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The Chinese Goose is an international
breed A breed is a specific group of breedable domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist seve ...
of domestic 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.


History

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. It was seen in Britain from the early eighteenth century if not before, and was present in the United States in the latter part of that century –
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is believed to have kept some on his
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at
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. It was included in the revised 1873 edition of ''The Poultry Book'' by William Bernhard Tegetmeier, and was added to the '' Standard of Perfection'' of the
American Poultry Association The American Poultry Association (APA) is the oldest poultry organization in North America. It was founded in 1873, and incorporated in Indiana in 1932. The first American poultry show was held in 1849, and the APA was later formed in respons ...
in 1874. In the twenty-first century it is an
endangered breed An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, invasiv ...
: it is reported to
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by seven countries – Australia, Lithuania, Moldova, the Russian Federation, Slovenia,
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and the UK – but none of them report population data. Population data was last reported by the United Kingdom in 2002, when there were between 150 and 1000 birds. The
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in the United States lists it as watch, its third level of concern.


Characteristics

It appears in two varieties: the grey or brown, with colouring similar to that of the wild ''Anser cygnoides'', and the white. The bill and the knob are black in the grey-brown variety, and orange in the white; the shanks and feet are always orange. In birds bred for showing the neck is long and slender.


Use

As a egg laying goose 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. The eggs weigh about , rather less than those of other geese. Flocks of the geese may be used to guard property or to keep down weeds.


References

Geese Goose breeds {{bots, deny=Citation bot