Goose Hunting Info - Goose Hunting Tips

The Grey goose also known includes all the waterfowl Anser species which belong to the gees & swan subfamily Anserinae. They migrate in south during the winter periods where there are temperatures of 0 °C (32 °F) to 5 °C (41 °F). The Grey goose genus contains 10 subspecies which come in all shapes & sizes. The largest Grey goose is the Greylag Goose which has a remarkable weight, ranging between 5.5 – 9lb ( approximately 2.5 – 4.1kg ) while the smallest one is Ross’s Grouse: 1.2 – 1.6kg.

All the subspecies have pink legs and feet, some are orange; the bills are pink/orange/black. They all have white upper/lower coverts and some of them have a white pattern on their heads. Their necks and bodies are either grey or white. Regarding the wings, these are in most cases grey, but there are some cases in which they are black.

All the Grey goose subspecies are herbivorous wetland species and are capable of swimming quite well thanks to their webbed feet. As far as breeding is concerned, the breeding pairs mate in most cases for life. You will find nests near lakes or other types of waters or small islands ( due to the fact that on small islands the nests are protected from the mammalian predators ); in certain species, you will find nests on crags in the near vicinity of a water or on cliffs; in some rare cases, you will find nests in a tree’s hole. They lay usually between 3 to 8 eggs which hatch for 21 up to 30 days. The young ( which is also known as the gosling ) is led to water by both parents so that he could feed in lakes or in areas near a lake from where they can run if danger is imminent. Both parents are overprotective with their gosling. They reach sexual maturity when they are two years old and in some cases they start breeding in that period but usually breeding starts when they are 3 or 4 years old.

The small species migrate the most, they move south in winter periods so that they won’t have any temperature problems while the bigger species are capable of surviving in snow and ice environments thus they will not migrate great distances. Some of these large species don’t migrate at all. The pairs which breed are very territorial and they defend the feeding area with all costs.

Two of the Grey goose species have been domesticated for poultry purposes. Most of the species are hunted; there are some species which are endangered due to the fact that they have been over-hunted. Regulations regarding hunting these endangered species are forbidding overhunts.

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