Goose meat is a dietary product that enjoys constant popularity among consumers. The same goes for the liver of these waterfowl.
If desired, geese can, of course, be grown in their own suburban area. Caring for this bird is a relatively simple procedure. Household livestock of this variety is unpretentious. However, the owner of the compound, who decided to have such birds, should know how to feed the geese correctly. The diet for poultry of this species should be developed carefully.
Types of Feeding
Of course, the menu of geese, like any other poultry, in the first place should be as diverse as possible. Such birds are grown on the compound using the following types of feed:
- dry concentrates;
- green meadow grass and duckweed;
- vegetables;
- dairy products;
- fish and meat waste.
There are only three types of feeding such a bird:
Owners of private household plots in most cases use the second feeding scheme for geese. When using this technology at relatively low cost, it is possible to achieve fairly high rates of weight gain. Dry and combined methods are usually used only in large poultry farms specializing in the cultivation of waterfowl.
Digestion Goose Features
The neck of these birds, in comparison with another domestic bird, is known to be very long. Such waterfowl therefore cannot eat dry food in large quantities at a time. In this case, the esophagus may even clog the bird, which will cause its death.
Geese usually eat as follows:
- stuff a portion of food in the throat (in the goiter);
- they push it with water or something edible, but very moist, into the stomach;
- stuff the throat with another portion.
Grass or vegetables in the esophagus of the geese do not get stuck. Each previous portion is simply pushed by the next. With dry food, the situation is slightly different. His geese need to drink water.
When using a wet feeding scheme, problems with the esophagus in such birds usually never occur. In this case, the answer to the question of what is better to feed the geese is a mixture of grain with chopped vegetables. Such food is obtained quite moist and is readily eaten by the bird.
What concentration should the mixture have?
To test the suitability of the goose feeding mash, farmyard owners typically:
- take a handful of the mixture in the palm of your hand;
- squeeze her tightly.
If after this the feed remains friable, it means that it is quite suitable for the bird. Exactly such mixers are the best answer to the question of how to feed geese at home. Food intended for such waterfowl should also be non-viscous. Otherwise, the geese will be blocked noses.
How do mixers
Wet mixtures are made using such a feeding scheme using the following products:
- cereals - in an amount of at least 70 g per head;
- carrots - 100 g;
- hay dust - 150 g;
- beets or potatoes - 500 g;
- mineral additives - 25 g.
In any case, saving on cereals for geese is not worth it. In the presence of such food in a sufficiently large amount, the bird gains weight much faster. Some owners of farmsteads advise to give thoroughbred meat geese to give concentrates in the amount of 180-200 g per head per day.
At the same time, it is recommended to take oats as the basis of grain mixtures. About 60% of the total amount of concentrate used is usually added to the mixers. The remaining ingredients in the mixture are added:
- wheat - 20%;
- barley - 10%;
- corn - 10%.
Many farm owners are interested, of course, in how to feed geese before laying them down. Products containing too much protein are not recommended for the bird during this period. Otherwise, the geese will gobble up and will not lay eggs. In February - March, such waterfowl are usually added to mixers not with a mixture of cereals, but with oats alone.
Owners of farmsteads who are interested in how to feed geese before laying eggs should also consider offering foods high in calcium to the bird. It can be, for example, bone meal.
Fish and meat waste
Such ingredients are also often mixed with geese when using a wet circuit. In this case, the answer to the question of how to feed the geese can be, for example, such products:
- small, chopped junk fish;
- meat and bone mince;
- chopped fish remnants, etc.
If desired, goose blenders themselves can also be prepared using a small amount of fish or meat broth. In order to give the desired consistency to the feed, bran is usually additionally added in this case. Hookahs on broths is a good answer, including the question of how to feed geese in the winter at home. Such food at this time of year will be very suitable for them.
In addition to proteins and vitamins, geese, of course, should receive with the feed and enough minerals for their body. Therefore, a little chalk is usually added to the mixers. You can also add special vitamin-mineral purchased supplements to this bird's feed.
Sometimes, among other things, earthworms, mollusks, etc. are added to goose blenders. In addition, a little pebble and river sand are usually added to the feeders before laying the wet mixture. This is necessary for good digestion of food in the body of the bird.
Number of feedings
When using a wet circuit, geese are usually given three times a knock. For the first time, mixers are placed in the feeders early in the morning. The second time the bird is fed for lunch and the third in the evening.
The combined technique of growing geese is considered quite economical. However, in this case, the owners of the farmsteads have to carefully calculate the amount of food offered to the bird. Sour wet mixes in the feeders, of course, should not. At the same time, it is also impossible to leave geese hungry.
The readiness of the mash when feeding geese is determined as follows:
- take a handful of the mixture;
- squeeze it strongly in the palm of your hand;
- spread the food in a container.
If after this the mixture crumbles, then it is suitable for use.
In summer, the number of feedings of geese is allowed to be reduced to two. At this time of the year, the bird is usually released to graze near the house on the grass. This significantly reduces feed costs. If there is no suitable grazing near the house, the owners of the farmsteads mow the grass separately for the geese and simply throw it in a heap in the range. At the end of the meal, the remaining greens are removed. In summer, cut grass, of course, can also be simply added to geese in the mash.
What you should know about
Such birds, as already mentioned, are very fond of. Greens, of course, is the best answer to the question of how to feed geese in the summer. If desired, such a bird in the warm period can be released both on dry pasture and in areas with lush green grass. Owners of household plots usually do not have any problems with adults when they are kept on pasture .
However, the little goslings on grazing, unfortunately, sometimes I can eat some grass harmful to them, for example, nightshade or hemlock. In this case, the affected chick should definitely do a gastric lavage. Sometimes digestive disorders occur in the young of this poultry, which has access to a natural reservoir. The cause of malaise is usually eating too much shells.
How to feed geese at home: healthy foods
In addition to vegetables, herbs, and concentrates, when using a wet feeding scheme, backyard owners often add to the goose blenders:
- cake;
- bone or fish meal;
- boiled bean;
- berries (usually mountain ash or hawthorn).
Such products are also just a great answer to the question of how to feed geese. In winter, instead of grass, these waterfowl usually offer pre-shredded spruce or pine green needles.
Well, of course, the geese are also given compound feed.
How to feed geese: feed
Such food for this bird is also used quite often. Combined feeds, like cereals, belong to the group of concentrates. Of course, owners of suburban areas should choose such mixtures designed specifically for geese. On sale today there are three main varieties of such food:
- nulevka intended for very small goslings;
- compound feed for older poultry;
- mixes for adults.
Compound feeds are, among other things, a good answer to the question of how to feed geese in the winter at home. They, like grain, at this time of the year you can replace part of the succulent feed. Receiving food rich in proteins, geese, like any other living creatures, are much easier to tolerate cold.
What is the composition of feed
Most often, cereals are added to the mixers of such a poultry as concentrates. Compound feeds for this purpose are rarely used by owners of farmsteads in their pure form. The fact is that such food for geese is quite expensive. Compound feed is usually added to the mixers in very small quantities, at the same time as cereals. The composition of such mixtures intended for geese may have, for example, such:
- corn - 13%;
- wheat - 15%;
- barley - 40%;
- bran - 9%;
- meal - 3.5%;
- fodder yeast - 2%;
- fish, grass, bone meal - 15%;
- chalk - 1%;
- salt - 0.5%;
- premix - 1%.
Diet of little chicks
Thus, we found out how to feed domestic geese of adults. But what should be the diet of young animals? Owners of homestead farms usually do not feed newly hatched goslings during the first 10 hours. During this period, the chicks do not yet need additional nutrients and simply will not eat the food they offer.
After 10-15 hours after hatching, babies are usually offered a chopped boiled egg. Cut this product as small as possible. An egg for feeding very small chicks is allowed to use both goose and chicken (preferably not in store).
Starting from 4 days after hatching, the little chopped green grass is gradually added to the chopped egg. In a subsequent dose of such food is gradually increased. It is impossible to drastically change the composition of food offered to goslings. As a green food for chicks, dandelion or clover, for example, are excellent.
Goslings are usually offered in wide containers with low sides. Just ideal for feeding such chicks, for example, a lid from an old 2-3 liter pan is suitable.
At the age of 6 months, if the weather is good on the street, goslings can be taken out for grazing for the first time. To do this, cut the bottom in a cardboard box. Next, install this container in the area with short juicy grass and place the chicks in it. Goslings are very fond of greens. And most likely, without any action on the part of the owners of the compound, they immediately after they move away from the first fear will begin to pluck grass on their own.
Starting from about 2 weeks, feed gulls are usually introduced into the diet of goslings. The amount of such food on the kids' menu is also increasing gradually. At about 1.5 months, crushed grains can already be added to the goslings. By 2 months, this product is usually completely replaced with compound feed. At the age of 2.5-3 months, young animals can begin to be fed with whole grains.
Water
So, what to feed the geese in winter or summer, and how many times a day you need to do this, we found out. Meals are given three times a day using a wet feeding schedule. The water of these birds, both adults and small ones, should always be freely available. Drinks are usually poured into a big bird in automobile tires cut in half.
For small goslings, drinkers are made from plastic bottles. At first, chicks are given only boiled water. Learn to drink goslings approximately as follows:
- lead to a drinker of several kids;
- poke their spouts into the water.
Usually the goslings chosen for training quickly understand what is required of them, and begin to drink. After them, after a while, the rest of the kids are pulled. The herd instinct in geese, like many other birds, is very well developed.
At first, vitamins are often added to the water to reduce lunge and better development. This may be, for example, the drug "Revit". This supplement is used within 4 days after hatching the babies. At the same time, one dragee of this vitamin is diluted in 1 liter of water. On the 5th day, vitamins can no longer be given to chicks. For 5 days, goslings are allowed to offer raw, not boiled water.