Geese breeding as a business: a profitable business for a good owner. What to expect from geese. How to open a goose farm
Geese and ducks have always been in steady demand. The proverb “geese saved Rome” has come into the everyday life of many nations. We sing with pleasure: "Grandma had two funny geese." In America and Europe, Christmas cannot be imagined without a baked goose. There are countless recipes, stories, fairy tales and stories associated with geese. And all this speaks of their unfading popularity.
In pre-revolutionary Russia breeding geese was a national trade. And in Soviet time in provincial cities, not to mention the villages, these birds walked like peaves through the streets, cackling solemnly. According to the tax authorities at the time, there were on average three to four geese in each household. Every family aspired to have a small poultry yard. This was largely due to the simplicity of their breeding, low maintenance costs and a high yield of poultry meat.
“The geese allowed them to survive the time of hunger,” says Tamara Ivanovna Solovtseva, a specialist in agriculture... - These birds are better than chickens, they tolerate cold weather, they are not so picky about food, and they gain weight faster. The demand for this bird has always been stable, and now it is only growing. This is explained by the promotion of environmentally friendly food, especially against the background of ersatz meat products, stuffed with all kinds of "E", from preservatives to flavor enhancers. "
There is another good reason to go for the poultry business - the inexpensive admission ticket and the ease of doing business.
Through the mouths of businessmen speaks the truth
“I keep geese,” says a member of the forum SMOG from Syzran. - If there is where to graze on the grass, it is better not to find a bird. Recently spent on a pond and have no regrets. All costs pay off and make a profit, of course, if everything is organized properly. Water is required. In my pond, mating is still going on. All clean as swans. Not pursuing the goal of earning, from 18 geese, including 5 males, I earned for Egypt with my wife, moreover, without straining. "
Natali.O echoes him: “In my opinion, breeding geese is very profitable. I've been doing it for three years now, and I like it. I have no reservoir, the geese are content with large basins in the pen, and a couple of times a week we drive for a walk to a stream with a huge puddle. Twice a day for three hours - in the morning and in the evening we take the geese to graze. "
As for the feed, even here the diet does not require special technologies, until the age of one month, the goslings are fed starting compound feed, then wet mash - rub corn, wheat, bran, potato peelings, and even boiled fish offal (on the market they give it for a penny), grated zucchini, well, and compound feed. In the second month, it is best not to limit the geese in food, it is at this time that they gain the bulk of the weight. In general, the recommendations are as follows: geese raised for meat should be fed oats without restrictions. It turns out tender and not fatty meat. In all cases, there must be sand all the time.
What you need to know about geese. Breeding rules
For businessmen, of undoubted interest are geese meat direction ... They are distinguished by high early maturity. In two months, the goose easily reaches 2.5 kilograms. However, success is largely determined by the correct composition of the herd. This is where skill in sorting poultry is needed.
First of all, you need to correctly make up goose families, one goose for three females. Difficult and important task breeding work- the choice of the male. "Pap" is chosen according to the so-called "oiler" - a cupric gland near the top of the tail. Ideal if it is double. According to folklore, the greater the number of tubercles on the inside of the beak, the more fertile the gander is. And yet - the tail of a macho gander must have at least nine pairs of tail feathers. Five years later, the "father of the family" is replaced by a 9-month-old gander, bred in early spring.
This selection provides the herd with strong offspring, which cannot be guaranteed when purchasing goslings on the farm. Of the breeds, it is best to stop at the Kholmogorsk, large gray, Kaluga, Tula, Gorky, Kuban, Italian white breed. For the southern regions of the country, preference is given to the Toulouse breed. The weight of adult gander reaches twelve kg, of geese - ten kg, and the liver can weigh up to one kg.
Sales of goose meat
Novice goose breeders should register their house with the veterinary office. Next, you need to put in order the room for the birds and arrange an aviary for the young. We'll have to spend money on incubators. According to professionals, with a reasonable approach, each gosling of the meat direction brings 300-450 rubles of net income in two months. In commercial production, the farm must sell at least a thousand goose carcasses every month. Small poultry houses may well be content with 15-20 families, however, this will most likely be a source of additional income.
“Now people are buying geese under New Year- writes Artur Menshikov from the distant Moscow region. - They take everything and do not bargain. This year I was selling geese for a thousand for a three-kilogram carcass. They also bought the living. "
“If you live in a city and you have a private courtyard, it’s very good,” the forum member Natali.O shared her experience. - Especially if there are very few people in the area who keep geese. You can take the carcasses to the local market. You can walk around the factories by the end of the working day, preferably before the weekend - when the women's team, and everyone is thinking about how to feed the family. "
In addition, goose breeders who have been raising geese for more than one year are thinking about processing their products to increase profitability. So, for example, there are farms that specialize in the Toulouse breed. As a rule, they have equipment for the production of liver pâté. From one kilogram of goose liver, one and a half kilograms of pate can be prepared.
***
This business is of interest as a startup that anyone can start, for example, with two or three dozen heads, in order to bring the livestock to tens of thousands in a few years. Thus, goose breeding is one of the few businesses with a pronounced growth dynamics practically from scratch.
Alexander Sitnikov
Photos from the sites flamber.ru, fondos10.net, radikal.ru, russiaregionpress.ru
The parent stock is completed with youngsters of April-May hatching approximately in mid-October - early November. When recruiting, attention is paid to the severity of the characteristics of the breed, live weight, physique, feathering and meat forms of geese.
Many villager a family of geese, consisting of one male and 3 females, is left for the winter. You can determine the sex of geese by both external and gender characteristics. The male is larger than the female, has a more massive head, wide chest, thick legs, and his voice is thin and drawn-out (in females it is sharp and abrupt). But the sex of geese is most accurately determined by the presence of a genital organ (penis) in the male in the form of a spiral curl. To open the cloaca, no special skill is required: the goose is fixed on its back and, pressing around the cloaca, the penis is squeezed out and the sex is determined by its presence or absence. In about 75% of males at 6 months of age, the penis is fully formed and the gander is capable of mating. The rest of the males acquire this ability by the age of 9 months.
The room for the winter keeping of adult geese should be free of any drafts and dampness. Geese tolerate negative temperatures normally and are not afraid of severe frosts. With me, they spend almost the whole winter on walks, where straw is under them.
Indoors, one goose should have 1m2 of floor. The floors are covered with available bedding material - peat, sawdust, straw. The litter is replaced with a new one as it gets dirty. Feeding front - not less than 10, watering area - 3 cm per 1 head. Based on these norms, it is not difficult to determine the number of feeders and drinkers. In addition, gravel and mineral feed troughs and sand and ash boxes should be installed. The distance from the trough to the drinker should be at least 1.5 - 2 m, which allows to reduce the loss of feed. The top of the trough should be at the level of the bird's back, and the drinkers should be at the level of the bottom of the goose's beak. Nests are placed directly on the floor for one per hen. It is better to make them yourself from the materials available. Nest dimensions: width - 400, length - 600, height - 500 m, nut height - 100 mm. The design of the nests should include free entrance in them, but the eggs should not roll out. Partitions are installed between the nests, since, according to my observations, some geese steal eggs from neighbors, and also often get into quarrels. Set up nests in a famous place where there is less noise. Much needs to be whitewashed with lime. The bedding in it must be clean and replaced regularly.
The completed herd of parental forms is grazed on meadows, pastures or stubble until the first frost.
The geese are fed at the same time: in winter - 2 times a day, with the onset of the breeding season - 3 times and during the laying period - 4 times. In the morning and in the evening they give grain, in the afternoon - twice mash.
The amount and range of feed consumed by geese in non-productive and productive periods (per head per day, g).
Stern
Unproductive period
Productive period
Herbal flour (clover)
200
100
Oat seeding
150
50
Boiled potatoes
500
300
Raw potatoes
200
100
Carrots, beets, cabbage, rutabagas
400
200
During the productive period, they feed depending on the level of egg production. Exemplary
diet (per head per day, g)
Stern
Eggs laid per month, pcs.
0
3
6
9
12
15
Oats, grain waste
50
60
70
80
90
100
Oat flour
23
24
26
32
36
40
Wheat flour
17
20
21
36
40
45
Wheat bran
50
50
50
50
50
50
Herbal flour
100
100
100
70
60
50
Meat and bone meal
-
-
4
6
9
13
Oilcake or pea flour
-
5
6
9
12
15
Beets, rutabagas, carrots
200
200
200
200
200
200
Shell
1,5
3,0
4,7
6,5
8,3
10
Bone flour
-
0,5
1,3
2,0
2,7
3,5
Salt
2
2
2
2
2
2
Boiled potatoes
200
200
200
200
In preparation for egg-laying, geese are fed according to the norms of the breeding season. Oats are preferred as feed in winter. Pure maize and barley cause rapid obesity in breeders. To get biologically valuable eggs from geese, a significant amount of good meadow hay, steamed clover, alfalfa, dried young nettle, silage and root crops (potatoes, beets, carrots) must also be introduced into the diet. Partial potatoes can be fed raw and chopped. The proportion of protein feed in the diet is increased by the introduction of legumes (peas, lentils), oilcakes, meal and animal feed into it. The second grain can be replaced with a large amount of boiled potatoes with the addition of 20 - 3 - g of protein feed per 1 kg.
At the end of laying, from June to October - November on good pastures, geese can be kept with a minimum feeding with concentrates (50 - 70 g per head in the evening).
It should be noted that geese do not eat all types of plants on the pasture, and only at a certain stage of the growing season. They do not eat such plants as cuff, goose feet, water pepper, hare sedge, etc. Best of all they eat legumes - clover, alfalfa, soybeans, meadow rank, horned lily, etc .; from cereals - creeping wheatgrass, young oats and rye, bluegrass, meadow timothy, white bent grass, ryegrass. From the moment of flowering, cereals coarsen and their consumption decreases. From wild plants, geese eat well dandelion, yarrow, large plantain, young nettles, thistle thistle, bird buckwheat, primarily juicy and leafy grasslands and clovers.
In the absence of pastures, geese can be fed without restriction with fresh nettles, meadow herbs, beet tops, cabbage leaves, weeds from the garden, replacing them with up to 70–80% of concentrates. In winter, they feed chopped needles of spruce, pine, and fir in wet mash. Needles are harvested from November to March.
Meat waste, non-edible fish is given in chopped boiled form in mash, about 7 - 10% of the concentrate norm.
In February - March, geese begin to rush.
Oviposition lasts approximately 3 - 3.5 months. The time of laying eggs can be determined by the behavior of geese, which begin to show anxiety - they examine the nests, collect straw with their beak. The first two eggs are usually infertile, but they must not be removed, since the goose, noticing the loss of eggs, can leave the nest. The rest of the eggs are collected several times a day, especially in cold frosty weather, marking on each the date of laying and the number of the nest or goose. The eggs are taken carefully, with clean and dry hands. The collected eggs are stored in a pantry at a temperature of 5 - 12 ° C in a horizontal position, laying them in one row. Turning eggs is done every other day. A dirty egg can be washed in a 0.5% formalin solution (35 - 40 ° C) or in a 0.1 - 0.3% deoxone solution using a sponge or a piece of foam rubber for 2 - 3 minutes. Eggs should not be stored in bran and chaff.
If the goose sits quietly on "test" (unfertilized) eggs for one or two days, then they can be replaced with incubation eggs. The number of eggs that can be placed under the hen depends on the size of the goose and the size of the eggs. Usually, 11 to 15 eggs of the same size and the same term of laying are placed under the goose.
If necessary, you can use chickens, under which 5 goose eggs are placed. Eggs are laid in the nest in the evening. A good hen immediately after planting carefully rolls the eggs under him, trying to cover them completely. The first days of the brood should not be disturbed, otherwise it may stop incubating. Every day the geese leave the nest for 15 - 20 minutes. If it does not leave the nest, then it has to be removed from the nest at the same time every day. There are also those that leave the nest twice a day. This should not be discouraged, but one should also be afraid of cooling the eggs. While the goose is walking, the nest should be examined. They do it daily. If a goose stains the nest by crushing an egg, the dirty eggs are taken out of the nest and washed with warm water (you cannot wipe it off!), And the litter is replaced with a clean one. In the early days, when the goose leaves the nest, it is advisable to view the eggs on an ovoscope (a small box with an oval cut, the box is lit by a lamp from the inside). When viewing the egg, hold the blunt end up. Already after 36 - 48 hours on the ovoscope, you can determine whether the egg is fertilized or not. When you first look at an egg in the yolk, closer to the pug, you can see a dark red dot, that is, a developing embryo. If the embryonic disc is clean, without a dot, then the egg is not fertilized, it must be removed. And yet, inexperienced goose breeders need to wait until the second viewing, i.e. up to 7 - 8 days, when, when viewed on an ovoscope, the circulatory system of the embryo is clearly visible in the form of a dark spot with diverging blood vessels.
During the third viewing, on the 27th - 28th day, eggs with frozen embryos are removed; when viewed, they look like a solid dark mass without blood vessels, when the egg is tilted, the contents of the egg overflow. During the normal course of incubation, the winding outline of the borders of the bogey is visible, the movement of the beak of the gosling is noticeable.
If the goose does not use the reservoir, then the eggs are sprayed with water on days 15-16: first every other day, then every day, just before the goose returns to the nest after feeding. The water temperature should be in the range of 39 - 40 ° С. I solved this problem easier: I put basins of water for the geese, where they can swim, and the need for sprinkling the eggs disappeared.
On the last day of incubation, the hen is not disturbed. Only weakened hens can be removed from the nest and fed, but at this time the eggs should be covered with something warm. As soon as the gosling breaks through the shell, an uninterrupted flow of heat is needed. A drop in temperature weakens the goslings, and they do not have the strength to break through the shell and go outside.
Goslings appear after 30 (± 1) days. If the gosling cannot hatch by itself, then you need to very carefully help him. The gosling appears wet and is allowed to dry under the brooding hen. Then the umbilical cord is cauterized with iodine so that the infection does not penetrate,
Then they are put in a box, covered with cloth on top and placed in a warm place (26-28 ° C), where they are kept until admitted to the hen after the end of hatching. The first days, you should help the geese in preserving the offspring from the attack of rats and crows, for which the walking yard is closed from above with a fishing net or just a net. Basically, the goose itself takes care of the goslings, which heats them up and teaches them to find food.
So, the desire to do goose breeding appeared. In this regard, beginners have many questions.
We solve top-priority tasks
First, we settle the issue with our neighbors. The solution depends on where you live:
- private sector cities,
- or a village.
The goose is a noisy bird. If you live in a city, then not every neighbor will like it. Why, as they say, do you need extra troubles and tensions. Better then give up this venture and get another bird.
If you live in a village, then there should be no questions. There is a place, free grazing. It is much easier to create a content environment.
Secondly, there is no need to set ambitious goals in the first year. Especially if you are a beginner poultry farmer. It's better to try the first year, take a closer look, see if you like this activity. Geese breed a lot of dirt. Behind them you need to constantly clean up, clean up. It may turn out that this is not yours and it is better to start breeding another bird. For example, chickens also require constant cleaning, but due to the fact that they row, it is much easier to clean up after them.
Thirdly, equip the gosper. The goose is an unpretentious bird, not afraid of low temperatures, but it should still have a house.
Arrangement of the goose-house
Geese can be kept in any suitable farm building. But you can also build a special gooseneck.
What should be a goose
It should be:
- dry,
- with good ventilation, but no drafts,
- clean,
- light,
- spacious.
Measures to meet the basic requirements
Based on these requirements, the place where the goose bird will stand should not be flooded during spring floods. It is better to place it on the south side. So it will be better illuminated and warmed up.
It is good if the floors are made of planks and raised above the ground level by 20 cm. Then the soil water will not get inside.
The area of the goose house should correspond to the number of birds. Norm of 1 goose - 1 sq. meter. If it is not observed, the air in the goose house will be unbearable not only for people, but also for the geese themselves. In such a stinking atmosphere, pathogenic microbes will begin to actively multiply. As a result, various diseases will begin to cling to them.
The floor of the goose bed is covered with a bedding. The following materials are used for it:
- shavings,
- sunflower husk,
- sawdust,
- hay,
- chopped ears of corn,
- sphagnum peat.
It insulates the floor, dries out the droppings, thereby improving the air in the goose house. For a year, one goose requires about 40 kg of bulk material. The litter should not be wet and preferably always clean. To do this, you need to change it more often. Do not allow the pen to become dirty. The feather is an important element of thermoregulation in the body of geese. A clean pen will avoid many diseases.
For the winter, it would be good to sprinkle slaked lime on the floor, and lay a warm bedding (peat, hay, straw) upstairs. When the droppings accumulate, it is renewed by gradually adding bedding material. In the spring, it will be an excellent fertilizer for the garden.
For enrichment of goose manure minerals mineral fertilizers, such as superphosphate, are sometimes sprinkled on the litter. It not only improves future manure, but also increases the dryness of the air.
Nests are installed in the house. There should be enough of them. Calculate so that there are no more than three geese per nest. Avoid placing them against a cold wall or in direct sunlight. Approximate dimensions:
- height - 50 - 55 cm,
- length - 60 - 65 cm,
- width - 40 cm,
- nut height - 1 cm.
The litter is used as usual, only it is changed more often. Better to update in the evening. Then in the morning the goose will lay in a clean nest.
Accessories for feeding and drinking geese
In the place where the bird will live, there should be containers for food and water. You can make them yourself.
For the construction of the feeder, you can use boards, old pipes, and other auxiliary materials. Only when making them, it should be borne in mind that one goose needs at least 15 centimeters for a comfortable meal. Then there will be no crush when feeding. Install or hang the feeder above the floor at a height of 20-25 cm.
Any containers can be accommodated for drinking bowls - it can be a bucket, a barrel, or a boil. In winter, you need to make sure that the water in the drinker does not freeze.
Temperature regime and illumination of the goose-house
The goose is a cold-resistant bird. It can exist in the goose house without any problems even at minus 10 degrees. She is not afraid of short-term drops to minus 25 degrees. But if geese are kept for breeding, such conditions will adversely affect the egg production of geese. Therefore, it is desirable that the goose house is warm. For this, the walls are carefully insulated.
Positive temperatures and artificial lighting in the goose house will speed up the start of egg-laying by the geese. They rush with a day length of 14 hours. It means that it is necessary to lengthen the day artificially. To do this, we leave the lights on from 6 am to 8 pm. And we act this way until the natural daylight hours become equal to 14 hours.
Geese usually begin to rush at the very end of winter. But with such lighting, egg production can occur much earlier (closer to the end of January).
Accommodation of geese in summer
Everything that was reported above is important and necessary if you decide to start breeding geese seriously. If you are just a beginner and this is a trial experience, then usually goslings are bought in March-April, and by the fall it is determined whether it is worth doing this business or not.
In the spring and summer, geese can stay outside. On the economic territory where they will be located, it is necessary to fence off the aviary, and build a small shed in it. Containers for food are placed under it. Then it will not get wet in case of rain. Under the same canopy, geese will be able to hide from the weather.
For a comfortable existence of a bird in an aviary, it is necessary to put containers with water in which it could splash. These can be simple galvanized troughs and boils. And then you can do without a reservoir.
Goose breeds
Before you start breeding geese, you need to decide what kind of breed you want to start. Well suited for home breeding: Kubanskaya, Lindovskaya, Kholmogorskaya, Seraya and Legart.
Table 1. Popular breeds of geese that are bred in households.
| Goose breed | Specifications |
| Kuban
| The plumage is gray-brown. A characteristic brown stripe runs along the entire length from beak to tail. They call it a belt. Refers to light breeds. Gander weight - 6 kg. The goose weighs 4.5 kg. Lays up to 85 eggs per year. One egg weighs about 160 grams. A two-month-old gosling weighs about three kilograms. Bad brood hens. Unpretentious. |
|
| Refers to heavy breeds. Beautiful bird, white plumage, popular in households The weight of an adult goose reaches 10 kg. Gains weight quickly. Can incubate eggs. Unpretentious bird. |
| Kholmogorskaya
| The best beef breed. It is difficult to confuse them with other representatives of the goose tribe. Above the beak, they have a growth (bump), which reaches a maximum size of 2 cm by the age of five. Their plumage can be different - from dirty gray to white. The beak and paws are of a characteristic orange-yellow color. They are centenarians - they can live up to - 17 years (usually geese live about 6 years). It can lay up to 30 eggs per year. Weight - about 12 kg. |
| Large gray
| Hardy. They are able to travel long distances. The plumage is gray. Small head with a thick short beak. The paws are orange. Male and female weigh about the same - about 10 kilograms. Egg production per year - up to 45 pieces. The weight of one egg is about 170 grams. The hatchability of goslings is very high. Reaches 60%. Good brood hens. Not demanding on the presence of a reservoir. |
|
| They have an average build. Males and females of this breed are equally heavy. Their weight is about eight kilograms. The plumage is white. The paws with the beak are orange. Have distinctive feature- Blue eyes. They can lay 40 eggs a year. The average egg weight is about two hundred grams. An economical breed. They require 20% less feed than others. Their goslings grow very quickly and gain weight. Already at the age of three months, they weigh 7 kilograms. They are distinguished by high-quality down. They have a meek, calm disposition, they cackle little. |
Buying young animals
Having decided on the breed, we acquire goslings. When buying, you may encounter unscrupulous sellers. They can slip goslings of the wrong breed or not quite healthy.
It is good to buy from a poultry breeder at home. Then there is the opportunity to see the mother herd. See in what conditions it is contained. What geese are, are they strong, are they large, do you like them? And then, if the seller is not afraid to show all this, then he probably will not cheat.
It is better to buy not daily goslings, but those who are five days old. They cost a little more, but their survival rate will be slightly higher. When buying goslings, follow these guidelines.
- Pay attention to the behavior of the goslings. It's good if they are vigorous and active, squeak loudly, and their necks stretch up.
- The navel should be overgrown without crusts.
- The tummy is tucked up.
- Nothing stands out from the beak nostrils.
- Check the paws for dislocation.
Growing young animals
If the goslings were initially strong, then it is not difficult to feed and raise them. In the beginning, they are given oatmeal and millet porridge, adding a finely chopped egg there. It is good to feed them fresh cottage cheese. You can start giving starter feed almost immediately. The diet of goslings is similar to that of broiler chickens.
They are fed often - at least six times a day. From the fifth day of life, you can start giving goslings chopped grass - dandelions, nettles and everything that appears in the spring. A month old gosling can eat almost a kilogram of grass.
Do not forget about the pebbles needed to digest food. Place a container with coarse sand or small pebbles next to the feeder.
Geese should always have water. They drink a lot. A two-month-old goose drinks up to one liter of water a day.
By the fall, the geese grow up and even then it can be concluded whether you should do this business. If you liked it, then you can form a mother flock from these geese by purchasing one or two geese on the side. This is necessary for blood renewal and healthy offspring.
Try it, experiment! Without trying, you will never know if this bird is right for you or is it better to do something else.
For your information:
By the way, the foie gras delicacy is the goose liver. It is very fatty, but not harmful to our blood vessels. Doctors say that fat in it is represented by polyunsaturated fatty acids. And they just reduce the presence of bad cholesterol in the body. As a result, blood circulation, brain function improves, and tone increases.
Geese are undemanding to heat, they are able to withstand low temperatures, they are not afraid of even severe frosts on a dry bed. In the household farm for keeping adult geese, you can adapt the existing room or build a new one from boards, reeds, logs, clay or other building material... If the room is built of logs using tow or moss, which are laid in grooves, then on both sides of the goose-house at a height of up to 1 m, the walls are sealed with planks, otherwise the geese will pluck everything out.
For a goose house under construction, such a site is chosen to protect the room from the approach of groundwater or spring floods. In the northern and middle zones of the country, the goslings are built with a facade to the south so that more sunlight penetrates into the room, and in the southern zone, where there is an excess of solar radiation, to the southwest or southeast. The room for geese must be clean, dry, well-ventilated, and free of drafts. Drafts and dampness adversely affect bird performance. The floors in the poultry house are made of planks or adobe, raising them 20 cm above the ground level so that the soil water gets less into the goose nest.
During the construction of the goose house, the standards for the placement of geese should be taken into account, since the stocking density affects the productivity of the geese. With excessive crowding of poultry, the room is quickly polluted, the gases released from the droppings worsen the air regime, microorganisms develop more intensively and can cause disease in geese. One adult goose must have at least 1 m2 floor area of the poultry house. The rate of planting density depends on the climatic conditions. In southern areas, where birds spend almost the whole day walking, stocking density can be increased to 2.5 heads per m2 of floor area.
One of the important conditions for obtaining high productivity and preventing diseases of geese is cleanliness in the room. With the onset of warm spring days, once a year, the room is cleaned of old droppings and litter, the walls are cleaned of dust and dirt and whitewashed with fresh lime. It is advisable to whitewash some parts of the room in preparation for winter again. The nests and other equipment located in the rookeries are also whitewashed with lime, the feeders and drinkers are washed with a 2% solution of caustic soda diluted in hot water.
The litter has a significant effect on hygiene conditions, the condition of which depends on the temperature and humidity of the air. Any bedding material available on the farm is used as bedding (sawdust, shavings, straw, sphagnum peat, crushed corn cobs, sunflower or millet husks). It must be dry, clean, hygroscopic, and mold-free. The litter, in addition to its hygienic purpose, also insulates the floor. In the autumn-winter time, a warm litter is used: straw, peat, in summer time- sand and sawdust. For one adult goose for a year, it is necessary to prepare up to 40 kg of bedding material.
When kept on a damp litter in geese, the feather becomes dirty, becomes tousled, and does not retain heat well. In this regard, the productive use of feed deteriorates, the body's resistance decreases, and geese may develop colds. It must be remembered that clean plumage protects geese from hypothermia. With the onset of cold weather, before laying a gradually layered (deep) litter, it is advisable to sprinkle the dry floor with slaked lime or fluff lime at the rate of 0.5–1 kg per m2 of area, and then lay the litter to a height of 4–5 cm. As the litter becomes dirty add a layer of fresh bedding material.
In order for manure (litter + droppings) after geese to be used as fertilizer (applying to the soil of the backyard), it is necessary to periodically add simple or double superphosphate to the deep litter during the period of their maintenance. Adding fertilizer in the form of a powder is carried out once a week: simple superphosphate in the amount of 400 g, double - 200 g per 1 m2 of the floor area of the goose house. In addition to enriching the litter with minerals, superphosphate dries well over-moistened litter and prevents the release of large amounts of ammonia from it.
It is not necessary to drive geese indoors in summer. You can leave them in the yard overnight, but for this you should fence off a special walk and place feeders and drinkers in it. Geese love to swim in water, so you need to adapt a large trough or some kind of container for them and periodically fill it with water.
In winter, in good sunny weather, geese are released into the yard. On cold, frosty days, geese can be released after 11 pm for a short period.
Rooms for keeping geese are equipped necessary inventory... Correctly made equipment contributes to the economical use of feed and makes the job of caring for geese easier.
Goose feeders are made in such a way that there is no large loss of feed. Feeders should be lightweight and comfortable. They can be made from planks (board trims), plywood or other materials so that the feeding area is at least 15 cm per head. Feeders are placed so much so as not to create a crush of geese during feeding. They must all approach the feeders at the same time. For feeding mineral fodder use feeders with several compartments - for gravel, lime, shells (Fig. 1). The feeders are suspended at a height of 20 cm from the floor. For feeding green mass, nursery-type feeders are made. The feeders are kept clean at all times.
Wooden, cement troughs, buckets or other containers are used for drinking bowls for adult geese. The trough can be made of large diameter pottery or metal pipes. To avoid splashing water and keep the litter dry, the drinkers are placed on baking sheets covered with metal or wood mesh. V winter period so that the water does not freeze, the drinker is insulated or hot water is periodically poured into it.
Rice. 1. Feeder for mineral feed
To prevent the geese from losing their eggs, nests are installed in the room (on the floor along the wall) no later than a month before the start of egg production at the rate of one nest for two or three geese. If there are not enough nests, then the geese look for secluded places to lay eggs. In the nests, the same litter is used as in the goose nest itself. To have fewer dirty eggs, it is better to sprinkle the bedding in the nests in the evening, on which the eggs will be laid by geese in the morning.
It is not recommended to place the nests close to cold walls or in places with bright direct lighting. The dimensions of the nest: width - 0.4 m, length - 0.6, height - 0.5, nut height - 0.01 m. collect the eggs, clean the nest and change the litter if necessary. The bottom for the nest is made of wood, but by no means metal, since the geese are trying to bury the laid eggs in the litter. During the cold season, eggs may freeze or break.
Temperature and light in the room for geese. Geese have a warm downy cover that protects them very well from the cold. Geese tolerate a house temperature of -10 ° C, while temporary temperature drops can reach -25 ° C. However, low temperatures, especially during the breeding season, can drastically reduce the egg production of geese, so the walls of the room must be carefully fitted, oiled so that the goose house is warm and the temperature is not lower than + 4–5 ° C. At temperatures below +4 ° C, laid eggs may freeze slightly, and during incubation or incubation, goslings will not hatch from them.
Geese under normal conditions under natural daylight begin to lay eggs in late February or early March. If, from January, with the help of electric light, geese increase daylight hours to 14 hours (that is, turn on the electric light at 6 a.m. and turn it off at 20 p.m.) and maintain a positive temperature in the room, then eggs from them can be obtained from the end of January - early February. The electric lighting is left until the period when natural daylight is equal to 14 hours. When this day length is reached, the electric lighting is switched off. If the geese began to lay from January to February, then it should be remembered that in the central zone of the country during these months there are still severe frosts and the laid eggs may freeze. Therefore, you need to make sure that a good nest is arranged in an unheated room.
The onset of egg production in a goose can be determined by its restless behavior. She often sits on the nest, buries herself in the straw. Geese usually lay their eggs every other day and usually in the morning hours. Eggs that have been laid should not be left in the nest when the air temperature is below freezing. They should be collected more often, especially on frosty days, and stored in a cool, dry, well-ventilated room at a temperature of 18–12 ° C (pantry, canopy). Both high and low temperatures are unfavorable for eggs.
The container (basket, cardboard box or box made of plywood or boards) for storing eggs must be clean, dry, free from mold and foreign smell. From the moment of laying to laying in an incubator or under a hen, store eggs in a horizontal position for no more than ten days. After ten days of storage, the incubation quality of eggs decreases sharply, and therefore, fewer goslings will be obtained from them. After five to seven days of storing eggs, two or three housewives should unite and lay the eggs in an incubator or under a hen. During the period of longer storage, the eggs are turned over once every three to four days in order to prevent the embryo from drying to the shell film.
Pasture keeping of geese using reservoirs. On the general state the organism of geese is positively influenced by their use of pastures and reservoirs. Geese are able to eat up to 2 kg of green mass per day. Adult geese are released into the pasture immediately after the end of egg production. For grazing geese, you can use flooded and dry meadows, ravines, wetlands and areas unsuitable for pastures for other animals. On pastures, by consuming large amounts of greens, geese can fully meet their nutritional needs.
For a more economical use of feed, after the harvest of grain crops, the geese can be grazed on the stubble, where they will eat the grains-carrion. When feeding grains, the live weight of geese rapidly increases.
In order for geese to stay on pastures for a longer time and make the most of greens and other feed, they are constantly provided with water. If there are no reservoirs and natural shading - shrubs, trees and other vegetation near the pastures to protect the geese from the scorching rays of the sun, especially in the southern regions of the country, then it is necessary to arrange light portable sheds made of twigs, straw and other local materials and put a drinking bowl with water.
Providing adult geese with a reservoir has a positive effect on the general condition of their body. Especially the heat affects the gander, in connection with which the fertilization of eggs decreases. Therefore, the use of reservoirs by geese helps to increase the fertilization of eggs.
There was an erroneous opinion that it is impractical to breed geese without reservoirs, since in this case the goose eggs have poor incubation qualities. Clear flowing water bodies with good vegetation along the banks certainly create good conditions for keeping geese. However, scientific research and the experience of leading poultry farms prove that geese can be successfully bred without reservoirs. With good feeding and keeping, geese of productive breeds that do not use reservoirs, lay 50 eggs per season, and with high incubation qualities.
In suburban settlements, where it is not possible to release geese to pasture, they are kept in paddocks. Freshly cut green mass is fed to geese from separate feeders, and in a chopped form is added to the mash in an amount of 40-50% of the diet. For bathing geese, adjust the container, periodically adding water to it to a constant level.
Plucking geese. Feather and down of a waterfowl are valuable raw materials for making pillows, blankets, fur jackets, decorative flowers and other products, so getting the most of it can be an additional income in the family budget. The goose feather is considered the best, it is characterized by softness, lightness, elasticity, strength, low hygroscopicity and thermal conductivity.
After the end of egg production (approximately in June - July), geese begin to molt naturally. In order not to lose this valuable raw material, it is necessary to pluck the geese. The process of feather removal from geese when natural molting has begun is painless, since the old feather is pushed out by the newly growing one.
In a herd, not all geese molt at the same time. When plucking, pay attention to the individuals. those who started molting earlier than others and have many new, not fully formed feathers, the plucking of which is unacceptable. If new feathers have grown to such a length that it is difficult to recognize whether it is new or old, then in this case it is necessary to pull out a few feathers and look at the point. If the quill is dry and transparent, then the feather is fully developed (in young feathers, the quill is filled with blood). Such feathers should not be pinched, since the down part of the fan is not developed and the entire feather does not have the necessary elasticity.
Preparation for collection and collection of feathers and down depends on the number of poultry on the farm to be plucked. The day before plucking, the geese are given the opportunity to bathe well (preferably in a pond) and clean the feathers of dirt and dust. In the morning of the next day, leave such an amount of birds that will be plucked in the first half of the day. The plucked geese are left in the yard (in the pen) until the next day or released into the pasture, if it is located near the house. Plucked birds should not be mixed with non-plucked birds, as frequent distillation, grading and other movements adversely affect geese. After plucking, all the geese are combined again into one flock. You can pinch geese in any convenient room, but so that it is light. All operations when plucking are carried out carefully, carefully and calmly, since geese are naturally nervous and do not tolerate crowding.
Plucking a feather is as follows. A person (pincher), sitting on a stool or chair, puts a goose on his knees with his back down and with his legs away from him, which he either ties or holds with his left hand and begins to remove a small feather from the lower part of the body with his right hand. Then he turns the goose on its stomach and removes the feather from the lower part of the neck. The fluff in these places is not completely removed, but only thinned to such an extent that no bare places are obtained. Feathers of the wing, tail, upper part of the neck, shoulder and thigh remain unremoved.
When plucking, the goose's neck is held with the elbow of the left hand. It is especially necessary to ensure that the wings are tightly pressed against the back, as the bird will try to flap them and free itself. In this case, the geese may be injured.
Before plucking, you need to run your right hand several times over the feathers of the abdomen against their location in order to remove dust, make sure the integrity of the skin (injuries) and establish the presence or absence of young growing feathers. Pinching should be done with the index and thumb of the right hand. In order not to tear the skin when plucking, a small number of feathers are taken in one pluck in the direction of the location of the latter.
It is necessary to start plucking the feather from the posterior end of the sternum keel. When the feathers of the posterior part of the abdomen are removed, they continue to be removed from the anterior part to the folds. Then remove the feather from the back of the back and neck. In no case should feather and down be removed together. You must first remove the feather, and then the fluff.
For one plucking from a goose, up to 120-150 g of down and feathers are obtained. In the southern zone of the country, geese can be plucked twice. The second time is plucked as soon as their plumage has fully grown (approximately at the end of September-beginning of October). Warm temperature environment and the complete formation of the feather cover (20 days after the regrowth of feathers) in geese, a partial molt occurs, in which the cover feathers of the body are replaced. The feathers of the wings, tail, thighs, and shoulders do not change a second time. The process of plucking feathers from geese during this period is painless. For double plucking, up to 240-300 g of feathers and down are collected from a goose.
The process of plucking a feather affects the condition and behavior of the bird. Cases were observed when geese were plucked a second time during the colder and rainy season (October 10), while there was no negative effect.
In the process of plucking, the bird behaves calmly in most cases. After plucking during the first day, the bird is slightly agitated, nervous and fearful. However, this condition quickly passes, and the geese begin to eat the food offered to them with appetite. Already two days after plucking, nothing in the behavior of the geese that could be taken for a reaction to plucking could be noted. In the first three to five days after plucking, the geese reluctantly go into the water, but then they adapt and use the reservoir normally. Poultry leaving after plucking is not observed.
Using hens to get young. All goose eggs obtained on the farm, with the exception of marriage, must be incubated. By agreement, they can be handed over for incubation at an incubator-poultry station or exchanged for goslings, as is done at the Tarashchanskaya inter-collective farm hatchery and poultry station in the Kiev region.
Goslings are in great demand, so it is very difficult to satisfy everyone who wants to buy them. Steps are being taken by the IPS management to obtain more hatching eggs. In addition to the eggs coming from collective and state farms, the station practices the reception of goose eggs from the population. For this, a special room has been equipped outside the territory of the IPS. Up to 1800-2000 suppliers are recruited annually. Egg reception usually begins in March and ends in June. When the eggs are handed over for incubation, each owner presents a certificate of the well-being of the household farm according to infectious diseases birds.
Received eggs are sorted, their freshness, shell quality, weight are determined. These eggs are incubated in a special incubator. After the first viewing, the number of fertilized eggs is determined and only then are they calculated with the donors. Write out a receipt for the number of fertilized eggs. In addition, the donor has the right to buy daily goslings in the amount of 50% of the fertilized and donated eggs. For example, 30 eggs were handed over, after viewing 26 of them turned out to be fertilized: 13 goslings of this number are sold to the donor.
If this is not possible due to the remoteness of the incubator station, the absence of its own incubator, then the goslings can be taken out under the goose or brood hens of other types of poultry (turkeys, chickens, ducks). Depending on the size of the eggs, 9-15 eggs are placed under a goose or turkey, 8-10 eggs under a duck, and 5–7 eggs under a chicken. During the incubation period, the hen should cover all eggs with her body, without opening her wings. Care should be taken to ensure that the eggs do not roll out of the nest, fall into the litter or onto the floor.
Before selection of eggs for incubation or laying in an incubator, eggs are rejected that are too large (two-yolk) and very small, irregularly shaped (squeezed, with constrictions, too long, round), as well as broken, with a notched shell, which is best determined by tapping one egg on other. When shining through an ovoscope or in the rays of the sun passing through a small opening of a window in a dark room, eggs are discarded with a pug at the sharp end, with the inclusion of blood stains, foreign bodies, and also with a mobile yolk. The ovoscope is easy to make at home. To do this, a box (case) is made of cardboard or plywood with an oval hole on the side, slightly smaller than an egg. They put a lamp in the box. The egg is brought to the hole, and it is well translucent. When stored for a long time in eggs, sometimes the yolk is mixed with the white or the yolk sticks to the shell. Such eggs cannot be incubated.
Goose eggs contain up to 7% protein. When stored for a long time, under the influence of microorganisms that have got through the shell, the egg white decomposes quickly, since the contents of the egg are a very good breeding ground for them. Therefore, during the incubation period, cuffs appear. Sometimes during incubation, the cuff shell does not withstand intra-egg pressure, bursts and contaminates nearby eggs. Therefore, eggs must be carefully selected for incubation. There are times when in the nest the goose contaminates the egg with droppings or lays it outside the nest. If the eggs are more than 50% contaminated, then they are carefully washed with warm water. Still, goslings are best hatched from fresh and clean eggs.
As the end of egg production approaches, the geese begin to pluck the down from themselves and put it in their nests, forming a kind of downy pillow. Having laid the last egg, the goose remains in the nest and leaves it only for eating. During this period, hens need to be selected.
The selection and placement of hens on eggs must be done very carefully to ensure that the hen does not leave the nest during the incubation period. Older geese are preferred. Before laying eggs for incubation, the hen is checked for three to four days. In order for the goose to sit down faster, it is better not to remove the eggs from under it immediately after laying, create a calm atmosphere in the room, silence, dim light. If during the verification period, when a person approaches the nest, she does not leave him, but only ruffles her wings and makes guttural sounds, then such a hen can be considered reliable. If only one goose is intended for planting, then it is better to leave it in the nest in which it rushed, since the transfer of a goose hen to a new nest often causes her great anxiety and negatively affects the hatching of goslings.
If several hens are planted at the same time or after a certain period of time, then a part of the room in which they were kept is allocated for them and fenced off with a blank wall. Each goose is separated so that she does not see the others, otherwise they will worry and arrange fights, and after feeding and walking they confuse the nests. The ganders are not allowed into the room where the brood hens are.
It is best to plant the hen in the evening, so that during the night she can get used to her nest and sit quietly. A good hen, as soon as she is planted, immediately picks up the eggs under herself and sits calmly on them. After the eggs are warmed up, she begins to roll them from the sides to the center. In the center of the nest, the eggs are warmer. Goose embryos do not tolerate overheating during their incubation (incubation) period, therefore, moving the eggs from the sides to the center, and vice versa, helps them to evenly warm them and provides the same conditions for the development of embryos in all eggs.
It should be noted that the establishment of contacts between goslings and brood geese, brothers and sisters, begins already in the process of hatching. Two days before hatching, the goslings will make a whistling sound if the eggshell is too cold or the moisture content has dropped sharply, making it difficult for the gosling to hatch. Hearing such a sound, the brood hen begins to roll the eggs to warm them. When the shell is reheated or moistened, the gosling makes a sound that anticipates its future cackle ability. This sound is also a response to the sound made by the brooding goose.
The room should be quiet as the noise disturbs the brood hens. It should be ventilated periodically and well, because the eggs require fresh air and temperatures of 12-14 ° C for the embryos to develop.
Hens need to be fed and watered daily. Feed and clean water are placed near the nest. It is better to feed the hens with grain and high-grade grain waste. The geese spend at least 20 minutes on feeding and walking. During the walk, the goose can be given the opportunity to bathe. For this purpose, a trough or other container filled with water is installed in the yard. If a goose hen does not return to the nest for a long time, then it must be driven into the room and put on eggs. Sometimes the goose does not leave the nest for several days. Then it must be carefully taken and brought to the stern and water. During walks, the hens are inspected, and if a broken egg or droppings are found in the nest, then it must be removed, a clean and dry bedding should be laid without disturbing the nest.
On the eleventh day, from the moment the goose has landed on the nest, the eggs are viewed on an ovoscope or in the rays of the sun, as described above. When viewed, unfertilized eggs or eggs with a frozen embryo may be seen. Unfertilized eggs are light-colored, in the fertilized eggs the circulatory system is visible in the form of cords located throughout the egg, and dark spot-embryo in the form of an eye. In eggs with a dead embryo, blood rings are visible, which can encircle the embryo along the horizontal or longitudinal axis of the egg. Such eggs are removed from the nest. Cuff eggs (dark talkers) are also removed from the nest.
The second egg inspection is carried out on the 27th day of incubation. At this time, a movable shadow (in the form of a tubercle) of the gosling's beak is visible in the egg. In eggs with a frozen embryo, a solid dark mass without blood vessels is visible. Sometimes the contents of such an egg overflow. Eggs with such signs are removed from the nest. Duration of incubation of goose eggs is 28–30 days.
Some goose breeders do not look at the eggs during the incubation period of the geese, but apply them to the eye, while feeling the intra-egg temperature, by which they determine whether the embryo is alive or not. In eggs with a dead embryo, the temperature is lower. Some goose breeders look through the eggs on the 7th and 15th days of incubation. For three or four days before hatching, they seem to "bathe" eggs. To do this, they pour water into a basin, the temperature of which should be 36–38 ° C, put two or three eggs into it and watch them. From an egg with a living embryo (embryo), rings diverge through the water, resembling circles coming from a float when a fish bites. If the embryo in the egg has died, then the water will be motionless. Thus, you can find out if the embryo is alive. In addition, when "bathing" on the shell of the egg, the pores open, which increases the access of air into it. Some hobbyists try to lay 17 to 21 eggs under the goose. If the goose does not use a reservoir during the brooding period, then the eggs are periodically, at least once a week, moistened with water or taken out from under the brood hen, dipped in water at a temperature of 19-22 ° C and, without wiping, are placed under the brood hen again. At the same time, it is believed that periodic cooling of eggs during their incubation period helps to increase the hatching of goslings. Sometimes, when looking at eggs in the shell, a crack is found. To prevent the embryo from dying, it is sealed with a strip of paper.
There are times when the hatching of goslings is delayed (especially in heavy breeds) or accelerated (in light breeds) by one or two days. You should not worry about this. The day before hatching, if you attach an egg with a live gosling to your ear, you can hear the beak tapping on the shell.
During hatching, hens become restless, so during this period they do not need to be removed from the nest. The goslings brought out from under the hen are not removed until they are completely dry and the umbilical cord is retracted. The dried goslings are removed from the nest, placed in a box or basket, previously covered with clean straw and a soft cloth (so as not to injure the umbilical cord), and taken to another warm room. At the same time, the shell is removed from the nest. Until the end of hatching, goslings are kept at a temperature of 26-28 ° C. If some goslings do not hatch from the egg for a long time and only an alarming squeak is heard, and the shell shell becomes dry and stuck to the fluff, then such a gosling should be helped: carefully break off the shell in small pieces at the place of pecking, but if blood appears, then help is immediately stopped. It happens that the gosling has pierced the egg shell at the sharp end. He needs to be carefully helped to get rid of the shell.
After the hatching is completely over, the goslings are all allowed to go to the goose together. If two or three geese were planted at the same time, then the goslings can be combined into one group and sent to one goose. If one goose was planted on the eggs and it became possible to buy more daily goslings by the time of withdrawal, then first two or three are allowed to the hen, and when she calms down, the rest are added.
To simplify rearing, goslings bought at one day old at an incubator station are kept under a brood hen. To do this, three to four days before acquisition, goslings lay underlaying eggs under a cackling hen (of any type of bird). Then the purchased goslings are allowed under the hen.
One good brood hen can raise 20–25 goslings. At the same time, it is taken into account that young geese are inexperienced brood hens, therefore it is not necessary to let more than 10–12 goslings near them. It is better to let goslings to the brood hen during the day in order to observe the behavior of the goose, which will serve its own and other goslings (full brood). For the first two days, geese with goslings are not allowed out into the street, even in good weather, but kept in a warm room so that they get stronger.
There are cases when a hen-goose, after sitting on eggs for three weeks, breaks them and pecks at a fully formed embryo, and drinks the liquid. In our opinion, there is a lack of animal feed in the body of such a brood hen. Therefore, during the incubation period, brooding geese add cottage cheese, milk or other animal feed to the feed. Whole cottage cheese and milk, reverse and yogurt can be fed together with other feeds. In order for goslings to hatch from all eggs placed under the hen, their fertility is preliminarily determined by warming them up under the hen or other heat source at a temperature of 37 ° C for 24 hours. After warming up, the eggs are placed in a horizontal position so that the embryo floats up. Then, taking the egg in the hand with a pogo (blunt end) up, with a sharp end down, bring it to a bright light source (ovoscope) and with slow rocking 2–4 times, you can see a dark spot of the embryo 5–8 mm in size. Sometimes there are foreign or blood inclusions in the egg, but they cannot be confused with the embryo. By checking the eggs that will be laid under the hen in this way, more goslings are obtained.
Among poultry geese occupy a special place. While chickens are raised mainly for the purpose of obtaining eggs, geese are raised for delicious, juicy meat.
Although it is inferior in dietary characteristics to chicken due to its high fat content, it is still very useful. It contains trace elements and vitamins A, C, B, including B12, which is deficient for many, mineral components - iron, zinc, manganese. Goose meat is especially appreciated for its amino acid content, from which antibodies against viruses are produced in our body.
In this article, we will take a closer look at breeding, keeping and caring for geese at home for beginners. We will find out if it is possible to eat goose eggs, how they are useful and how much they can cost. After reading all the information, you will be able to raise healthy and strong birds.
First, let's talk about breeding geese at home. The specificity of keeping geese is that they cannot be raised in cages, like chickens. This explains why their population is much smaller. It is advisable to breed this bird in the event that there is a place nearby for them to walk - a pasture with a reservoir (rivulet or lake). Geese need space. They have to walk and move a lot. Because of this, their meat is darker than chicken meat (there are more blood vessels in the muscles).
Breeds of geese for breeding
The most common breeds are as follows:
Large gray geese
- weigh 6-7 kg. Egg production is 37-47 eggs. Eggs are large - 150-200 g. Very hardy.
Chinese geese - live weight reaches 5 kg. Egg production - 50-60 pieces per year with a weight of 130-170 g. They are hardy, but aggressive by nature.
Lindovskaya breed- the mass of adult geese is 7-8 kg. Egg production is 45-50 eggs with an average weight of 120-140 g.
Kuban is a domestic breed. Egg production - 80-90 eggs per year. Average live weight -4.5-5.5 kg.
Kholmogory - weigh more than other breeds - 8-10 kg. But egg production is 30-40 eggs per year, but their weight is more than 200 g. They are calm and non-aggressive.
Italian geese- are characterized by high productivity of meat. Live weight - from 6 to 7 kg. Egg production - up to 50 eggs per year.
Toulouse- French breed. It is considered the largest with a weight of 10 kg or more. Egg production - 30-40 eggs per year with an egg weight of 190-210 g. They are calm and inactive, feed well and quickly.
Emden geese weigh 8-9 kg. Egg production is low.
Rhine- bred in Germany. In terms of their characteristics, they are similar to those of Emden.
Breeding geese on the farm. Different breeds.
Hen eggs
It is better to hatch geese chicks from an egg with a brood hen, than in an incubator. However, if there is only one hen in the poultry farm, then a maximum of 13-14 heads are obtained for the brood, since the eggs are large. If you still choose this method of obtaining chicks, then first create necessary conditions. Temperature indoor supported at the level of 14-15 degrees.
It should be dry and well ventilated, but free from drafts. The nest for the goose is made spacious. Be sure to separate it from the rest of the livestock and fence off the nests with partitions between themselves (in case there are several hens). Keep hens separate from the rest of the geese. This is due to the fact that geese can lay eggs in an already hatched clutch during the absence of the expectant mother. Thus, the period for obtaining goslings will stretch in time, which is very bad for their further development.
We monitor the dryness in the nest. An accidentally broken egg must be urgently removed and the rest of the survivors wiped up. The need to make partitions between the nests is explained by the fact that in the absence of one hen, the other rolls several eggs to itself, since their maternal instinct is very developed.
An extra number of eggs in one nest will make it impossible to heat them all at once. In addition, there is an additional risk of damage to them.
We make sure that when the hens return to the nest after the necessary exercise, food intake and water procedures, they occupy their nests, and not confuse them with the neighbors. During incubation, we change the water in the drinking bowl of the future mother daily to avoid diarrhea and feed it only with selected grain. The hen will take care of all the hatching processes herself.
She herself rolls the eggs in the nest for even heating. If for some reason the goose does not return to the nest after eating for 20 minutes, it is driven onto the nest. This happens mainly with a bird sitting on eggs for the first time.
The first chicks hatch on day 28. After that, they are taken from the nest, placed in a separate box, illuminated with a lamp, creating the desired temperature. After all the chicks are born, they are returned to the goose. In the first two days, mom can put several chicks from eggs hatched in the incubator. Do this in the evening.
Eggs in an incubator
Breeding chicks geese in an incubator harder than chicks... This is due to the fact that goose eggs contain a lot of fat and are large in themselves. If more than 70% of chicks hatched from one bookmark, then this is a good result. Several features of the incubation of goose eggs:
- take away them within 10 days - no more;
- preliminarily 3-4 hours before bookmarking the incubator is warmed up with a high temperature of 39 degrees;
- take away only healthy perfect shape eggs;
- you can't wash them, but you can disinfect by spraying with a light solution of potassium permanganate;
- the first 4-5 hours after setting the temperature in the incubator withstand at around 38 degrees... Then it is reduced to 37.8. The last couple of days it has been reduced to 37.5 degrees;
- eggs are turned 6-8 times a day to prevent the shells from sticking to the mesh or mold and for uniform heating;
- so that harmful gases do not accumulate, the incubator periodically after 15 days of laying open for 10 minutes to ventilate.
How to care for, raise and keep goslings
It is extremely important to care for goslings at home from the first days of life.
With the beginning of life, the immune system of the body of goslings is formed and strengthened. So it is important to have a balanced diet to grow large and healthy bird... For each period of growth and development, a separate diet is drawn up. Feeding the newly hatched goslings is also extremely important.
Care for goslings in the first days of life
When caring for goslings at home, for the first 5-7 days, it is useful for chicks to give the yolk of boiled eggs. It is well absorbed by the immature organism of goslings. When feeding, it is recommended to add greens. Better to eat this green onion feather. It is finely crumbled and mixed with the yolk. During the first two days, the hatched goslings are fed 7-8 times a day.... It depends on this whether you can raise healthy geese.
Drinking bowls are chosen so as to protect the brood from the risk of drowning or drowning in it.
We make sure that the enclosure where they are kept is dry.
Care in the first weeks: how to raise healthy geese
Gradually, the diet is diversified with herbs and increases its presence in the feed. In addition to green onions, alfalfa and clover are given. We monitor the availability of clean water in the drinking bowls. Gradually, we introduce boiled potatoes and corn porridge into the diet.
Drinking bowls are replaced with more voluminous so that the goslings can swim in them. They turn into small bodies of water. To do this, use pots or bowls, but with low sides. This required condition.
The presence of the required amount of nutrients and vitamins in food will be provided by chopped root crops and vegetables. If we cook porridge for goslings, that they should not be too liquid. It is recommended to give more dry food.
We gradually transfer the three-week-old goslings to pasture. It is advisable that they graze in an outdoor enclosure. Together with the grass, they eat compound feed and crushed grain..
We introduce new feed into the diet in a small volume, gradually increasing its presence in the total feed mass.
Care in the first months
How to care for goslings at home? Starting from this period, goslings are intensively fed with compound feed, grain, sunflower cake and greens. They are grazed in an open small reservoir without a strong current. In addition to grass, they eat algae, which has a positive effect on the development and growth of live weight.
The proportion of greens to all other feeds should be 1-1.3: 1. That is, greens give more. In this case, the content of goslings will be cheaper and this will not affect the set of live weight.
Conditions of keeping and feeding
In addition to food and water, goslings need an appropriate ambient temperature, sufficient room volume, and lighting.
Choosing an aviary for a goose farm
Depending on the number of livestock, we choose the appropriate room. In the early days, goslings are kept in cardboard boxes on the veranda, in the summer kitchen. Then they are given a place in the poultry house, shed. It must be well ventilated (ventilation) and warm, no drafts allowed. It is necessary to exclude the possibility of predatory animals entering there, primarily rats.
Straw and floor are used as bedding. We change the litter every 2-3 days to keep it dry. This will save the still immature chicks from diseases and hypothermia. The presence of a window into the room is a prerequisite. Geese love to be in a closed dark space only during sleep.
After three weeks of life, we construct a walk for the goslings in the open air, since during this period they are transferred to pasture.
After 40 days, they are grazed near water bodies. But until they have grown stronger, and are not able to defend themselves on their own, the presence of a person is imperative. As soon as the live weight reaches an average of 2 kg (depending on the breed), geese are released on their own to graze.
It is better to do this in the early morning - the grass is then juicy and nutritious. Geese find food for themselves. They are perfectly oriented in space, so they can easily find their way home. Adult geese have their wings clipped to prevent them from flying away.
Daily temperature regime and lighting
In the first week of life, we maintain the temperature at 28-30 degrees. If the natural ambient temperature is not enough, heating with heating pads or lamps, which, in addition to light, give heat to the room. We measure the temperature at the level of the litter.
Gradually lower it to 22-24 degrees. And after three weeks, if the weather permits, we transfer the goslings to the mode of life in natural conditions. In general, adult geese are quite hardy birds due to their presence of fat, large live weight and warm plumage.
They can freely withstand temperatures up to minus 15 degrees. There should be enough lighting to maintain normal conditions with extended daylight hours (more than 14 hours). For this purpose, lamps are used.
Conditions for breeding and keeping geese Room dimensions
The main condition for the size of the room for goslings is that it should not be crowded.
Provide free access to food and water. When the young grow up, it is recommended to release them in the fresh air into specially fenced pens during the day. At night they are in the barn (goose-house).
Geese rearing period
Now we will find out how many geese grow. If day-old chicks weigh only 100 grams, then after 5 months their weight reaches 5-6 kg. On average, this bird gains more than one kilogram per month. In order for the geese to be healthy, and the live weight reached good weight indicators, you need to carefully and carefully monitor their diet.
The weight of adult geese of different breeds varies from 4.5 kg to 10 and more. If you plan to breed geese for meat, then it is advisable to keep them up to two to three months of age. During this period, they gain 50% of the mass of an adult one-year-old bird. Further, the weight gain is suspended.
Goose eggs: how much can you eat and how are they useful?
Depending on the breed, geese produce between 30 and 90 eggs per year. They differ in their size (up to two hundred and twenty grams) and thick shell. It is possible and useful to eat them, but due to the fact that they contain a lot of fats, they need to be eaten in moderation. Our ancestors ate eggs of geese 7 thousand years ago. This is the first domesticated bird.
100 g of raw eggs contains 185 kcal, including proteins and fats - more than 13 g. They include vitamins K, D, E, A, B, micro- and macroelements. Their use has a positive effect on the brain and genitourinary system, the elimination of toxins. The goose egg is widely used in cooking and cosmetology.
Now you know that breeding and keeping geese at home is profitable. Indeed, in addition to the quick return of meat, geese provide us with eggs and down. For the successful rearing of geese, it is advisable to have a pasture and an open reservoir. In this case, with sufficient care and proper nutrition, their maintenance will pay off many times over. Perhaps even in the future, goose breeding will become your main source of income.