Two strains, two adult sizes
A fully grown production Toulouse gander weighs about 14 to 16 pounds and a goose about 12 to 14 pounds, making a solid, heavy farm goose without exaggeration. The exhibition dewlap strain is a different scale of bird: bred for show, with a pronounced dewlap under the throat, a deep keel, and massive body depth, its ganders commonly exceed 20 pounds and big individuals go beyond that. Both are grey, calm, and recognisably Toulouse, but quoting a size for the breed without naming the strain misses most of the story.
A goose built low and wide
Whichever strain you meet, the Toulouse carries its weight low. The body is long, deep, and horizontal, the breast full, and the stance unhurried, with none of the upright, watchful posture of the lighter guard breeds. Dewlap birds add loose skin at the throat and a paunch that can hang low between the legs on mature ganders. These are grazing birds built like livestock rather than athletes, and their size expresses itself in presence and appetite rather than height.
Ground-level living for a heavy goose
Adult Toulouse of either strain live entirely at ground level and should be housed that way. They need walk-in shelter with no ramps to climb, wide doorways a deep body can pass without squeezing, and nesting at floor level for breeding geese. Water for swimming should have a shallow, gradual entry, since a 20-pound goose hauling out over a steep bank struggles, and grazing space matters because birds this size eat a great deal of grass and wear a small paddock down quickly. Handling a big gander is a committed two-arm lift around the body, never by the legs.
Slow to reach that final weight
Toulouse grow more slowly than their eventual size might suggest. Goslings put on frame through their first season, production birds approach adult weight in their first year, and dewlap ganders keep deepening into their second and third years before they show their full, finished mass. A yearling dewlap gander that looks underwhelming next to a mature show bird is usually just unfinished, not inferior, and judging the strain's youngsters too early is a common beginner's mistake.
How much grazing a bird this size gets through
Size at this level is mostly an appetite. A flock of adult Toulouse works a paddock hard, grazing steadily through the day and trampling what they do not eat, so ground that keeps lighter geese indefinitely can look tired within a season under dewlap birds. Rotating grazing, resting sections, and accepting that a big goose needs a genuinely generous area of decent grass are what keep the breed thrifty rather than feed-dependent. Keepers short on pasture often find the production strain the better fit for exactly this reason: the same Toulouse character and temperament, carried on a frame that asks less of the land.
Buying Toulouse with the strain on record
Because the two strains differ so much in adult weight, the single most useful fact about a Toulouse for sale is which strain it belongs to, followed by its age and current weight. A seller's answer shapes everything from the housing you prepare to the price that makes sense. Through KinsLe Transferrable Profiles, an adult Toulouse's profile transfers to its new owner with strain, weight, and breeding history recorded together, so the bird arrives with the context its size demands.