Geese are the most unpretentious of all types of poultry. In addition, goose meat is healing, almost cholesterol-free. Fat is also medicinal, in folk medicine it is used to treat various pulmonary diseases. Breeding geese is not difficult at all, for this you need to follow some simple rules.
For the tribe, you need to select a pair in which the gander and the goose are from different families. For a gander designed for these purposes, be sure to count the flight feathers of the first and then second order on the wings. There should be ten of them. Then count the tail feathers: top and bottom. A good male also has ten. And also note: a good gander's legs are widely spaced and when walking "look" not inward, but in different directions, the gait is light, the wings are powerful. A bird with a crooked tail should not be taken to the tribe.
How old should the breeding bird be? Usually taken from four to five months. But keep in mind that very young geese produce unfertilized eggs. Therefore, it is better not to plant a goose on the nest until one and a half to two years. In general, the older the better. A good, proven pair can be used in the plant up to 8-12 years of age. Geese, in order to rush well, must be kept separate from other animals and try to give them more space (no more than two birds per 1 square meter). Since geese are very fond of freedom, they must be released for walking, then there will be more fertilized eggs. These birds can tolerate frosts up to 25 degrees.
Geese that have begun to lay eggs need to arrange nests in the shed, which are better to block off so that they sit quietly and do not fight. The nests are lined with straw and stalks of nettles - geese are very fond of its smell. You can add linden blossom, which is thrown away after two weeks and replaced with a new one. Usually 9 to 15 eggs are placed in the nest, which should be placed as close to each other as possible.
To increase the hatching of goslings, eggs are laid no later than 10 days after they are laid, best of all in the evening. As a rule, the goose incubates for four weeks, sometimes up to 32 days. But already on the 26th day it is necessary to check if the gosling has hatched. During incubation, the bird is fed with oats or barley soaked in water, the water is often changed. The food prepared in advance is served in the yard, in the fresh air. At this time, you should inspect and clean the nests, as geese love cleanliness and get sick from dirt and stale air.
Two weeks after the start of incubation, they usually revise the eggs for sunlight and leave only those that are light above, and completely dark below. In general, it is very important to strive to get early brood goslings, as they are stronger and less prone to disease.
