Homestead Duck and Goose Production
(Page 9 of 10)
FEEDING OF GEESE
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As has already been stated, grass is the main feed of geese
until they reach the fattening stage. After they have been
fed the mash ration described under "Day-old Goslings" for
the first two to three weeks, goslings will require little
in addition to grass. However, if geese are to be raised in
confinement and grass is not available, then a ration made
of two parts shorts and one part cornmeal or ground oats
may be fed. After six weeks they may be fed a wet mash made
up of equal parts of shorts, cornmeal or ground oats, with
an addition of five percent meat scraps. Whole grains may
be substituted for these mash feeds when the goslings have
completely feathered out. But this method of producing
geese is far more expensive than those that are permitted
to have access to grass.
Breeding geese should be fed during the winter when pasture
is no longer available, but care must be exercised so that
the breeders do not become too fat. When egg laying starts
they should be fed a mash made up as follows
3 parts bran or shorts
1 part cornmeal
1/2 part meat scraps
This mash is usually fed in the morning and both males and
females are fed. In addition, greens should be made
available and grit and oystershell are kept before the
breeding flock at all times.
Geese usually run on pasture until about six weeks before
the desired time of butchering when they are penned up and
fed a fattening ration of one-third shorts and two-thirds
cornmeal in the mornings, and a second ration made of equal
parts of corn and oats, or corn and barley, or oats and
barley. The morning feed is fed as a wet mash, the
remaining two feeds (noon and night) being fed dry. In
additon to these concentrates, some roughage or vegetable
greens are provided and geese fed in this manner will gain
from five to seven pounds during the six-week fattening
period.
THE FINISHED PRODUCT
All geese that are not to be maintained for breeding stock
should be butchered at their prime . . . usually at the
conclusion of the six-week fattening interval. Having been
fattened as described above they should be in excellent
condition and will carry considerable flesh. As with ducks
they keep in a deep-freeze unit at zero degrees Fahrenheit
for from nine to ten months without any appreciable loss in
quality. Feeding them beyond this prime period is a waste
of good feed. Those that are kept for breeders may be fed a
much lighter ration and are cut off from grain entirely as
soon as grass comes green in the spring.
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