese laid as many eggs as she did, which I understand is a function of her breed. She laid more than the breeds average though, laying over a hundred a year!

It's hard to know if the differences between her and my other geese were due to her breed or how she was raised. She was bossier than the chill Africans and Pomeranians, but not a bully like the Sebastapol and American Lavender Ice. She talked more than any of them, as there was always something to talk about. Seriously, everything set her honker going.

I'm now down to a single goose, Ranaya's mate, Rommy. He's a Plainheaded Roman. I have goslings coming in April, but alas no Chinese. I just cannot handle that long of a laying season. With the male goose being so protective during egg laying, it's too disruptive to my management style. Ranaya was a joy in my life, and I wouldn't trade my time with her for anything, but if she is at all indicative of the breed, I need a goose a little less high maintenance.

R.I.P Ranaya, you wonderful Chinese goose.

@rainplace So sorry to hear of your loss… It sounds like she was a quite a character!

She was an amazing goose! Thank you for spotlighting her photo as it gave me the chance to talk about her.
(sorry so late with replies, I'm not here often, and the email associated with this account is monitored only rarely)