The Leine goose is a light to medium-heavy breed of geese with a weight between 4 and 8 kg, and with a length of 70 to 75 cm. The plumage is pure white or grey schecked. The Leine goose is considered a robust, weatherproof and sufficient pasture goose with caring breeding behavior. If there is sufficient grazing area, Leine geese can be kept as pure grazing animals without feeding. In addition to grass and oats, preferred food also includes vegetables and fruit. The animals are able to march to the pasture without effort even over longer distances. The nests contain up to 20 eggs, of which about 12 eggs can be hatched during natural brood. The Leine goose can be up to 20 years old.

The main distribution area was in Lower Saxony between Göttingen and Hanover as well as in the Emsland and around Oldenburg. Later, the distribution area extended as far as northern Hessen and northern Thuringia