Toulouse Goose – Perfect Family Friendly Breed

As the name suggests, the Toulouse Goose is a French breed of goose. Although, at a maximum of 20 lbs (9 kg) in weight, this waterfowl is somewhat on the smaller side of things. Let’s take a little look at this breed in a bit more depth. That way you will know exactly what the Toulouse Goose brings to the table (eggs, meat, temperament and more) Bear with us!

Toulouse Goose
Toulouse Goose

The Origins of the Toulouse Goose

The Toulouse Goose originates from Toulouse, in France. While we do not know exactly when the breed first ‘came to be’. Indications show that the bird existed since at least 1555.

Although, it didn’t really gather that much use until the 1800s. Nowadays, the Toulouse geese are kept in large quantities throughout France, the UK, and the United States. It is likely to be found in other countries too, but it certainly isn’t as popular as in these three.

This doesn’t tell the whole story, though. The Toulouse Goose at some point, was imported into the United Kingdom. Here, the breed went under further development.

As a result, you will find that British produced Toulouse Geese are different to those from France. The United States variant of the goose is the same as the British one. The British version tends to be a little bit heavier, and some would say more ‘show worthy’.

Same as the African geese, this breed was first admitted to the APA in 1874.

The Look of the Goose

While there are several different types of Toulouse Goose out there, each designed for a slightly different purpose, the whole ‘base look’ doesn’t change all that much with this goose.

Toulouse Goose
Gray Toulouse Goose

The Toulouse Goose is always going to be grey. However, there are various different shades of this grey. As a result, you may find that some geese are a bit darker than other ones.

Their bill is always going to be orange, as are their feet and legs, although those two tend to be somewhat of an off-orange color. It is almost blackened in many of these geese.

The smaller Toulouse Geese will not have a dewlap. However, the larger ones that have been bred for commercial operations will likely have a fairly substantial dewlap in place.

The Dewlap Toulouse Goose for Foie Gras

There is a specific type of Toulouse Geese in France called Dewlap Toulouse geese that are raised specifically for the purpose of Foie Gras. In fact, it is one of the more popular type of this breed for that in the country.

However, they are not raised for this purpose outside of France. Obviously, if you are a homesteader, you will be unlikely to raise it for this purpose either.

The Foie Gras is a specialty food product made of the liver of the Dewlap Toulouse goose.

As a Show Goose

This goose is only really for show in the United Kingdom. This is because that is where the show standard of the breed was developed.

These birds are heavier, and they carry themselves a little bit better. It is rare that you will find a goose show for the Toulouse Goose outside of the UK. Even in France, they seem to be kept to the absolute minimum.

Obviously, this is still going to be a decent looking breed, so there is no reason why you can’t use it as a breed that looks good walking around your yard, though.

The Toulouse Goose for Eggs

The Toulouse goose can lay up to 50 eggs per year, although it tends to be closer to the 20-30 mark. Of course, these eggs are going to be of a fairly reasonable size, as they are with most geese.

To be honest, a lot of people are not actually going to be eating the eggs that their Toulouse Goose provides. Instead, they are going to be using them for breeding purposes.

This isn’t really a surprise. This breed of goose is incredibly easy to raise. The Toulouse tends to be quite broody, and they have a decent fertilization rate.

It shouldn’t actually be that difficult to put together a good breeding flock of these geese.

This means that you should have a decent amount of meat coming through and, of course, if you separate the males from the females, you should have a decent number of eggs you can eat too. Even if they are only limited to a certain part of the year.

The Toulouse Goose For Meat

Nowadays, this bird is heavily raised for meat, at least in France. There are commercial variants of this breed that can grow a little bit faster, and that means that they can be slaughtered sooner.

Although, do bear in mind that these commercial variants of the Toulouse Goose are not for raising long term. They put on weight quite quickly, and this in turn can cause serious health issues. The same goes for most animals that are raised purely for meat.

The reason why this bird is so heavily raised for meat is that it is incredibly simple to breed. With the right breeding stock, you should have an almost constant supply of meat.

As a result, this makes it the perfect breed for homesteaders. Get a decent flock in place, and you will have meat for years and years to come.

Toulouse Geese Temperament

The Toulouse geese are known for a rather docile temperament and being very friendly. Although, as we have said several times, there are several strains of this waterfowl.

This means that there may be one or two that are going to err towards the more aggressive side, but this is something that does seem to be quite rare.

When it comes to the male or female Toulouse goose, there are some owners who report that the males can be aggressive at times. If the females are not raising offspring, then they are very friendly.

Care Tips

As we said before; the main issue you will have is if you opt for a Toulouse Goose that has been bred for meat purposes.

These grow quite quickly, and they will need to be slaughtered before they hit the age of 2, otherwise you are going to be ending up with a goose that suffers some serious health issues.

In fact, it is likely to end up having a heart attack.

Some owners of this breed have noted that the Toulouse Goose does suffer from an issue. This is that their feathers do not dry out all that quickly.

While this is not going to be an issue at first, it will eventually cause the ‘waterproof layer’ to wash off of their feathers, and this can cause issues when they swim. If you own this goose, you may need to dry them off on occasion.

Toulouse Geese For Sale

If you are lucky enough to live near a local hatchery where you can find Toulouse Geese for sale, that is great. If, however, you are among the unfortunates that are unable to do so, consider the following hatcheries as good options where you can find Toulouse geese for sale.

Keep in mind that on average the Toulouse geese price will range from $15 for males and $25 for females.

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