The Emden or Embden is a German

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 ...

domestic goose A domestic goose is a goose that humans have domesticated and kept for their meat, eggs, or down feathers, or as companion animals. Domestic geese have been derived through selective breeding from the wild greylag goose (''Anser anser domesticu ...

. It is named for the town of

Emden Emden () is an Independent city (Germany), independent town and seaport in Lower Saxony in the north-west of Germany and lies on the River Ems (river), Ems, close to the Germany–Netherlands border, Netherlands border. It is the main town in t ...

in north-westernmost Germany.

History

The Emden is the oldest goose breed of the area that is now Germany, with origins believed to go back to the thirteenth century. It derives from the traditional large white geese of the

East Frisia East Frisia () or East Friesland (; ; ; ) is a historic region in the northwest of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is primarily located on the western half of the East Frisia (peninsula), East Frisian peninsula, to the east of West Frisia and to the ...

region of north-western Germany; these had a long curved neck and so were sometimes known as ''Schwanengans'' or "swan geese". The modern breed was established in the late nineteenth century. In 2016, the breeding population in Germany consisted of 238 female and 132 male birds. In 2020, the

conservation status The conservation status of a group of organisms (for instance, a species) indicates whether the group still exists and how likely the group is to become extinct in the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing conservation ...

of the Emdener was listed in the

Rote Liste The , full name , is a red list of threatened breeds of domestic animal published annually by the Gesellschaft zur Erhaltung alter und gefährdeter Haustierrassen, the German national association for the conservation of historic and endangere ...

of the

Gesellschaft zur Erhaltung alter und gefährdeter Haustierrassen The or GEH is a German national association for the conservation of historic and endangered domestic animal breeds. History The GEH was founded on 5 December 1981 in the Rottal, in Lower Bavaria in southern Germany. It has about 2100 membe ...

in its Category II, ''stark gefährdet'' ("seriously endangered").

Characteristics

The Emden is the heaviest goose breed of Germany: ganders may weigh up to , and reach a height of a metre. The

plumage Plumage () is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, there can b ...

is pure white, with orange feet and shanks, and a short

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Pl ...

of a slightly lighter orange.

Use

The Emdener may be kept for meat or for eggs; the meat is of good quality. Geese may lay some 50–60 eggs per year, with an average weight of about

References

Emden Geese Goose breeds Goose breeds originating in Germany Animal breeds on the RBST Watchlist Animal breeds on the GEH Red List {{bots, deny=Citation bot