Why geese? Great question!
We are not talking about those aggressive Canadian honkers that scare small children and old alike, but a small domesticated breed of goose that is considered threatened by The Livestock Conservancy.
Cotton Patch Geese (CPG) are a sex-linked breed thought to have been brought to the Americas during Colonial times. Their small size makes them ideal for farmsteads
Male and female goslings can be distinguished from each other at hatching as well as adults. Gosling males have pale beaks and feet, females have the darker beak and feet. Adult males are mostly solid white with blue eyes, females can be solid dove grey or white/dove grey with brown eyes. There are also “pied” or “saddleback” colorings which the females display as grey with white patches.
Once common in the United States, CPG became scarce as agriculture went “modern.” In the 1980’s, a few breeders began to hunt down the remaining flocks, and from the the return of CPG began. The Livestock Conservancy has only twenty-seven current breeders listed for CPG in the United States.
SteelMeadow Farm is proud to be a breeder member, and we have three pairs of adult geese from the James/Walker lines (Composites). We will continue to add a fresh breeding geese so we can to increase the diversity of tour bloodlines and offer goslings for sale. If you are considering adding these docile geese to your farm, let us know- we will be glad to help you or direct you to a breeder with available stock.