Description
The Toulouse goose is a large, stout goose raised for its heavy weight, moderate egg production and striking physical attributes. The Toulouse goose is often raised for meat, particularly its historic purpose, pate foie gras. Laying between 25 and 40 eggs a year and growing quickly to between 14 lbs – 18 lbs, Toulouse geese are popular among hobby farmers, family farms and small commercial farms. Cackle Hatchery’s® flock of toulouse geese are a production type and not the exhibition type that have the pronounced dewlap, keel and size.
We can not ship geese to Hawaii.
Sandra Perry –
I had a lone female Sebastopol who was desperate to hatch her infertile eggs. After two years of getting fertilized Seb eggs for her only to have them fail to hatch, I decided to purchase 2 male & 1 female Toulouse goslings instead this year. They arrived in April, and because she’s unexperienced I decided to brood them myself. Our brooder is a small hoophouse with an opaque plastic covering, so she was able to hear and somewhat see the babies from the nest she’d built nearby. She IMMEDIATELY reacted differently to the goslings than she’s ever reacted to other birds she’s seen us brood (ducks, chickens, etc). Within a week she had abandoned her own eggs, and was guarding the little hoophouse and talking back & forth with the goslings. Around the end of week two I decided to let them all meet face to face, and she promptly led the goslings away and took over raising them. So they aren’t super bonded to me, but I don’t mind because I didn’t get them to be my pets, I got them to be her family!
About five months later, I can say emphatically that these goslings are practically perfect in every way, and my Sebastopol CLEARLY agrees!! Along with the 4 geese, we have a free ranging mixed flock of ducks, chickens, turkeys, & guineas. The goslings had no trouble adapting to a peaceful existence among all the other species of birds, immediately following the guidance of our gentle Sebastopol. We recently hatched seven ducklings from an abandoned nest, and when it was time to begin integrating them into the flock I was amazed to watch the three grown Toulouse assisting the Sebastopol in protecting the ducklings from ornery adult ducks who like to chase motherless juveniles away. Each goose took up a guard position around the feed area whenever those ducklings were hungry, and again around the little duck pond when the ducklings wanted a turn in the water! Somehow the ducklings knew those giant birds just wanted to keep them safe.
Like with the Sebastopol, we’ve also never had any issues with the Toulouse being aggressive toward humans or pets. (They WILL display/alarm-call if you startle them, especially at night, and they might even walk toward you while doing so. But they never get too close, and never make you feel threatened. I was also amused to discover that whereas the Sebastopol sounds like a braying donkey when she alarm-calls, the young-adult Toulouses sound like trumpeting baby elephants! (I never realized different breeds would sound different, so that was a fun surprise!)
In summary: If you want beautiful geese who will blend well with your flock, are pretty quiet most of the time, and won’t attack/chase strangers who are just minding their business, this is the breed you should pick!!
Petra Thompson –
I have 5 of these beautiful geese (1 male and 4 female). They arrived safe and healthy. Very friendly and greet me with lots of happy honks. They have brought great joy to our little farm!
janeine.plumlee –
I ordered 3 geese (1 female and 2 males) to go along with my 1 female Toulouse goose that I rescued. My order was perfect everyone has paired up and happy and they are the king and queens of the resort they now live at!! They follow everyone every where and never stop talking they make a great attraction to any place they make you love them:)
clbtletullier –
I ordered 4 Toulouse Geese (2 pairs). I received them in June and they have been enjoyable. I also ordered 20 chicks of assorted breeds and received 24 chicks in July one month after receiving my goslings. All my birds are healthy (I only lost one chick due to the stressful shipping and hot weather). All are friendly and come crowding around me when they see me.
In my past orders (2005/2006) as well as this one (2025) I have ordered a total of aprox 200 birds from Cackle Hatchery and have only had one miss gendered/“sexed”. My birds have been healthy and I only lost at most a handful due to shipping stress.
I have been pleased with all my birds (chickens, geese, turkeys) from Cackle Hatchery.
Katrina Stone –
Honestly these geese were disappointing – not sure whether personality is a priority with breeding this line of geese at the cackle hatchery or what, but I’ve ordered quite a few diff breeds of geese from other companies online and 4/5 of my other geese populations I bought were absolutely the best- all of them just loved to be with people, lively and just so friendly with big personalities. 1 company in particular had the hands down BEST genetics for personality I’ve never had a breed (chickens or geese) from them that didn’t have personalities and friendlybbeyond belief just engrained into their breeding program dna- but the geese I got from cackle were nothing like the many others I got from other hatcheries. They were skittish from day 1, no matter how much handling they did not want to be around people they ran away and even bit and scratched if you tried to touch them from arrival even, none of them bonded with any other animals I had or people here and they literally were nothing good in my opinion for a homestead where here everyone is useful or they go to freezer camp- these guys (minus one who was the runt the others were very aggressive with- again personality issues with aggression from very young age- the little runt though was my only one that was somewhat sweet. The rest beat it up so bad they about scalped the poor thing. One needed to go to freezer young cause he ripped blood from my daughter and killed a brother/sister and 5 of my chickens. Idk, wish I woulda bought chickens or guineas or turkeys from cackle- all of them I happily put in the freezer but was pretty darn livid that I saved up the money we didn’t really have to get myself something special since I don’t often get something worth so much as a gift for me ever. It honestly has turned me away from geese forever. I’ve never bought other birds from cackle but if I ever had a choice I wish I coulda traded them in within 1-2 weeks of arrival for something else they sell because all these geese (and another breed I bought through cackle in the same delivery) just wasted the very rare large amount of money I spent on myself for once which I don’t do but every few years- all to just end up with a few dinners and my 2 year old with scars. Super sad how horribly personality wise these were. I’ve had every breed and type of bird for years- and I’m very aware of how to breed in good quality genetics leading to the best personality types- of course environment plays a part- but as a breeder myself of very rare endangered chickens along with quail rabbits and hopefully soon a few others – I’m well aware of the huge part genetics plays in behavior. These guys don’t have it. Wish cackle could make it right but it’s been too long and I felt selfish asking in the first place so I never did. Just be aware if you’re thinking of buying from cackle. I won’t be a jerk and post the hands down best genetics focused on behavior of their offspring they hatch from the farm that has never been beat on that level- but out of respect for cackle I will not say who it is. Cheaper most definitely reflects lower quality. You won’t regret spending more to get a bird you fall head over heels for like every past goose I’ve had from the hatchery I wish I was able to share.
Cackle Hatchery (store manager) –
We’re sorry to hear about the challenges you experienced with your geese. It sounds like there were some serious behavioral issues, and we understand how upsetting that must have been for you and your family. While temperament can vary among individual birds, personality traits are not something we guarantee as we cannot predetermine personality differences. We have not received similar reports with this breed, and most of our customers find their geese friendly and well-adjusted. Factors such as environment, handling, and individual variation all play a significant role in behavior. We appreciate you sharing your feedback and take all customer experiences seriously.
Edward Gomez –
Our favorite geese, very calm in the water unlike ducks that splash and quack. The geese eloquently wade in the water without splashing. The geese only make sounds when someone approaches to alarm the pack but if caught can be picked up and held. Their feathers are super soft and the kids love that. Received two female and one males for a perfect flock balance. Since they can fly, I have them in a large aviary with peacocks, silkies, and pheasants. Highly recommend.
Edward Gomez –
Our favorite geese, very calm in the water unlike ducks that splash and quack. These geese only make sounds when someone approaches to alarm the pack but if caught can be picked up and held. There feathers are super soft and the kids love that. Received one female and two males for a perfect flock balance. Since they can fly, I have them in a large aviary with peacocks, silkies, and pheasants. Highly recommend.
Stephen Kilbourn –
My two Toulouse geese arrived 4 months ago. They were sexed correctly and came healthily in along with 2 Ancona duckling hens that I ordered. I have not had geese before. They’ve been a fun addition to my flock. The geese are friendly and not very loud unless they are startled by someone suddenly entering their area. They seem to be doing a good job of mowing down weeds around the yard and fence line, but I also feed them all flock along with my chickens and ducks
blondieja69 –
I ordered 4 goslings, 3 females and 1 male. It was said that the male was marked and no male was marked so I’m unsure if I actually have a male or not. One of my goslings appeared to be a runt yet seemed healthy.
Now 4 months old my little runt is still a lot smaller than the others and is off centered, or crooked. I absolutely love him/her still the same. A special little one and melts my heart.
Roger Huber –
Well, my experience was both good and bad. I received my 3 geese healthy and alert. They grew fast and were very friendly and so much fun. Unfortunately around 3 1/2 months later they were picked off one by one by a racoon. It was very sad to lose them but it cost the coon his life thankfully. I look forward to buying additional geese next year and have taken steps to reinforce their home.
Nathaniel Ingersoll –
I ordered 2 toulouse geese (females), 4 ducks and a number of chickens.
My ducks & the toulouse geese fared very well and they’re all outstanding creatures – I’m very happy I ordered them; they’re three and a half months old now and in great conditions.
My experience with the chicken part of the order, on the other hand, gives me pause in recommending Cackle too highly; I ordered a variety of breeds totally 15 chicks, and while they sent 19 chicks! – impressive! – it seems that they probably did so because they had to know that they’d been having problems with chicks dying, as I ended up with EIGHT chicks living and I’ve literally never had chicks die from any orders nor from hatching my own, so I’m suspicious that they knew they have problems and hoped that shipping extra would cover for it.
Maybe it’s a chick problem only and the geese and ducks are fine, probably, so you should be ok ordering waterbirds, but the chick thing left a terrible taste in my mouth so I doubt I’ll use them again.
Kaylee Gibson –
I bought three Toulouse goslings back in June and one Embden so that I had two mating pair of geese.. I brooded them in my office so that they could bond with me. Truly the BEST breed. They are very chill and docile. They are great with human, my dogs, and all out other poultry. They come running towards me when I say their names or peep at them. Super friendly and do their job to guard the others WELL! They literally will NOT go into the coop at night until every single duck, chicken, and turkey is already in. They even came to “tell on” the ducks one night when they were ready for bed and found me by the garage and screamed at me then turned around like they wanted me to follow them. HIGHLY RECOMMED!!
winoinn –
I ordered 3 goslings from California. They arrived in great shape shipped on a Monday and they were in the brooder by 10:00 Wednesday morning. Less than a week and growing along with great entertainment. I think they’ll make a great addition to the farm. In the day input then outside and brooder at night, they’re loving the green weeds.
Sara –
Great breed!
These geese are just lovely. They will bond with you and follow you around. They are not aggressive and live well with chickens, ducks, and other farm animals. They are beautiful and peaceful.
Molli –
Excellent lovely geese
I ordered 3 geese, two females and a male. They arrived with one of them having it’s head stuck between the cardboard divider and the lid. It spent it’s first few days unable to stand or walk, with the first 6 hours or so unable to straighten it’s neck. I contacted Cackle, but unfortunately we were never able to line up schedules for a phone call. The gosling did recover, and was able to eat and drink normally, only to die mysteriously 2 months later. The remaining two geese are very friendly and healthy, with the gander tugging on my pants whenever I go to feed and water them. They’re a beautiful set, and they talk to each other whenever I’m in the pen with them. The gander has a huge ‘apron’ and the end of his beak has a white spot, where the female has a black spot. I would like to note that I received around 60 birds in the same crate and ALL of them were healthy and suffered no shipping related losses.
Amiralsrbani –
Great geese
These are very substantial and hardy geese!
Stacey –
Toulouse Geese
I ordered 4 Toulouse goslings, and they arrived on time and very healthy. It was so fun interacting with them as they grew. They are 8 months now and are big, beautiful birds. Love them!
Dave from Missouri –
very satisfied
I have had my 6 Toulouse goslings for 3 weeks now. They are growing extremely fast. They are about 1 foot tall and long. I have been feeding them gamebird feed and grass. I will recommend this breed to anyone wanting geese and Cackle Hatchery for all poultry orders. Thanks.
Kristi Virginia April 2014 –
Hello
My guess arrived a little while ago and all is well–they are all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed!:-) Thank you for the care you take in shipping these sweet little creatures so they will arrive safe as well.