The Chinese Goose is an international breed of domestic goose, known by this name in Europe and in North America. Unlike the majority of goose breeds, it belongs to the knob geese, which derive from Anser cygnoides and are characterised by a prominent basal knob on the upper side of the bill. It originates in China, where there are more than twenty breeds of knob goose.
Unlike the majority of goose breeds, which derive from the greylag goose, Anser anser, the Chinese belongs to the knob geese, which derive from the swan goose, Anser cygnoides, and are characterised by a prominent basal knob on the upper side of the bill. As the name suggests, it is believed to have originated in China, where there are more than twenty breeds of knob goose.
It was seen in Britain from the early eighteenth century if not before, and was present in the United States in the latter part of that century – George Washington is believed to have kept some on his plantation at Mount Vernon.
It was included in the revised 1873 edition of The Poultry Book by William Bernhard Tegetmeier, and was added to the Standard of Perfection of the American Poultry Association in 1874.
In the twenty-first century it is an endangered breed: it is reported to DAD-IS by seven countries – Australia, Lithuania, Moldova, the Russian Federation, Slovenia, Suriname and the UK – but none of them report population data.[2] Population data was last reported by the United Kingdom in 2002, when there were between 150 and 1000 birds. The Livestock Conservancy in the United States lists it as watch, its third level of concern.
