 | |
| Conservation status |
|
|---|---|
| Other names | American Buff Goose |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Distribution |
|
| Use | meat, fancy |
| Traits | |
| Weight |
|
| Egg color | white |
| Color | buff with white belly |
| Classification | |
| APA | yes |
| EE | no |
| PCGB | heavy |
| |
The American Buff is an American breed of domestic goose. It was accepted by the American Poultry Association in 1947. It is named for its single plumage variety, which is a pale buff or apricot-fawn in color.
History
Like almost all breeds of domestic goose, the American Buff derives from Anser anser, the wild Greylag goose of Europe and northern Asia. Its origins are obscure, and various theories have been put forward; it is not known if it was bred from local grey farm geese, or from existing buff geese imported from Europe. The modern breed is the result of work done in the 1930s and 1940s by a Missouri breeder named Oscar Grow. The American Buff was admitted to the Standard of Perfection of the American Poultry Association in 1947, in the 'medium' group. It was added to the British Poultry Standards of the United Kingdom in 1982; there it has become a much heavier bird, and is classed by the Poultry Club of Great Britain as a heavy breed.
It is a rare breed, and is listed as 'watch' on the conservation priority list of the Livestock Conservancy (formerly the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy). Neither it nor any other breed of goose is reported by the United States Department of Agriculture to the DAD-IS database of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. It is listed in the Ark of Taste of the Slow Food Foundation.
Characteristics
The American Buff is characterized by its pale yellow-buff plumage, sometimes described as apricot-fawn; the abdomen is white or nearly so. It differs from other buff-colored geese such as the Brecon Buff of the United Kingdom and the Celler Gans [de] of Germany in its vivid orange beak, shanks and feet.
Use
It is a dual-purpose bird, providing both meat and eggs. The meat is dark and rich. Geese lay some 10–25 large white eggs per year. They sit well, and may be used to hatch the eggs of other geese.
References
- ^ Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Archived 23 June 2020.
- ^ American Buff Goose. The Livestock Conservancy. Archived 20 November 2022.
- ^ Breed data sheet: American Buff / United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Goose (domestic). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed March 2023.
- ^ APA Recognized Breeds and Varieties: As of January 1, 2012. American Poultry Association. Archived 4 November 2017.
- Liste des races et variétés homologuée dans les pays EE (28.04.2013). Entente Européenne d’Aviculture et de Cuniculture. Archived 16 June 2013.
- ^ Breed Classification. Poultry Club of Great Britain. Archived 12 June 2018.
- ^ Carol Ekarius (2007). Storey's Illustrated Guide to Poultry Breeds. North Adams, Massachusetts: Storey Publishing. ISBN 9781580176675.
- ^ J. Ian H. Allonby, Philippe B. Wilson (editors) (2018). British Poultry Standards: complete specifications and judging points of all standardized breeds and varieties of poultry as compiled by the specialist breed clubs and recognised by the Poultry Club of Great Britain, seventh edition. Chichester; Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley Blackwell. ISBN 9781119509141.
- Victoria Roberts (2008). British Poultry Standards: complete specifications and judging points of all standardized breeds and varieties of poultry as compiled by the specialist breed clubs and recognised by the Poultry Club of Great Britain, sixth edition. Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 9781405156424.
- ^ Ark of taste: American Buff Goose. Brooklyn, New York: Slow Food USA. Archived 25 January 2012.
- American Buff Goose: Ark of taste. Bra, Cuneo: Fondazione Slow Food per la Biodiversità Onlus/Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity. Archived 20 September 2021.
- Janet Vorwald Dohner (2001). The Encyclopedia of Historic and Endangered Livestock and Poultry Breeds. New Haven, Connecticut; London: Yale University Press. ISBN 0300088809.