Put in your goose’s age, if you like. You get every lifespan a hatchery, a magazine or Guinness World Records publishes for domestic geese, drawn side by side and never averaged, because they don’t agree. Your goose’s age is marked against each one. This is for farm and pet geese; none of these sources gives a wild goose a number.
Domestic geese
10 to 15 years — or past 20 with good care
When geese lay
What shortens a goose’s life
A goose that is suddenly unwell is a question for a vet, not for a chart.
Goose lifespans checked 2026-09-27: Metzer Farms, My Pet Chicken, Hobby Farms, Backyard Poultry and Guinness World Records.
Quick answer: a domestic goose usually lives 10 to 15 years, say the hatcheries Metzer Farms and My Pet Chicken. A goose kept safe from predators often does better: Hobby Farms says 15 to 20 and some much older, Backyard Poultry magazine says more than 20, and Guinness World Records puts a normal goose life at about 25 years. The oldest goose on record, a gander called George, lived to 49 years 8 months. The chart draws every one of those side by side, because they don’t agree, and marks your goose’s age against each.
Five published answers
- Metzer Farms, a waterfowl hatchery: “Ducks can live to 7-10 years and geese normally live 10-15 years.”
- My Pet Chicken: “Geese normally live 10-15 years, but there are stories of some that have lived much, much longer–40 years or more!”
- Hobby Farms: “A healthy goose who does not succumb to a predator will live to be 15 to 20 years old—and some backyard geese can live to be much older.”
- Backyard Poultry magazine: “A well cared for goose can live for more than 20 years, making them a great companion for your farm or backyard.”
- Guinness World Records: “the goose (Anser a. domesticus) is the second longest-lived domesticated bird, which has a normal life-span of about 25 years.”
The hatcheries are talking about geese in general, many of them kept for meat or eggs. The magazines and Guinness are talking about a goose that is kept safe and kept for years. Those are different lives, and the chart shows both rather than splitting the difference.
Does the breed matter?
Probably, but no named source we could find puts a number on it. My Pet Chicken’s one breed line gives the same range as everything else: “Geese like the White Chinese normally live 10-15 years.” Blogs quote breed lifespans for Embdens and Toulouse, but they don’t say where the numbers come from, so the chart leaves them out. If you are still choosing a breed, what it is for matters more than how long it lives: a guard, eggs, a pet or the table.
The oldest goose
Guinness World Records: “On 16 December 1976 a gander named George, owned by Florence Hull of Thornton, Lancs, UK, died aged 49 years 8 months.” He had been hatched in April 1927. That is a record, not a target, but it is why the word “stories” in My Pet Chicken’s 40 years is fair.
When geese lay
A goose’s laying years are short beside her life. Metzer Farms: “Normally geese start laying the next spring. Occasionally they will lay a few eggs in the fall.” Hobby Farms: “While geese only lay seasonally during spring and early summer, their eggs will keep you well-fed for those months.” A goose egg is big: USDA weighs one at 144 g without the shell, almost three large chicken eggs. The egg comparison chart has its full figures. Hatching goslings? The incubation planner covers goose eggs.
What shortens a goose’s life
The same thing that shortens a duck’s. Metzer Farms: “The main cause of death seems to be dogs or predators.” My Pet Chicken agrees: “Unfortunately, since ducks and geese are prey animals, the main cause of death is usually predators–especially dogs.” A secure pen at night does more for a goose’s lifespan than anything else you can buy. And because the lifespan is long, Hobby Farms asks the question to settle first: “This is something to consider when you first invest in geese—will you be able to care for them for their entire adult lives?—but it’s also an asset.” Naming one for the long haul? Try the goose name generator.
Wild geese are a different question
Most of what you read about goose lifespans is about wild Canada geese, and none of the sources here gives a wild goose a number. This chart is for geese that live in a yard.