Domestic backyard geese lay eggs just like chickens and ducks do.
But goose eggs are larger, and more seasonal, which just makes them all that much more precious.
Goose eggs taste very similar to duck eggs - a bit more rich and eggy than a chicken egg - and can be used pretty much the same ways as any other type of egg in cooking and baking.
Cooking and Baking with Goose Eggs
Goose eggs can be scrambled or fried or made into omelets just like chicken eggs. They can also be used in baking recipes that call for chicken eggs.
And like duck eggs, since goose eggs are higher in fat, they tend to make baked goods rise higher and taste richer.
The difference is that one goose egg equals three chicken eggs.
So if you are going to substitute goose eggs in a recipe you can use one goose egg for every 3 chicken eggs your recipe calls for.
1 goose egg = 3 chicken eggs
Or you can lightly whisk the goose eggs and then measure out for each egg the recipe calls for:
- 3 tablespoons for each egg your recipe calls for, or
- 2 ounces for each egg your recipe calls for
This photo below shows the size different between a goose egg (top left) and a duck egg (top right) compared to a chicken egg (bottom).
Geese are Seasonal Layers
If you like to bake and are thinking about raising some geese, it's important to know that unlike chickens and ducks that have been bred to lay nearly year round, geese are a bit different.
Chickens and ducks require at least 16 hours of daylight to lay an egg, which means that they will lay an egg a day in natural light for much of the spring, summer and fall.
Conversely, geese lay best with only about 10 hours of daylight. So that means there's just a short window during the spring when they lay, and then another short window in the fall when some geese also will lay.
A female goose will only lay an average of between 20 to 40 white eggs each spring, depending on the breed and age. But considering each egg is technically equal to 3 chicken eggs, that's 60 to 120 egg equivalents.
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Facts about Goose Eggs
- A female goose starts laying when she's about 9 months old
- Geese lay white eggs
- Goose eggs typically weigh between 4 1/4 and 6 1/2 ounces (compared to 2 ounces for a large chicken egg)
- One goose egg is equivalent to two duck eggs or three chicken eggs
- A goose egg has about 266 calories, compared to the 72 calories in the average chicken egg
- A goose egg contains 19g of fat and 20g of protein
- A goose egg has 1227mg of cholesterol which is >400% of the RDA
- The shell of a goose egg makes up 12% of the total weight of the egg, with the egg white making up 57% and the yolk the other 31%
- Geese lay their eggs in a straw nest on the floor and then cover them up with the straw to hide them
- Goose eggs hatch best under a mother goose versus in an incubator
- A goose egg takes 28 to 35 days to hatch, depending on the breed
- It can take up to three days for a gosling to emerge from the egg after making the first pip
Although goose eggs are more seasonal than chicken eggs, and it's nice when our female geese are laying, but a flock of backyard geese provide some nice benefits beyond their eggs including weed control, free manure, and a bit of protection against predators for your chickens.
