The Shetland goose is a very hardy breed of domestic geese. He is originally from Shetland in Scotland. It is small in size, like some of the other breeds of cattle that live on this island.
This breed was used by farmers for pasture grazing. And this was done to rid the grass of parasites such as liver fluke, to prepare it for sheep grazing.
Geese have been recorded as being kept in Shetland as far back as the 17th century, although it is uncertain whether they are the exact descendants of the current breeds.
And, like many other breeds of geese, Shetland geese were very important to summer residents and farms, as they were a cheap and reliable source of meat.
The breed was first exported to the United States in 1997. It has not yet been recognized by the American Poultry Association in its standard of excellence.
The breed is currently being studied by the American Livestock Breeds Conservation Organization. Learn more about the breed below.
Characteristics of Shetland Geese
Shetland geese are easily identified by appearance alone, as are some other breeds of geese including Cotton patch and Pilgrim the reproduction.
Shetland geese have a head, neck, and upper body with gray highlights and white underparts. The ganders have completely white plumage.
Birds generally have shorter beaks, mainly due to their natural ability to feed. Their eyes are blue and their neck is mostly white, often with varying degrees of gray plumage.
The abdomen is relatively flat with a monocot abdomen. The wings are powerful, allowing full flight, and on some farms it may be necessary to clip the feathers of a wing to keep them at home.
The average live weight of Shetland geese is around 5 kg. And the ganders weigh on average about 6 kg. Photo from The Livestock Conservancy and information from Wikipedia.
Advantages
The Shetland goose breed was used by farmers for grazing pasture. It was used to rid the grass of parasites such as liver fluke to prepare it for sheep grazing. They are also used for meat production.
Special Notes
Shetland geese are very hardy birds. They are exceptionally good foragers and are largely able to support themselves through grazing.
Birds usually mate for life and are good parents. On average, geese lay about 30 eggs per year. This breed is an excellent grass-to-meat converter, and in the Northern Isles feeds on algae, which is not common with other geese.
It is also very suitable as a good guard goose. The breed grows relatively faster and is very good at meat production. They retain many of their other natural instincts and gather in groups during non-breeding times and band together to ward off predators.
However, check out the full breed profile of the Shetland Goose in the following table.
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| Breed name | Shetland | |
| another name | everything | |
| Purpose of the breed | Meat, weeding | |
| Special Notes | Very hardy, exceptionally good forager, able to forage largely from grazing, good grass to meat ratio, good guard goose, relatively fast growing, suitable for meat production. | |
| breed class | medium | |
| gander | About 6kg | |
| geese | About 5kg | |
| sullen instinct | Medium | |
| climatic tolerance | native climate | |
| egg color | White | |
| Egg size | big | |
| Egg performance | About 30 eggs per year | |
| Ability to fly | Good | |
| Varieties | A | |
| scarcity | critical | |
| Country/place of origin | UK |
