Shetland goose

Breed of goose

The Shetland goose is a breed of domestic geese that originates in the Shetland Islands of Scotland.[1] Like the other breeds of livestock native to the islands, the Shetland goose is small in stature, generally weighing between 12 and 14 pounds (5 and 6 kilos).[2] They are very hardy and exceptionally good foragers, and are able to largely sustain themselves through grazing.[2]

## History[edit]

The Shetland goose has been used by crofters to graze pastures. This was done to rid the grass of parasites, such as the liver fluke, which would prepare it for grazing by sheep.[3]

## Characteristics[edit]

Like a few other goose breeds, including the Pilgrim and Cotton Patch, Shetlands are sexually dimorphic at hatch (called auto-sexing in poultry nomenclature), and can be differentiated on appearance alone.[4] Ganders have entirely white plumage, while geese have a head, neck, and upper body with gray highlights and a white underbody.[2] They generally mate for life, and are good parents. Shetland geese lay around 30 eggs a year, that are white in colour.[2] The Shetland goose has a shorter bill, due to its natural ability to forage.[5]

Shetlands were first exported to United States in 1997, by a farm in New York.[1] They are not yet recognized by the American Poultry Association via admittance in the Standard of Perfection.[4] The breed is currently being studied by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, which considers populations in North America to potentially be too low to maintain sufficient genetic diversity (in North America).[2]

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b "Shetland Geese". feathersite.com. Retrieved 22 October 2008.
2. ^ a b c d e "Shetland Goose". Rare Breeds Watchlist. American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. Retrieved 22 October 2008.
3. ^ "Britannic Rare Breeds". Retrieved 13 May 2015.
4. ^ a b Carol Ekarius (2007). Storey's Illustrated Guide to Poultry Breeds. North Adams, Massachusetts: Storey Publishing. ISBN 9781580176675.
5. ^ "The Livestock Conservancy".

## See also[edit]

* List of goose breeds
* Shetland animal breeds

* v
* t
* e

Livestock breeds of the British Isles

Cattle

| Beef cattle|

* Aberdeen Angus
* Beef Shorthorn
* Belted Galloway
* Blue Grey
* Devon
* Dexter
* English Longhorn
* Galloway
* Hereford
* Highland
* Lincoln Red
* Luing
* Shorthorn
* South Devon
* Sussex
* Welsh Black

|

Dairy cattle|

* Ayrshire
* Dairy Shorthorn
* Guernsey
* Jersey
* Kerry

Dual purpose|

* Albion
* British White
* Droimeann
* Irish Moiled
* Glamorgan
* Old Gloucester
* Pembroke
* Red Poll
* Shetland
* Whitebred Shorthorn

Primitive|

* Chillingham Wild Cattle
* Tory Island
* Vaynol
* White Park

Extinct|

* Alderney
* Blue Albion

Sheep

| Extant|

* Badger Face Welsh Mountain
* Balwen Welsh Mountain
* Beulah Speckled Face
* Black Welsh Mountain
* Bluefaced Leicester
* Border Cheviot
* Border Leicester
* Brecknock Hill Cheviot
* British Milksheep
* Cambridge
* Cheviot
* Clun Forest
* Cotswold
* Dalesbred
* Derbyshire Gritstone
* Devon Closewool
* Devon and Cornwall Longwool
* Dorset Down
* Dorset Horn
* Easycare
* Exmoor Horn
* Galway
* Greyface Dartmoor
* Hampshire Down
* Herdwick
* Hill Radnor
* Kerry Hill
* Leicester Longwool
* Lincoln
* Llanwenog
* Lleyn
* Lonk
* Masham
* Norfolk Horn
* North Country Cheviot
* Oxford Down
* Portland
* Romney
* Rough Fell
* Ryeland
* Scottish Blackface
* Shetland
* Shropshire
* Southdown
* Suffolk
* Swaledale
* Teeswater
* Welsh Mountain
* Wensleydale
* Whiteface Dartmoor
* Whitefaced Woodland
* Wiltshire Horn

|

Primitive|

* Boreray
* Castlemilk Moorit
* Hebridean
* Jacob
* Manx Loaghtan
* North Ronaldsay
* Soay

Extinct|

* Devon Longwool
* Scottish Dunface
* South Devon

Pigs

| Extant|

* Berkshire
* British Landrace
* British Lop
* British Saddleback
* Essex
* Gloucestershire Old Spots
* Large Black
* Large White
* Middle White
* Oxford Sandy and Black
* Tamworth
* Welsh
* Wessex Saddleback

|

Extinct|

* Cumberland
* Dorset Gold Tip
* Grice
* Irish Greyhound Pig
* Large White Ulster
* Lincolnshire Curly Coat
* Small Black
* Small White
* Yorkshire Blue and White

Goats

* Anglo-Nubian
* Bagot
* Bilberry
* British Alpine
* British Primitive
* Golden Guernsey
* Irish
* Pygmy

Poultry

| Chickens|

* Croad Langshan
* Derbyshire Redcap
* Dorking
* Ixworth
* Indian Game
* Legbar
* Modern Game
* Modern Langshan
* Nankin Bantam
* Norfolk Grey
* Old English Game
* Old English Pheasant Fowl
* Orpington
* Rosecomb
* Scots Dumpy
* Scots Grey
* Sebright
* Sussex

|

Ducks|

* Abacot Ranger
* Aylesbury
* Orpington
* Khaki Campbell
* Magpie
* Shetland
* Silver Appleyard
* Welsh Harlequin

Geese|

* Brecon Buff
* Shetland

* v
* t
* e

Scottish domestic animal breeds

* These are the principal breeds of domestic animal considered to be wholly or partly of Scottish origin.

Cattle|

* Aberdeen Angus
* Ayrshire
* Belted Galloway
* Galloway
* Highland
* Luing
* Shetland

Dogs|

* Bearded Collie
* Border Collie
* Border Terrier
* Cairn Terrier
* Dandie Dinmont Terrier
* Golden Retriever
* Gordon Setter
* Paisley Terrier†
* Rough Collie
* Smooth Collie
* Scottish Terrier
* Scottish Deerhound
* Shetland Sheepdog
* Skye Terrier
* West Highland White Terrier

Horses|

* Clydesdale
* Eriskay Pony
* Galloway Pony†
* Highland Pony
* Shetland Pony

Pigs|

* Grice†

Poultry|

* Scots Dumpy
* Scots Grey
* Shetland Goose

Sheep|

* Boreray
* Castlemilk Moorit
* Cheviot
* Hebridean
* North Country Cheviot
* North Ronaldsay
* Scottish Blackface
* Scottish Dunface†
* Shetland
* Soay

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template