A family consisting of six individuals. Four goslings, a male (left), and a female (right). found at Staglands Wildlife Reserve, Wellington, New ZealandTwo white examples in Kyoto, JapanFour individuals near the Marne river in Île-de-France
The Chinese is an international breedofdomestic goose, known by this name in Europe and in North America. Unlike the majority of goose breeds, it belongs to the knob geese, which derive from Anser cygnoides and are characterised by a prominent basal knob on the upper side of the bill. It originates in China, where there are more than twenty different breeds of knob goose.[9]: 4
Unlike the majority of goose breeds, which derive from the greylag goose (Anser anser), the Chinese belongs to the knob geese, which derive from the swan goose (Anser cygnoides) and are characterised by a prominent basal knob on the upper side of the bill. As the name suggests, it is believed to have originated in China, where there are more than twenty different breeds of knob goose.[9]: 4
It was seen in Britain from the early eighteenth century if not before,[10]: 371 and was present in the United States in the latter part of that century – George Washington is believed to have kept some on his plantationatMount Vernon.[11]: 203
In the twenty-first century it is an endangered breed: it is reported to DAD-IS by seven countries – Australia, Lithuania, Moldova, the Russian Federation, Slovenia, Suriname and the UK – but none of them report population data.[2] Population data was last reported by the United Kingdom in 2002, when there were between 150 and 1000 birds.[12] The Livestock Conservancy in the United States lists it as watch, its third level of concern.[3]
It appears in two varieties: the grey-brown, with colouring similar to that of the wild swan goose (Anser cygnoides), and the white.[10]: 371 The bill and the knob are black in the grey-brown variety, and orange in the white; the shanks and feet are always orange.[4]: 361 In birds bred for showing the neck is long and slender.[11]: 203
As a layer of eggs it is the most prolific of any breed of goose, usually laying some 50–60 eggs in a season of about five months, but sometimes reaching 100 eggs during that time.[10]: 371 [9]: 5 The eggs weigh about 120 g, rather less than those of other geese.[9]: 5 Flocks of the geese may be used to guard property or to keep down weeds.[10]: 371 [11]: 203 [13]: 473
^ abTransboundary breed: Chinese. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed May 2022.
^ abChinese Goose. Pittsboro, North Carolina: The Livestock Conservancy. Accessed May 2022.
^Geese: Light. Poultry Club of Great Britain. Archived 27 October 2018.
^ abcdRoger Buckland, Gérard Guy (editors) (2002). Goose Production. FAO Animal Production and Health Papers 154. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN9251048622
^Janet Vorwald Dohner (2001). The Encyclopedia of Historic and Endangered Livestock and Poultry Breeds. New Haven, Connecticut; London: Yale University Press. ISBN0300088809.
