43 
Weight.—The standard weight of the adult gander is 14 pounds; 
adult goose, 12 pounds; young gander, 10 pounds, and young goose, 
8 pounds. 
GRAY WILD GEESE. 
History.—Gray Wild geese (fig. 33) are among the best known of 
domestic geese, and are very generally bred throughout the entire 
country. They are among the most valuable and practical birds for 
goose raising, and are prized very highly for table purposes, besides 
being good layers, hardy, and easy to rear. 
Description.—These geese have a rather small head, small bill, sharp 
at the point, and long, slender neck, snaky in appearance. The back 
is long and rather narrow, and is arched from neck to tail; breast, full 
and deep, and body long and somewhat slender. The wings are long, 
large, and powerful, and the 
thighs are rather short. The 
head of the Wild goose is 
black, with a white stripe 
nearly covering the side of 
the face; bill, black; neck, 
black; and back, dark gray. 
The breast is light gray, which 
grows darker as it approaches 
the legs; the plumage of the 
uuderparts of the body from 
the legs to the tail is white. 
The wings are dark gray; 
primaries dusky black, show¬ 
ing only a dark-gray color 
when the wing is folded; 
secondaries are brown, but of 
a lighter shade than the pri¬ 
maries. The tail feathers are glossy black, and the thighs are gray. 
The shanks, toes, and webs are black. The eyes are black. 
Weight.—The standard weight of the adult gander is 1G pounds; 
adult goose, 14 pounds; young gander, 12 pounds, and young goose, 
10 pounds. 
COLORED EGYPTIAN GEESE. 
History.—The most beautiful of the breeds of geese are the colored 
Egyptians (fig. 34); they are purely ornamental, not having been bred 
in this country for any other purpose than the showroom. They are 
sometimes called the Nile Goose. This goose is tall and somewhat 
slender, which gives it an elegance of appearance not possessed by any 
other breed. It can generally be bred in confinement, but is of a most 
quarrelsome nature, and the male will fight to the death other males of 
the same species. The males must each be given a separate pen, and 
mated with the females; it is seldom that any two males can be kept 
in the same pen. 
Fig. 33.—Gray wild goose. 
