Breeding geese at home - how to arrange and what to feed the birds? Breeding geese as a business: a profitable business for a good owner.

Breeding geese at home, at your own dacha or on a farm, provides the breeder with ample earning opportunities. Keeping geese will not be difficult even for beginners. These birds are unpretentious in food, do not require special attention and care, and are characterized by high productivity.

Geese meat and feathers are very popular

From them we obtain meat with dietary properties, egg products and offal (liver), down and feathers. In a dacha or garden plot, you can raise a family of up to five heads, weighing up to six kilograms. By autumn, breeders receive up to 60 kg of meat products from each female.

Breed and productivity

Currently, approximately 40 species of this bird are bred in the world. It is recommended to start breeding geese by selecting a breed. Among the popular ones, breeders name:

• Arzamas: meat type, gander - 7-8, goose - 6-7 kilograms, egg weight - 170 grams. It is characterized by unpretentiousness, vitality and precocity.
• Chinese: a gander weighs 5, and a goose weighs 4 kilograms. High egg production (weight 120 g), endurance.
• Toulouse: inactive, adapted for living in cages, grows poorly on pastures. The weight of the gander is 12, and that of the geese is 10 kg. Fatty liver weighs up to a kilogram. Egg production – up to 40 pieces weighing 200 g annually.
• Gorky: meat and egg variety of white color, male weight - 7-8, geese - 6-7, bring up to 45 pieces of egg production. Females have a weakened brooding instinct.
• Italian: gander weight – up to 7, goose – up to 6 kg. They are bred for meat and liver (up to 7%).
• Large gray: male weight - from 7 to 9.5, female - from 6 to 7 kilograms. Meat breed, suitable for fattening for fatty liver, does without a pond. Geese are used as hens.
• Kholmogorskaya: male weight - from 8 to 12, female - from 7 to 9 kilograms. Young animals at two months of age weigh 4 kilograms at the time of slaughter. High growth, early maturity, friendly and calm character. Unpretentious to living conditions.
• Tula: bred for meat and for decorative purposes, a former fighting breed. A gander weighs up to 6, a goose weighs up to 5.6 kg, and an egg weighs 150 grams.

The Tula goose can weigh up to 6 kg

On average, one sexually mature specimen brings to the breeder (in kilograms):

• meat – 6 (at two months of age – up to 4.5);
• fat – up to 2.5;
• offal (delicacy liver);
• down and feathers (which retain heat and keep water out).

Productivity indicators vary depending on the breed.

Conditions

Keeping geese in a country house or farm requires compliance with conditions that are determined by the breeding season - all year round or only during the warm period. The area of ​​the room depends on the number, when there is a square meter per head. If it is kept all year round, then take care of heating the room (temperature not lower than 10 degrees). In the summer, the flock is left outside and you do not need to care for it.

Geese require minimal care in summer

Winter bedding is made from straw, peat, wood shavings or sunflower husks. Summer - made of sand or sawdust.

Caring for geese is reduced if there is a pond with running water and rich vegetation near the place of keeping. Under these conditions, feed consumption decreases. An artificially created pond or container helps. Sow cereal crops in fenced grazing areas. For the pen, allocate a covered room with access to the water, a clay floor and blank end walls. In winter frosts, the herd is still allowed outside.

The presence of a pond greatly simplifies caring for geese

Diet

In the summer, feeding geese is based on forbs growing in the meadows for grazing. In winter, they are given dry alfalfa and clover, harvested before the flowering period. They are fed bran and grains (wheat, corn).

Compound feed with the addition of vegetables (fodder beets, potatoes, carrots, etc.) is used. Ground berry crops (viburnum, rowan, rose hips, etc.) are added to food.

By eating this way, they quickly gain weight. For fattening, they are additionally given grains a couple of times a day (35 g each). For the last two weeks, they have been kept in cages (when kept at a dacha or farm), not allowed out for walks, and fed with steamed grain up to four times daily. They are sent for slaughter at two months of age and weighing 4 kilograms or more. During the growth stage of new plumage, it is better to wait until three months of age until this period ends.

Proper feeding and maintenance of geese in the winter at a dacha or farm guarantees productivity even with the short egg-laying period for which these birds are famous. In cold weather, 130-160 grams of a mixture of grain and flour are given per head, bean hay - 100-150 grams, root vegetables - up to half a kilogram.

Wheat and other cereals are the basis of the geese’s diet

Breeding

Puberty occurs at 8-10 months. In the second year, egg production increases to twenty percent. For this, make a nest from wood materials with dimensions of 50 by 75 cm (one for 2-3 heads). The nests are periodically cleaned. The period of intensive oviposition lasts three years, in exceptional cases – up to four years.

To form goose families for keeping in the country, first select strong, healthy, well-built goslings.

After two months, an assessment is made of the rate and intensity of growth and other external indicators (feather condition, constitution). Males with a weight that exceeds the average weight by ten percent are allowed; females have a weight not lower than average. When the birds are 4 months old, breeders make a final assessment of the flock. This is how the parent herd is formed.

The parent herd is formed from the best representatives of the herd

Maintain the proportions of specimens by age:

• over a year old – 26%;
• over two years old – 24%;
• over three years old – 23%;
• young animals – 27%.

There are three times more female representatives than ganders. Breeders select a family of two or three females for one male. Several such associations make up a herd. Geese breeding allows ganders to stay in the same pen as long as they are not aggressive towards each other.

If you don’t know where to start breeding geese at home, then place nests on the floor 30 days before egg laying.

Choose a place hidden from light where there are no drafts. A clean straw flooring is placed on the bottom. Oviposition begins at the end of winter and lasts until May. Feeding geese during the breeding period includes oat sprouts (100 g per head) or a mixture of ground grain (80%) and animal food (20%). Do not overfeed so that this does not affect the fertility of the livestock.

Before she starts laying eggs (in the morning, once every two days), the expectant mother is worried. If the temperature is below zero, remove the eggs and place them in a ventilated room (for no more than 10 days). If they are stored longer, turn them every few days.

Goose eggs should be kept indoors in winter.

Incubation

Raising geese at home is carried out naturally (incubation of eggs by a goose). Another option is breeding offspring using incubators. Eggs selected for this purpose:

• fertilized (candling after a week) - at least 87 percent;
• with the hatchability of goslings (determined by the ratio of the emerging young to the initial number of egg-laying animals - at least 65 percent);
• not contaminated with excrement.

• with the presence of a double or moving yolk;
• irregular outlines;
• with cracks and other defects in the shell;
• with translucent blood clots;
• the air chamber is too large or incorrectly positioned.

The temperature in the incubator is maintained at 37.5-37.7 degrees. At lower rates, the embryos are delayed in development, and the young hatch weak. If you increase the heating, this will speed up growth at first, but then the chicks appear small and sickly. Maintain air humidity of 60-65 percent: dryness causes dehydration of the embryos, and the inner membrane dries out.

The humidity in the incubator must be maintained at least 60%

Air exchange in goose eggs is 12 times more intense than in chicken eggs. Ventilation in the incubator protects the embryos from oxygen starvation.

Periodic turning will ensure uniform heating and prevent the embryo from sticking to the walls.

After two weeks and until the end of incubation, the temperature drops to 29-30 degrees for half an hour once a day. This will remove excess heat. The chicks will hatch within a month of starting.

Incubation period

When the egg-laying stage comes to an end, the birds pluck out their down and line the nest with it. It is better if the breeder chooses an older specimen as a hen. If the female is young, she is checked first. She is experimentally given unfertilized eggs and left alone for three days. The goose passes the test if during this time it does not leave the nest and drives the person away with hissing.

In this case, it is left to incubate in the same place. 11-13 eggs are placed under it. If several hens are together, they are separated from the rest of the herd and from each other so that they do not get nervous and fight. They leave the nest to eat and drink.

Geese incubate their eggs and breed their offspring on their own.

While incubation is in progress, inspect the clutch twice: after a week and a half and after three weeks. The light ones, without an embryo visible through the light, remain unfertilized and are removed. Specimens with a dead embryo are also removed, which during the first inspection appears as dark circles, and during the second as a dark spot.

When the female begins to worry, this means that the chicks are about to hatch.

If you are breeding a breed heavier than 6 kg (such as the Kholmogory), then remove the eggs from under the hen 2 days before the young are born. The goslings appear one after another, and it is better to place each of them in a box with a temperature of 26-28 degrees until all of them hatch. Afterwards, the brood is returned to the mother (with the addition of other one-day-old goslings).

Raising young specimens

If hatching goslings using an incubator or as a result of natural hatching is not possible in a country house or garden plot, then breeders purchase one-day-old young animals from farmers who breed these birds. Create a temperature of 26-28 degrees until the fifth day, from the sixth to the tenth day reduce it to 24-22, then over the next days - to 22-15. Allow enough space for each head to avoid crowding. Breeding geese at home requires an area of ​​one square meter for 10 one-month-old specimens or 4 two-month-old ones.

One goose can lead up to 25 goslings

If the brood returns to the mother to care for the offspring, then do this in the evening. See if she has accepted all the chicks. At the same time, give her the young from another egg laying. An experienced female leads up to 20-25 heads of young animals, a young one – 12.

Monitor the temperature to prevent it from rising and the cleanliness of cages or other areas. From three weeks of age, heating is not needed. Provide ventilation. The lighting continues around the clock for the first week, then for 17 hours. Pay attention to painful specimens.

If the chick has trouble standing on his feet, tie his limbs loosely with braid until he learns.

Care

To raise a healthy flock, change the water every day. Feeding of geese begins from the day they are born. During the first week, food is given up to 7 times a day; some breeders feed the chicks after three hours. The diet includes mixed feed or a mixture of crushed grains of wheat, peas, buckwheat and other cereals. Chopped boiled yolk and white, cottage cheese are added to it. Greens (nettle or clover) are also finely chopped there with a ratio of 1 to 1. Give the birds boiled frogs, insects, and worms.

Geese need walks

Birds need movement, for which they are given pastures. You can start releasing them into the open air from the first days of life. When it's windy or rainy, leave them at home. In the second and third weeks of age, the young flock spends the entire day outside (only bring them indoors at night).

After a few days, boiled vegetables and cakes appear on the menu. Small pebbles are poured into the feeder nearby. Crushed chalk and shells are given as additives.

Young animals are released outside from a week of age for half an hour, gradually increasing the walking time. From two weeks onwards, the stay on the street lasts the whole day.

Raising geese for meat involves intensive feeding of three-week-old specimens without going outside, in cages. This diet contains mixed feed and fresh green food in a ratio of 1 to 1. They give a grain mixture of two shares of crushed wheat and one each of bran, beans and cake, with mineral additives - crushed shells, crushed chalk, table salt.

If you properly care for the livestock, then even in small plots at your dacha you will be able to raise a well-fed herd. It quickly gains weight, for which you will need to give plenty of food and monitor the conditions of detention. Then by the slaughter season you will receive meat, fatty liver, down and feathers.

Many people today have additional income by raising poultry at home. Moreover, people began to breed geese more often than chickens. Below we will tell you how to breed geese at home for beginners, describing the most important and difficult points.

To breed geese, you first need to decide on the breeds. The following breeds of this poultry are best suited for home breeding:

• Large gray ones. Egg production is 37–47 eggs. They weigh approximately 200 g. Birds are distinguished by their endurance. They weigh about 6–7 kg;
• Chinese. Egg production is at the level of 50–60 pieces. Their weight is 150–170 g. Live weight is 5 kg. Very aggressive, but hardy;
• Kuban. They are a domestic variety. Egg production per year is 80–90 eggs. Eggs weigh about 140 g. Geese weigh 4.5–5 kg;
• Lindovka breed. Egg production rate is 45–50 eggs. Their average weight ranges from 120–140 g;
• Italian. They are distinguished by high meat productivity. Egg production – 50 eggs. Birds weigh 6–7 kg;
• Kholmogorsky. Adults weigh about 8–10 kg. During the year they lay approximately 40 eggs with an average weight of 200 g. They are not aggressive and very calm;
• Emdenskie. They have low egg production. The average weight of a bird is 8–9 kg;
• Toulouse. It is a French species. Geese can weigh 10 kg or more. The birds lay about 40 eggs per year weighing about 200 g. They are distinguished by their inactivity and calm disposition. Well fattened;
• Rhine. This is a German breed that resembles the Emden geese in its characteristics;

It is relatively easy to raise any of these breeds at home. The main thing is to know how to make the right choice. You also need knowledge on how to breed and feed geese so that they produce well.

Selection of young animals

The key to successful raising of goslings at home is the correctly selected young stock. First you need to find out which species are suitable for breeding in a particular region. The young animals themselves must be clean, healthy, and without visible defects in the form of bumps and various types of damage. The goslings must have all the characteristics characteristic of the selected breed.

In addition, when choosing, you need to take into account the purposes for which the bird will be bred. If for the sake of meat, then you should use meat breeds of geese that quickly gain good weight. If for the sake of eggs, then preference should be given to breeds with high egg production.

Breeding options

In terms of raising poultry, there will be no problems with dachas. You can also raise geese at home in a private home. When the decision has been made to breed poultry, it is necessary to decide how this process will be carried out. After all, you can raise them in different ways: with the help of hens or in an incubator.

How exactly to raise a particular breed is determined by each poultry farmer independently.

mother hen

Geese in the country are often raised using brood hens. This method is considered better among goose breeders than the incubator method. But not every breed has a well-developed maternal instinct.

It is necessary to understand that one hen can produce a maximum of 14 chicks. In this method, maintenance and breeding play a very important role.

It is very important to create optimal conditions for breeding. The temperature in the goose barn should be at +14–15 degrees. Geese in the country need to be kept clean, dry and in a well-ventilated area. The nest with the hen should be fenced off from other individuals. A broken egg should be removed immediately. To prevent such a situation, it is necessary that the nest is not overloaded with eggs.

After feeding, the geese should take their places. The water in the hens' drinking bowl should be changed every day during the planting period. In breeds that have a pronounced maternal instinct, hens can raise the chick on their own. To do this, they roll the eggs for uniform heating and perform other actions that have a beneficial effect on the offspring.

This kind of rearing at home allows you to get your first goslings on the 28th day. It is worth noting that reproduction and cultivation of this type is only suitable for those varieties that have a developed maternal instinct.

Incubator

If there are problems with the goose (it does not sit on the eggs), then an incubator is used to produce a brood. It is necessary to understand that domestic geese are much more difficult to hatch in an incubator than with the help of hens. This is due to the fact that the eggs of this type of poultry are large in size and also rich in fat. Therefore, a good result is considered if about 70% of the goslings hatch from the egg laying. Despite this indicator, poultry farming often uses incubators to produce broods.

To breed geese in an incubator, you need to know the following features:

• Egg selection occurs within 10 days. Only healthy specimens of correct shape are taken;
• 3–4 hours before laying, you need to warm up the incubator to +39 degrees;
• Eggs are not washed before laying. Disinfection with a solution of potassium permanganate is allowed;
• after laying, you need to ensure that the temperature is at + 38 degrees for 4–5 hours. Then it is lowered to +37.8, and then to +37.5 degrees;
• Eggs must be turned 6–8 times during the day. This is done to ensure uniform heating and to avoid shells sticking to parts of the incubator;
• after 15 days, the incubator is ventilated for 10 minutes.

These requirements are mandatory in goose farming.

Broilers are often raised this way. Knowing how to properly place eggs in an incubator and monitor them can slightly increase the hatching rate.

Room and walk

Young animals should be released into fresh air during the day in a special pen. At night they are walked in the gooseneck. When the birds are 40 days old, they are walked near a pond. Independent grazing is allowed after gaining 2 kg of live weight.

The best time for walking is early morning. At this time the grass is the most juicy. This type of poultry is characterized by excellent orientation in space. Therefore, after walking, they return home on their own.

The room itself in which birds (chicks, young and adults) are kept must be well ventilated.

Raising goslings from the first days

To ensure that the chicks do not die after hatching, you need to know how to care for them. You also need to know how to maintain them. After all, if certain rules are not followed, death may begin.

After the goslings have hatched, they should be taken from the nest and transferred to a separate box. Newly hatched geese require special care. They need to be heated with a lamp. When all the chicks have hatched, they are returned to the hen. You need to place a few chicks. This is usually done in the evening hours.

Next, you need to know how to properly care for the brood. For the first few days, they should be given the yolk taken from boiled eggs. Also, greens should be present in the diet of goslings. The first two days they are fed 7–8 times during the day. Chicks should always have clean water. However, drinkers should be chosen that will prevent the goslings from choking.

You also need to ensure cleanliness in the place where the chicks are kept. To properly care for goslings, you need to know the characteristics of each breed chosen for breeding.

Geese are kept in special buildings - goose houses or barns. At the same time, you need to know that geese of any breed in a household must be in certain conditions (temperature, temperature, humidity). These parameters are selected based on the requirements of the breed being grown. It is especially important to create the right conditions for chicks and young animals.

For newly hatched goslings, the temperature is set at + 28–30 degrees. Heating pads and lamps should be used if necessary. As the chicks grow, this parameter drops to +24 degrees. Three weeks after hatching, the birds can be transferred to natural conditions.

Adults are distinguished by their endurance, as they have a lot of fat and warm plumage. Thanks to these characteristics, they are able to withstand -15 degrees without problems.

Over time, it is necessary to gradually increase the light regime. It must be more than 14 hours. Therefore, you can’t do without artificial lighting.

During the growth process, proper care of geese at home must be organized. There should always be a clean floor of chaff or straw in the room. Therefore, the poultry house is cleaned every few days. Birds need to spend a lot of time outdoors. It is best for them to be walked near a pond. During the day, while on a walk, geese are able to eat about 2 kg of grass. They especially love clover, wheatgrass, dandelions, etc.

An important point in caring for this type of poultry is proper feeding. In winter, the diet of geese should include grass flour (can be replaced with bran), grain (oats, barley, corn, etc.), and root vegetables (carrots, beets, potatoes). You should know that geese have difficulty digesting fiber. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor this fact when purchasing special feed for this poultry.

Now many people are working on their plots. at home - this is not only a help in preparing meat for your family, but also an excellent profitable business, as it requires relatively low costs. With the first warm days of spring, geese can be transferred to In addition, they are also advantageous because they are not afraid of cold weather, and already grown-up individuals can be kept in a poultry house on permanent bedding, but with mandatory daily walking.

If you decide to start fattening birds, then perhaps the best option for you will still be geese. Breeding, keeping, and caring for them are briefly described in this article.

Benefits

Home breeding of geese in personal gardens ranks second in popularity after chickens. These large birds are characterized by their high precocity. Goslings grow very quickly, and an example of this is the following fact: from a day old to 9 weeks of age, they can increase their live weight by about 40 times. The weight of such a grown bird can be 4 kg or more. As you know, goose meat is famous for its high taste, and the carcass itself consists of 60-65% edible parts.

Birds as a business

Like any other business, raising geese at home will require some amount of initial investment. The purchase cost usually depends not only on the number of heads, but also on their breed. Therefore, it is worth taking this issue more seriously.

The most popular breeds of geese for breeding are Italian, Toulouse, Kholmogory, Kuban, as well as legart and gray. Birds gain body weight fairly quickly and are the most resistant to various diseases. In addition, they have an enlarged liver, which is why they are valued and grown not only in garden plots, but also in industrial conditions. If the emphasis is on high egg production, then the Japanese geese breed is simply ideal. One such female can lay about 50 eggs in a year.

Making goose breeding your business is a good option for people living in rural areas. To start this type of activity, a small start-up capital is enough. It is not necessary to buy many birds at once; one hundred birds will be enough. For them you will need to purchase food, as well as build a room. If you already have a barn, then the initial costs of this business immediately decrease several times. You also need to buy an incubator, which will cost about 10 thousand rubles. When adding up all the costs, taking into account the construction of the premises “from scratch”, you can meet the amount equal to 120 thousand rubles. And in order to sell finished products, you will need to register with the tax office.

Such expenses will need to be made in the first year of work, and in the next year you can start breeding your own chicks. Often farmers begin to breed their own breeds, crossing several varieties of geese. As a rule, such activity improves not only egg production, but also the quality of the meat itself.

In order not to buy goslings, but to get them from your own birds, you need to collect the eggs in advance and make nests for the hens or put them in an incubator for a certain time.

Brief characteristics of the most popular breeds

● Italian. Ideal for growing in climates. Gains weight very quickly. Egg production per year is up to 45-50 eggs.

● Toulouse. This breed of geese is the fattest. It was bred in France and is prized for its large liver, which can weigh up to 1 kg. The weight of a goose is about 10 kg, and that of a gander is 2 kg more.

● Kholmogorskaya. Quite a large bird weighing up to 10 kg. Its distinctive features are the folds under the beak and on the neck, and the goose of this breed is capable of laying up to 40 eggs per year.

● Kuban. It is considered a light variety as the bird weighs only 4.5 to 5.5 kg. However, it is characterized by high egg production - about 70-90 eggs can be obtained from one goose.

● Legart. These geese, which are considered to provide the greatest benefit from breeding and keeping, eat 20% less feed than other breeds. At the same time, they quickly gain weight. So, goslings that are 2 months old weigh up to 6 kg.

● Gray. Has good endurance and a fairly strong physique. Reaches a weight of 8 kg. The egg production of females is about 40 eggs per year.

Necessary equipment

Breeding geese at home will require the purchase of special equipment that will be needed for breeding chicks.

● Incubator. This is the most important device necessary to create the most suitable conditions for eggs.

● Ovoscope. A small device for detecting egg damage. By shining them through, he finds even small cracks in the shell. With the help of this device, breeding eggs are selected for subsequent hatching of chicks.

● Brooder. This is where the hatched goslings are kept. The device warms the young animals in the first days of life.

Hatching chicks

Breeding geese at home is done in two ways. The first of them is the incubator. Most farmers prefer to use this particular device to produce young animals. It allows you to make a large brood of chicks at one time. For the first 14 days of life, goslings are fed cottage cheese mixed with herbs and finely chopped eggs. Later mixed food is added to their diet. After reaching 3 weeks of age, the chicks are fed in the same way as adult birds.

The second method is to breed the young by the goose herself. One hen can produce up to 13 chicks. The withdrawal period lasts about 28 days. Since geese are rather capricious birds, it is not recommended to disturb a hen sitting on her eggs - at any moment she may refuse to hatch them. A quiet, clean, dry and slightly dark place is suitable for the nest.

In addition to plant and grain feeds, the diet of geese may sometimes even contain meat ingredients. But you should also remember some restrictions. For example, in order to avoid reducing the egg production of geese, you should not give them barley and corn in their pure form. Otherwise, the bird quickly gets fat and does not lay eggs well. Egg production can also be significantly reduced due to feeding with meat waste.

Fattening geese at home is somewhat different in summer and winter. In the warm season, the birds' diet should include green mixtures of succulent herbs, as well as various vegetables: beets, carrots, legumes, boiled potatoes. When cold weather sets in, it is better to give preference to mixtures with tubers and root crops, various mixed feeds and oats.

Feeding during laying

To obtain a quality product, it is necessary that the bird’s body is provided with all the necessary set of minerals, because somewhere in February-March, the breeding egg-laying period begins for geese. Therefore, special attention should be paid to feeding them correctly at this particular time. To do this, breeding birds are transferred to a more intensive diet a month before the designated period. It should be noted that the goose will not be able to lay many eggs if it is weakened and exhausted. For complete nutrition, hay, premixes and raw chopped potatoes are added to the feed. In addition, whenever possible, it is also good to use high-quality compound feeds that contain a whole range of useful microelements and minerals necessary for the bird’s body.

At this time of year, in the absence of grazing, special premises are built for the geese. They do not need to be heated, but the construction must be of high quality. Wintering geese at home requires that the house be well insulated and completely free of drafts. For this purpose, a vestibule is built. In addition, the entrance doors are additionally insulated with cotton wool. Planks are usually used on the floor, but dirt flooring will also work. The main thing is that it rises above the ground level by about 25-30 cm.

Caring for geese, although quite simple, requires special attention in some cases. If the bird is kept in a relatively small room, then under no circumstances should the bedding be allowed to be dirty or damp. Not only will this ruin valuable down and feathers, but it can also lead to serious colds. If the litter is dry, then the geese will be able to survive even the most severe frosts. You can use sawdust and large shavings, as well as ordinary straw.

To keep the eggs clean and not trampled by birds, boards should be placed along the walls. Fresh bedding is placed on top of them. With such equipment in the house, the geese will get used to laying eggs in the same place. As for the bedding, it is better to change it in the evening so that clean eggs can be collected the next morning.

Additional lighting

In order for breeding geese at home to be as productive as possible, care must be taken to artificially increase daylight hours. This will have a very beneficial effect on the egg production of geese. For example, if you turn on the lights in the poultry house at 6:00 a.m. every day and turn them off at 8:00 p.m., then the birds will begin to lay eggs not in February or March (if there is natural light), but already in January.

In the warm season, geese are bred and raised in specially equipped enclosures, when it is impossible to walk them on pasture. The fence must have a canopy that protects the birds from the burning sun and cold rain. For them to feel good, the average space area for one goose should be about 8-10 square meters. m.

An aviary with an artificial pond would be an ideal option for birds. Hygienic standards require that the water in them be changed daily. It should be noted that keeping geese at home does not require the construction of a reservoir. Studies have shown that its absence does not in any way affect egg production or growth.

Poultry sales

Breeding and keeping geese at home as a business is an almost waste-free production. Experienced farmers know that they can sell not only eggs and poultry meat, but also fluff. If a goose carcass weighs up to about 8 kg, then its cost can reach 1200-1300 rubles. One bird produces about 600 g of down, and it will also cost about 1200-1300 rubles. What if you make pillows and other products yourself and sell them! In general, it turns out to be a pretty good income.

Geese are very interesting birds that are often found on farms. Before starting breeding, it is necessary to properly organize the place of keeping and walking, and prepare food.

Where to start for a novice goose breeder?

The first thing a person who decides to start breeding geese must do is decide on the breed. These birds are not distinguished by high egg production, but the young quickly gain weight. Geese are kept for tasty meat and feathers.

Here is a table with several breeds of geese and their main characteristics, which will help a beginner make a choice.

Large gray geese– birds of domestic origin. They are often used to fatten foie gras for liver. Gray goose meat has excellent taste. These birds grow well even without a pond. An adult goose weighs 6.5-7 kg, a goose weighs 6-6.5 kg. Egg production - up to 60 eggs per season. Kholmogory is the most popular breed among novice goose breeders. These birds are unpretentious, quickly gain weight, and adapt well to any climate. The main feature of these geese is their calm nature and lack of aggression towards humans. The bird's plumage can be white, piebald or gray. The weight of an adult goose is 9 kg, the female is slightly smaller - 7 kg. The goose produces up to 25-30 large eggs per year. Distinctive features of the breed are a bump above the beak and a large fold below it.

Geese Linda- very beautiful snow-white birds. The direction of productivity is meat. They have a large bump on their forehead. This breed makes up half of the total geese population in Russia. The female produces about 50 large eggs per year. The main feature of the breed is intensive growth and weight gain even after 3 months.

Geese of the Linda breed - photo

Equipment for keeping and walking areas

A thick layer of bedding is laid on the floor (for adult birds - about 50 cm, for young birds - no more than 15 cm), straw is most suitable for this purpose, but many use shavings or sawdust. The floor must be raised above the ground by 15 cm. Here are the basic requirements for the poultry house:

• ceiling height – 2 meters;
• area: for goslings - at the age of 2-3 weeks no more than 10 heads per 1 m2, by the age of 9 weeks - no more than 4 heads per 1 m2, for adult birds - 1-2 heads per 1 m2;
• air temperature - for day-old goslings it should be 30 degrees, by 2 months it gradually decreases to 18 degrees, a comfortable temperature for adults is 12-15 degrees;
• humidity in the poultry house should not exceed 75%;
• be sure to provide for ventilation and windows.

There is another way of keeping them that does not require deep bedding - on a slatted floor. In this case, wooden boards made of slats are knocked down, which are located at a short distance from each other (the birds' legs should not fall into these cracks). To remove droppings, the floors are raised.

Geese, like many other farm birds, need walking. 0.8 m2 of area is enough for one head. The exit to the run from the poultry house should have a door that is closed on cold days. The height of the outdoor area fencing is at least 1.4 meters. On the walk and in the poultry house, drinkers and feeders must be installed, which should be cleaned and washed regularly. Geese must have fresh water.

In summer, geese walk outside almost all day.

If you want to keep birds only in the warm season, you don’t have to install a full-fledged poultry house on the site; it will be enough to build a wooden frame with a canopy. If the geese do not have access to a pond, place a large container of water in the run.

In winter, birds are kept indoors without drafts. Geese tolerate frosty winters well, so additional heating of the house is not required. Birds walk in the paddock, which is previously cleared of snow.

Feeding geese: young and adults

Particular attention should be paid to the preparation of geese diets. The type of feeding will depend on the following factors: age of the bird, gender, time of year, direction of productivity.

Types of feed and feeding rates

Geese eat a large amount of green food (up to 2 kg per head per day), so in the summer it is best to send them to the meadows. If this is not possible, feed the bird plantain, nettles and dandelions. Geese love reeds, cattails and other plants that grow in ponds.

Here list of ingredients that make up the poultry diet, including the average daily rate per head:

• green feed (fresh grass in summer, silage in winter) – up to 2 kg;
• root vegetables (beets, potatoes) and tops – up to 500 g;
• pumpkin, carrots, cabbage – up to 100 g;
• whey and skim milk - only for goslings up to 4 months up to 50 g;
• grain feed – up to 70 g;
• herbal flour – up to 50 g;
• mineral supplements – up to 25 g;
• fish or meat and bone meal (or fish waste) – up to 50 g.

Many farmers use complete combined feeds to feed geese. In this case, the bird is given only dry food and greens. The daily feed requirement for adult birds is about 350 g.

Feeding the goslings

Goslings begin to be fed immediately after they are born. In the first 7 days, the chicks are given food up to 7 times a day. It is best to feed goslings with complete feed, but you can replace it with a mixture of grains (peas, wheat, buckwheat, rolled oats, corn). In this case, include cottage cheese, chopped herbs and boiled finely chopped eggs in your diet.

Potatoes, beets and cake are given to goslings for 3-4 days. The food is well crushed and moistened, shell and chalk are added. Gravel is poured into separate containers.

Diets of laying hens

A month before the start of egg laying, geese begin to be fed more intensively. The diet includes more green food. Be sure to increase the amount of roughage, since grain often causes obesity.

The basis of the laying goose's diet during the breeding period is wheat and oats. Be sure to increase the amount of meadow hay, cake, root vegetables, legumes and animal flour. Females are fed up to 4 times a day: two feedings with wet mash, two with grain. A week before the start of laying, geese are fed vitamin supplements.

Fattening geese for meat

Goslings aged from 3 weeks are fattened in two ways: meadow and intensive. In the first case, the chicks are sent to pastures, where they actively eat fresh grass. One month before slaughter (at 3 months), grain (especially oats) is included in the diet in unlimited quantities. There should always be drinking bowls in the room.

With intensive fattening, goslings are sent to slaughter as early as 2.5 months. The birds are deprived of free range, kept in cages, and fed wheat, oats, barley and corn. If necessary, goslings are force-fed; for this purpose, special balls of hard dough are prepared (the composition includes wheat, corn and barley flour, as well as crushed bran), soaked in water and inserted into the esophagus using a tube twice a day.

Differences between winter and summer feeding

In summer and winter, the diets of adult geese differ slightly. Here main differences:

How do you know if your diet is wrong?

By the behavior of the bird you can understand whether you are feeding them correctly or not. When there is an excess of green food, geese experience diarrhea. In this case, limit the amount of fresh herb. A large amount of dry food leads to the development of cough. If this happens, start feeding the geese wet mash.

Preparing wet mash

Adults do not eat poisonous plants, but there have been cases of poisoning of young animals by nightshade or hemlock. In this case, give the birds plenty of clean water. If there is a digestive disorder at the beginning of the walking season, treat the geese with antibiotics. After some time, the birds will begin to eat aquatic plants without any consequences.

Breeding Features

Geese reach sexual maturity only at 8-9 months, and females are used for breeding for up to 4 years (egg production increases every year). The best representatives of the breed are selected for breeding: all livestock are graded several times, during which individuals with low weight, uncharacteristic coloring and exterior defects are culled. There are 3-4 females per male, and geese are selected for each of them individually.

Females begin laying eggs in winter (February). Starting in December, the daylight hours in the poultry house are increased (for active egg laying it should last 14 hours). It is at this time that it is necessary to provide the geese with nests measuring 40*60*30 cm (one for 2-3 heads). From January the birds begin to be fed intensively.

Some breeds of geese are excellent hens, so eggs are often left in the nest. The female is not disturbed, is well fed and provided with comfortable conditions. If the goose does not hatch the eggs, they are taken away and placed in an incubator. The chicks hatch after 27-28 days.

Selection of eggs for incubation and artificial hatching of goslings

Not all eggs are suitable for placing in an incubator. Here are the basic requirements:

• eggs must be fertilized (checked with an ovoscope);
• the shell is clean, without droppings;
• there should be only one yolk in the egg;
• You cannot use eggs that are irregular in shape, have cracks, or have a large air chamber.

The temperature in the incubator is the most important factor on which the hatchability percentage depends. Optimal readings are 37.5 degrees. High and low temperatures result in weak or nonviable goslings.

The humidity in the room where the incubators are located should be 62-65%. It is very important to ensure good ventilation. After 2 weeks of incubation, the temperature is reduced to 30 degrees for 30 minutes per day.

Raising young animals

Goslings have a peculiarity - they do not need additional heating at the age of 3 weeks. In the first 5 days after birth, in the cages or brooders where the chicks are located, the temperature is maintained at 26-28 degrees, by 10 days it is reduced to 22, and by 20 to 18 degrees.

After the goslings are 3 weeks old, they are released into the paddock (provided that it is not cold or damp outside). Summer chicks can walk outside from birth. If goslings are bred for meat, from 3 weeks they are moved to a separate room and begin to be fed intensively.

Common diseases: treatment and prevention

Geese suffer from contagious and non-contagious diseases. In the first case, there is a high risk of mortality, so it is important to monitor the health of the birds. Here are the diseases that farmers most often encounter:

For many diseases of geese, there is no treatment, so it is very important to follow preventive measures: do not allow the birds to become overcrowded, regularly wash feeders and drinkers, clean the bedding, treat the room with lime.

Breeding geese is a very interesting and profitable activity. Be sure to study the information about keeping and feeding this bird, avoid outbreaks of various diseases, and observe the temperature regime when raising young animals.

Video - Breeding geese at home

Poultry farming is a typical and interesting activity for our latitudes. And the goose is a traditionally Russian bird. These birds have been kept at home for centuries, and they are still bred today. Geese do not bring much trouble, and the benefits of raising them are obvious. How to breed geese at home or at a dacha for beginners - we’ll talk about this in our review.

Features of cultivation

Raising geese at home for beginners it promises the following benefits:

Raising geese at home requires raising a high-quality breeding flock that will be able to reproduce healthy offspring. Sexual maturity occurs at 8-10 months, which is quite late compared to other domestic animals. However, offspring can be obtained from the eggs of a good female for 3-4 years. The breeding herd is formed from strong and healthy individuals. Gusaks are selected so that their weight exceeds the average of the livestock by 10%.

The weight of the goose should be at the average level; it is undesirable if the weight is less. The hereditary and exterior qualities of individuals are also taken into account. When forming a broodstock, remember that there should be three times fewer males than females. Experienced breeders select a pair or several geese for males. A herd of several families can be raised in one place.

If the ganders have a tough temperament when kept and they defend their territory, then they are separated and each is given a small pen. In this case, quarrels do not arise in goose families, and high egg production and fertility reign in the breeding stock. To understand the question of how geese are raised at home, you need decide on the method of breeding them. To get young animals, you can use an incubator; the old traditional method, when the mother goose plays the leading role, is also suitable. We bring to your attention a video about how little goslings are born through an incubator.

Egg culling

If the eggs are selected correctly, the goslings are born after 4 weeks of incubation. For this reason, it is necessary to reject substandard eggs before placing them in an incubator or under a hen. Eggs may look like this:

• Irregularly shaped
• With blood clots that are visible when x-rayed,
• With shell damage, such as a crack,
• Large with one highly mobile yolk or two yolks,
• With an incorrectly located or very large air chamber that can be seen in the light.

It will be easy for beginners to keep geese at home, since they do not need special knowledge and conditions. These birds are resistant to diseases and are unpretentious. Therefore, raising geese in the country or on your own farm is a common thing. The main requirement that feathered pets have when breeding is good bedding, which is constructed from hay, straw or peat. These birds are frost-resistant, since the subcutaneous fat layer warms them well, but the beak and paws are sensitive to cold, so it is necessary to lay bedding in the goose coop.

If you decide to breed several breeds of geese, then it is better to place them separately. Please note that geese spend most of their time in the wild, so it is not advisable to keep them indoors all the time, since they are able to obtain the lion's share of their diet on their own.

Premises: what should it be like?

Breeding birds involves a building that must be clean, dry, and light. In order for each individual to feel comfortable, it needs approximately 1 sq. m. If the room for keeping birds is damp and dark, then this is fraught with frequent colds. This feature should also be taken into account: geese experience evaporation of water from about 10 heads - 2 liters. This indicates that it is necessary to establish good ventilation. The floors of the room are lined with wood or filled with clay; the main condition is dryness, since geese spend the night on the floor.

In winter, the room temperature should be at 0 degrees. The walls and ceiling of the goose barn are insulated with mineral wool; other sealed material is also suitable; in this case, additional insulation is not required. The optimal temperature will be maintained due to the heat coming from the bodies of the birds. Ventilate the room periodically in winter to avoid musty air, which can cause illness. To do this, release the geese into the yard for a short time.

Inventory Features

It is necessary to properly place equipment in the room. This will save space and make cleaning easier. For example, it is better to take a feeder with a high side so that the feed is used sparingly. To do this, you can use troughs made of wood or plywood, dimensions based on 15 cm per goose. To avoid quarrels and crushes put up several feeders. For mineral feed, separate containers 20 cm high from the floor are used; geese eat green feed better from mangers installed in the wall.

Buckets, troughs and other containers serve as drinking bowls. You can also make your own from large pipes that are installed on special baking trays. In winter, to prevent the water from freezing, heated water is added to the drinking bowl. Nests are installed indoors a month before the expected egg laying. The size is as follows: width - 40 cm, length - 60 cm, height - 30 cm.

Feeding geese

Successful raising of geese at home depends on the quality of feeding. If the walking area is large enough, then they will not go hungry. These birds are herbivores; one goose is capable of pluck about 2 kg of grass. Particularly preferred are clover, dandelion, wheatgrass, and alfalfa, which grow in abundance in any area. Cereal greens are also used, but geese love them more until they bloom.

Breeding in winter differs in that the green diet is replaced with hay, bran or grass meal. Of course, you won’t be satisfied with grass alone and it cannot satisfy all the needs of the goose. A complete diet consists of grain; birds prefer oats, wheat, barley, rye and corn. They also love root vegetables, such as potatoes, carrots, and beets. The stomach of geese is able to cope with fiber, while for other birds living at home, this is a difficult-to-digest product.

Due to the fact that feeds containing a significant amount of fiber are cheaper than others, keeping geese is economically profitable. The benefit is that geese use the energy of the food they eat better than other birds living at home. Chickens use energy from feed by 65%, geese by 70-80%. Therefore, goslings grow quickly and without problems. Please note that geese also eat at night, so they need to place feeders with food at night.

In general, there are no problems with feeding geese, especially in the summer, when geese return home from “free bread” only in the evening. Many bird breeders at home release their pets onto the plots after harvesting, as they clean the garden well, eating the remains of root vegetables and greens. The video for beginners shows in detail how geese live at home and what they eat.

Care

The goose is one of those birds that can feed themselves and provide minimal living conditions. That's why they readily bred at home. However, they still need some care.

If you properly care for geese, even in small areas you can raise an excellent flock. In order for the bird to gain weight well, don't skimp on food, you also need to monitor the conditions of detention. In this case, by the slaughter season you will receive a generous reward consisting of tasty meat, fatty liver and fluff.