How to raise goslings at home?

Growing goslings at home is considered a profitable business. Adult birds are used for two purposes - for meat or for obtaining eggs. Chicks reach maturity in 4-6 months. From the first days, proper care is needed for them in order for the majority to survive. Novice poultry breeders need to remember the rules and recommendations that will help take good care of the goslings. If you follow them, babies will grow up healthy, and they can be used for their purpose.

Care in the early days

Chicks hatch from an egg at about 28-30 days. Not everyone can hatch, and sometimes human help is required in removing the bird from the shell. Healthy individuals need good care so that they do not get sick and do not die. Therefore, raising goslings from day one must be correct.

Newly appeared babies should be divided into weak and strong, and then transferred to a warm place. The temperature should be around + 30 ° C. If there is a hen, then take the strong chicks to her after 3 days, and leave the weak for a couple more days so that they get stronger.

Keep newborns away from adults. The first ten days, ten heads should fall on one square meter of the corral. Three weeks later, increase the territory, now by 1 sq. meter to settle no more than 3-4 chicks. When the birds are crowded, it is uncomfortable for them to eat and drink, the drinking bowl quickly becomes dirty, which causes the young to get sick. If you do not enlarge the aviary, death is possible

The question of how to care for goslings at home worries many novice poultry breeders. Immediately after birth, let the young grow dry, and after a day try to feed. The first feed will be corn grits and a boiled egg. You can give fresh grass and crushed grains that have undergone heat treatment already for 3 days. Food should be crumbly, the glued version is unacceptable.

It is necessary to ensure that all birds eat. Individuals who refuse food should be fed in a separate box.

Babies need water. They can not only drink it, but also swim in it practically from the first days. However, it is undesirable for them to splash in the liquid now. Therefore, it is better to install a vacuum drinker that they will not overturn.

Start taking the kids for a walk when they get a little stronger, they will stand well on their paws and actively move. This will happen in about a week. It will be useful for them to spend 20-30 minutes in the meadow, where they can eat grass and breathe fresh air. A portable aviary will be a good help for a small livestock. Chicks actively peck on grass, because it is their main diet. If it is not possible to release the bird into the pond, install wide containers. In hot weather, the geese will swim, which will greatly facilitate their maintenance.

If the content of the goslings is at a decent level, then the chicks will gain weight in about 60 days. Two months after birth, they already weigh 3 kg or more. At the age of three months, the bird can be cut. At this time, there is very little fat, and the meat is tender and juicy. The geese will finally become adult 5 months after hatching.

Proper nutrition for goslings

Growing goslings at home will be successful if you feed them correctly. It is recommended to give feed mixtures for the first few days after birth.

They should include:

• cottage cheese;
• bran;
• eggs;
• crushed peas;
• oat groats.

Stir in moist green food, as well as potatoes and pumpkin. After three weeks, offer the chicks food waste.

In order for the birds to grow up healthy, it is imperative to add vitamins A, D, E, B. Please note that some feeds already contain them. To strengthen the immune system, dilute a few grams of biomycin and penicillin in a glass of milk, adding a little sugar. In this form, give antibiotics to chicks.

Do not forget about compulsory walking. Fresh green grass is an excellent source of vitamins. If it is not possible to send the kids to the meadow, then independently tear the grass and throw it into the aviary. Then the question of how to raise goslings healthy and strong at home will be simplified.

Where and how to contain?

Choose a special place for growing goslings at home. Prepare a separate, well-heated room. Keep the temperature at least 30 ° C for the first week. With age, this will no longer be so important, but for now, the babies should be warm. On the 6th day of life, reduce the temperature to 24 ° C, and on the 11th day to 20 ° C. Do not overheat the grown chicks, otherwise their development will slow down. As for humidity, its limit is 75%. In this case, good ventilation is required. Provide an inflow of fresh air, ventilate the room several times a day.

Do not turn off the lighting for 14 hours a day. In the light, chicks eat more and grow faster. If there is no light at night, it will be difficult for them to find their bowls to refresh themselves.

Information on growing goslings at home for beginners will be useful. The above tips and tricks will help you avoid mistakes. Although proper care of chicks is a painstaking business, it will help to grow healthy young animals.

Daily goslings - video

Just a hundred years ago, geese were bred in almost every yard. However, with the arrival of cheap imported products on the domestic market, farmers have forgotten about these waterfowl. Now goose breeding is again returning to its former popularity, but not many people know about proper bird care. And the first step is to learn about growing goslings at home.

Care features

Geese are an excellent choice of poultry for both seasoned farmers and beginners alike. Adults are unpretentious in keeping and adapt well to any conditions. The same cannot be said about the chicks. However, geese breeding begins precisely with the acquisition of young animals. You can buy goslings from local farmers or at the fair, but it will also be easy to breed them yourself under a hen or in a regular incubator. The main rule is to create the right comfortable conditions for them in the first days of life, when the goslings are most susceptible to the environment.

The acquired chicks are provided with the conditions necessary for their age. This includes the temperature of the containment room, the amount of light, and proper feeding. The day-old goslings hatched in the incubator are placed in a special brooder, where the necessary regime is also observed. After a few days, they can be transplanted into a larger cage or box. If there are weak individuals, they are left in the brooder until they are fully recovered.

Premises

It is necessary to keep the goslings in a warm, dry place on a dense bedding of about 3-5 cm. It is best to use hay or soft straw. Good ventilation is essential. Before settling in chicks, the room is thoroughly cleaned, washed with soda solution or bleach. If a bird has already been kept in the intended place, it is imperative to disinfect it. Before the direct placement of young stock, the poultry house warms up to 20-25 degrees.

Temperature and light conditions

The room for keeping goslings must be clean, dry and warm. Temperature is the most important rule in caring for young chicks. The temperature should be observed strictly and according to the schedule:

• 1-3 days - at least 28 degrees, the norm is 30 ° C;
• 4-5 - fluctuations of 28-25 degrees are permissible;
• 6-7 days - 25-23;
• 8-10 - not lower than 22 degrees;
• 11-15 – 22-20;
• 16-20 - not lower than 18 degrees.

Immediately after hatching, the chicks are placed in a warm room for up to 10-30 days, depending on the season and the presence of a brood hen. For day-old babies, the stocking density should not exceed 10 heads per 1 sq. meter. From 10 to 30 days - 7 heads per 1 sq. meter. A dense soft litter must be spread on the floor. With a brood hen, the temperature regime is not so critical, therefore, the indicators can be reduced by 3-5 degrees, depending on the season.

A lamp is used as a heat source. Desirable 200-300 W, around which a tin circle with a diameter of 60 cm is made to distribute heat evenly. To keep the goslings from getting too hot, you need to adjust the height of the lamp. But the lamp in the first week of the chicks' life should burn around the clock, only with less intensity at night. By about two weeks, daylight hours are reduced to 15 hours, and by two months - to 7-8 hours.

Proper care of chicks necessarily includes feeding rules. For more information about all the nuances of the goslings' diet, read our previous publication. To learn more about how to raise geese in backyard plots, we suggest from the video of the slava ov channel.

Grazing chicks

The main food for geese is greens, most of which they get themselves during grazing and walking. Therefore, from a certain age, chicks should be taught to green food and walking. If the goslings are kept with a brood hen, you can start walking at the age of one week for 20 minutes a day. Goslings without a brood from the 10th day in warm and sunny weather can be released on the grass in a special enclosure. From about three weeks, walking should be constant.

In the practice of growing poultry for meat, the technology of "closed" keeping is often used - on a fenced area. In this case, the bulk of the green forage the geese get ready-made in a beveled form or in a crushed state in a mash.

Important rules for walking:

1. Shade is a must on hot sunny days. It can be an artificial canopy or shade from a tree or shrubs.
2. It is advisable that the grass in the pasture is not higher than 10 cm.
3. Geese need a reservoir. If it is not possible to release it into a natural reservoir, you need to equip it yourself. For example, make an artificial pond or install a bath in the pen.
4. Goslings can be accustomed to a reservoir from a month of age after changing their feathers. At this age, they are also transferred to an adult diet.

Growing under a hen

Many novice poultry farmers have a lot of questions about breeding under a brood hen. Geese are good mothers and can raise up to 20 chicks without any problems. However, with young females, it is advisable to leave no more than 10 pupils. There are frequent cases when turkeys and chickens played the role of hens. The best time to plant goose eggs is from late March to early April. During this period, their natural incubation instinct is clearly manifested.

Chicks hatch on day 28. At this time, you need to closely monitor the hatching, help the gosling to peck the shell. So that the goose does not accidentally crush the babies, they must be immediately taken away from it and placed in a warmer, dry room for 2-3 days. After the chicks have adapted a little, they can be returned to the brood hen.

Experts advise to plant the chicks to the hen either in the afternoon or in the late afternoon and carefully monitor the reaction of the female. As a rule, they accept babies well, even incubated ones. At the time of raising, the mother with the goslings is placed in a separate poultry house or pen, where a closed drinking bowl and a convenient feeder are installed.From about a week old, babies can be released for a walk.

When growing goslings with a brooding mother, additional heating is not required, only a clean, dry and warm room.

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Video "Home Goose Farm"

It may seem to many that caring for geese is difficult. Is this really so, we propose to find out from the Arkhangelsk region (Channel Branch VGTRK GTRK "Bashkortostan").

Geese have long become the favorites of many homeowners and farmers. Unpretentious, rapidly gaining weight, the bird perfectly tolerates both heat and cold, meat has excellent taste, it is always in demand as excellent fillers and goose down and feathers. But those who decide to start breeding geese for the first time should remember that ease of growing comes with experience.

One of the main problems with poultry is nursing at the initial stage, in the very first days of life.

Goslings up to one month of age are susceptible to many diseases, require a special feeding ration, violations in the technology of keeping and feeding lead not only to diseases, but also to the death of the livestock.

Content

Barely hatched goslings need light and warmth. Drafts and stale, damp litter cause many diseases, death, so it is necessary to take care of preparing the premises for young animals in advance. In the early days, goslings should be kept in specially equipped brooders, boxes or fences, isolated from the rest of the herd, maintaining the required temperature. The conditions for chicks bred in an incubator, under a hen, purchased from markets or farms are different.

One of the main rules: you should not buy poultry from random people, in bazaars or street markets, where there is a high risk of acquiring culled, weak specimens, sick goslings, which, if they survive, will not be able to justify the funds invested in their cultivation. Vaccination, which is mandatory in large farms, is also questionable.

Hatching chicks

As a rule, the chick begins to hatch from the egg after 28 days. Some cope with the task on their own, getting out of the shell without someone else's help. Those who cannot be “born” for several hours require human help. To do this, you should very carefully break the shell with tweezers so that the chick can spread its legs and stretch out to its full height.

1. The goslings are transferred to a room equipped for them under the lamps so that they dry out.
2. The first feeding is after 2-3 hours, when they are dry and begin to move carefully. It is best to give them crushed boiled eggs in the early days.
3. Drinking bowls should always contain boiled warm water; it is recommended to add potassium permanganate to it in order to disinfect.
4. It is good if there is an opportunity to install bathing tanks - goslings are very fond of "baths".
5. Fill the drinking bowls to a height of no more than 1 cm so that the goslings are not "bought": they are subject to this danger at the initial stage, like chickens.

It is necessary to immediately separate from each other well-developed, mobile, large goslings and their weaker companions, who eat poorly, hardly move, prefer to doze. Probably, they will need enhanced nutrition and additional introduction of vitamins into the feed. Children with signs of illness should also be kept separately, the treatment of which should be started immediately.

Grazing

Goslings should be released from the incubator for walks on warm sunny days from the second week of life. The duration of the first walks - no more than 30 minutes... After two or three days, the walks are gradually extended to 2 hours, by the age of one month - up to 4-6. It is imperative to take care of the safety of grazing, the absence of dangerous plants on it, places from which predators can attack. Goslings are defenseless, even cats pose a threat to them, so you should take care of fencing the place where the babies are released, even covering them with a strong net.

Do not leave the bird unattended: babies are very curious, they love to look for opportunities to escape, they often get stuck in the cracks of fences and mesh cells, gasping for breath.

After the goslings are 1 month old, they can be transferred to free pasture maintenance, that is, they can be released into the meadow for the whole day.

Goslings from under the hen

Goslings reared by a brood hen require almost no human care. If necessary, the mother will take care of timely assistance, warm the chicks, show what and how it is.

1. Already on the 3rd day, the goose brings offspring to the pasture, carefully guarding it from any danger.
2. At this time, it is worth paying attention to the weakened goslings, which are best isolated from the rest, ensuring proper feeding and treatment.
3. Often the leader of the pack comes to the aid of the goose, and the adults do not show aggression towards the kids.

Goslings desperately need fresh air, clean water and sufficient feed for normal growth and development. Rain, wind, dampness lead to colds, infections. You should not take the young for walks at this time, it will be safer for them indoors. If a goose takes care of the offspring, she will shelter them from bad weather, not relying on people.

Premises

One of the causes of illness and death of young animals is the crowding of goslings in crowded conditions. The requirements for the pen, where the geese grow up, are quite strict.

1. Up to 1 month, no more than 10 goslings can be freely placed on 1 square meter.
2. From 30 to 60 days - no more than 4.
3. After 2 months, 1 pair of birds is placed for each square meter.
4. The room should protect young birds from drafts and cold.
5. A reliable canopy is needed to protect against rain.
6. The floor is always warm, does not accumulate dampness, with a bedding.
7. Ventilation slots for fresh air is another prerequisite

The bedding of straw or sawdust should be changed at least once every 2 days, avoiding the accumulation of moisture and waste.

Temperature and light conditions

For goslings in the first days of life, temperature is very important, they do not tolerate fluctuations, therefore it is recommended to maintain:

• from 1 to 6 days - not lower than 28 degrees;
• from 6 to 14 days - 24 - 26 degrees;
• from 14 to 25 days - not less than 18.

Daylight hours should also be at least 14 hours, although many owners prefer to maintain lighting for 24 hours during the first week of goslings' life.

If the young grow up with a goose, everything is much simpler: the mother will warm the goslings and shelter them from the rain. Therefore, the hen is always preferable to keeping separately from the mother.

Nutrition

1. The first feeding should be done 2 hours after birth. Chopped boiled egg, slightly diluted with boiled water, with the addition of semolina - from 1 to 4 days, 6-8 feedings daily.
2. Then, up to 10 days - an egg, cottage cheese, herbs (preferably chopped onions), feed 7 times.
3. From day 10, you can begin to introduce crushed grain, wet mash of bran, cereals, herbs (at least 15 percent of the total amount of food). At this time, goslings begin to eat porridge (millet, corn, millet), legumes, boiled potatoes with appetite.
4. From 16 days, raw chopped root vegetables are introduced into the diet: beets, carrots, rutabagas, potatoes and others.
5. From 1 month old, goslings are taken out to grazing, where they gladly absorb both greens and living creatures from reservoirs, if they are nearby.
6. From day 1 to day 10, each gosling should eat about 80 grams of food per day: 50 - compound feed, crushed grain, cereals, 30 - greens.
7. From 11 to 22 - 50 gr. cereals, 110 - greens.
8. From 21 to 30 - 100 gr. cereals, 200 - greens.
9. From one month of age - 200 gr. cereals, 300 - greens.

From 3 weeks it is good to introduce hay dust, mineral feed, cake, boiled fish, milk and cottage cheese for feeding.

Drinking bowls for goslings should always have clean warm water, into which vitamins are dripped; in the first days of life, instead of water, they give a pinkish solution of manganese to avoid infections.

Disease prevention

Goslings easily pick up all kinds of infections, many of which are fatal to the entire herd.

1. It is imperative to vaccinate a bird in the first hours of life, this will help to overcome most of the diseases.
2. Babies are kept separately from adult birds.
3. Any weakened baby is isolated immediately, as this can be the first warning sign of trouble.
4. Once a week, disinfect the room, thoroughly process the feeders and drinkers every day.

Compliance with heat and light regimes, correct feeding ration, timely vaccination and vitamin supplements will help make pets stronger and increase their resistance.

In most cases, the occurrence

hemophilia in chickens

ends in the death of most of the individuals.

How profitable is it to raise geese for meat at home? We talked about this in our article.

What if the hen cannot lay an egg? Find helpful tips here.

How is growing under a hen

If the farm has a hen goose, the owners are very lucky.

1. The goose takes care of the eggs by controlling the temperature, turning them in a timely manner, checking the viability of the embryo and removing “defective” eggs.
2. It helps with pecking, freeing the chicks from the shell.
3. From the first minutes of life, babies are under her careful control: feeding, heating, walking, protection.
4. At this time, the owners only need to ensure the peace of the mother and, along with the food for her, give food to the babies (eggs, cereals, mash). Pour feed into separate feeders.
5. When the goslings are strong enough, the goose takes them out for the first walk, choosing the safest places. She is very aggressive towards anyone who, from her point of view, is a threat. Both in the meadow and in the reservoir, the goslings obediently fulfill all its requirements, learn to find grains, tasty grass, catch small insects, fish.

At the age of 1.5–2 months, the goslings become practically independent, but they still try not to move far from the goose. Together with the adults, they go to the pasture and come back in the evening, get used to the usual routine, do not fly away, "standing on the wing", which greatly facilitates the work of poultry farmers

Subject to the rules of care and maintenance, the owners of household farms almost never lose when raising geese. Young animals give excellent weight gain, feeding mainly on greens, receiving compound feed only during morning and evening feeding, if there is good grazing. So no poultry farmer was disappointed to see how a fluffy yellow lump in 6-8 months turns into a magnificent white bird weighing up to 15 kg.

Along with chickens, which are brought up not only by rural residents, but also by ordinary summer residents, geese are also very popular as poultry. These birds easily adapt to various conditions of detention, are resistant to diseases and at the same time are very smart, and, most importantly, are quite unpretentious. Even beginners can cope with raising geese at home. At the same time, keeping geese is very beneficial and is an excellent help for the family budget.

Growing geese at home

Why geese are good

No matter how trite it may sound, the goose is a useful bird. This is one of the first feathered creatures that humans have tamed. Since that time, geese serve people regularly. Legends, myths, interesting tales and exciting stories are associated with these birds. The most famous one is about how the geese saved Rome, laughing in time and thus warning the Roman soldiers about the invasion of the enemy.

Geese are unpretentious birds in keeping. If you provide them with a roof over their heads in the form of a barn, and on a sunny day you take them out to the pasture and give them the opportunity to swim in a pond, then they will repay you a hundredfold. As a result, you will receive:

• meat with excellent taste;
• goose liver, which is very useful and highly valued;
• nutritious and tasty eggs;
• soft fluff, which is useful in everyday life.

By the way, earlier people used goose feathers in everyday life - they were used as a means for writing. Geese feathers can now be used to create crafts and decorations.

The photo shows goose down, which can be realized or used in everyday life.

Which breed to choose

Thanks to the work of breeders of geese breeds, there are nowadays quite a lot - about 25. Birds differ in appearance, size, maintenance requirements, growing conditions, egg production and other characteristics. And newcomers to the poultry world often wonder which breed to choose.

Choosing a goose breed is one of the most important tasks.

Goose breeds are divided into three main categories:

• Heavy, in other words, meat breeds. Geese of these breeds give more meat than others, and it is advisable to grow them for food. Representatives of this category are large, rarely used in industrial poultry farming, since some breeds of birds are difficult to acquire, and besides, they are far from cheap. Heavy geese are distinguished by low egg production compared to representatives of other categories, which means they are difficult to breed.
• Medium heavy Most of the breeds are decorative and are designed to give a personal plot of a kind of rural charm. Such birds are quite expensive.
• Lungs - small birds that lay eggs well, and therefore are easy to breed. Widespread in industrial poultry farming. They eat a lot, but the masses do not gorge themselves.

The table below shows the main breeds of geese that are most often raised at home.

Table 1. The main breeds of geese for growing at home

Linda breed or linda	Refers to heavy breeds of geese, originally from the Nizhny Novgorod region. Beautiful large birds with white plumage. They are used in industrial poultry farming, as they have good egg production for heavy geese. Geese with good character, friendly, unpretentious care. They are bred for meat. Due to the white color of the feather, carcasses are very clean and beautiful, with a wonderful presentation. The average weight of an adult goose is from 8 to 12 kg. Geese sit well on eggs, do not leave their nests. Goslings grow quickly - at 3 months, the goslings already weigh about 4 kilograms.
Large gray Large gray	The name speaks for itself - the geese of this breed are massive, and the color of the plumage is gray on the back and white on the belly. The birthplace of the breed is Ukraine. The weight of an adult bird is from 6.5 to 9.5 kg. Egg production and clutch vitality are lower than those of the Lindovskaya breed. Goslings are actively growing and gaining weight quickly: at 2.5 months, a young bird reaches a body weight of 4.5 kg. An excellent breed for obtaining meat and liver. They are unpretentious in care: they do not even need a reservoir for normal well-being. There are no problems with feeding these birds either.
Rhine Rhine	A breed of geese belonging to the category "medium-heavy". Country of origin - Germany. Birds with white plumage, with good meat qualities, excellent egg production for this category. An adult goose weighs 5.5 kg, a gander 6.5 kg. Goslings quickly gain weight: at 2 months, feathered babies are already gaining 4 kg of weight. The breed is used for meat production and is also fattened for fatty liver. Geese do not sit on eggs very well, therefore it is not recommended for beginners to breed this breed on their own.
Tape breed geese Tape breed geese	An ornamental breed of geese that originated in Europe. The plumage is white or gray-white. A characteristic feature of the appearance is long curly feathers on the wings, tail, back. Ribbon geese are small: the mass of adult birds ranges from 4.5 to 5.5 kg. Productive qualities are low. Geese of this breed are used to decorate the infield.
Kuban breed of geese Kuban breed of geese	Refers to light geese. The name speaks for itself about the birthplace of the breed - these geese were bred in the Krasnodar Territory. The color of the feathers is gray, sometimes with a brownish tint. The birds of this breed have a characteristic brown stripe on the back - the so-called "belt". The weight of an adult bird is about 4.5-6 kg. Egg production is quite high, but the instinct of incubation in geese is bad. The bird is unpretentious and adapts well to any conditions of keeping.
Italian breed of geese Italian breed of geese	White birds are native to Italy. They appeared in Russia relatively recently, about 30-40 years ago. The bird is unpretentious to the conditions of detention (it does not care about the presence of a reservoir), the young quickly gain weight - at 2 months, the goslings already weigh 4 kg. The instinct of incubation in geese is well developed. Birds produce meat with excellent taste, and the small size of the carcass makes it possible to use the poultry for smoking. Also grown for fatty goose liver.

How to choose young animals

So, having studied all the information about the most common breeds of geese, you made your choice in favor of the one that you plan to purchase and settle in your summer cottage. Now is the time to buy the young you will be raising. But here everything is not so simple: often unscrupulous sellers, trying to cash in, sell outbred goslings, and often even sick ones. Therefore, you need to approach the purchase of young animals with special care.

Choosing young goose

It is best to go to buy goslings in a company with a person who is familiar with this bird firsthand: he will help you choose high-quality and healthy babies, from which you will successfully grow a good bird. If there is no such person “at hand”, then follow these guidelines:

1. Study the information about the breed you want to get.
2. Exclude bird markets from the places where young animals are searched: here you will not get any guarantee that the goslings are thoroughbred and healthy. If the kids die on your site through the fault of the breeder's dishonesty, then no one will compensate you for material and moral damages. Better to go to a poultry farm.
3. Choose those goslings that are already 5-7 days old. Too small birds can hardly tolerate transportation, and older birds can be shy and difficult to cope with.
4. Evaluate the appearance of the birds: the fluff on the chicks should be yellow, soft and fluffy, and, most importantly, dry, without pieces of shell.
5. The umbilical cord should be overgrown, without traces of crusts, and the down under the tail should be dry and clean, there should be no traces of any secretions on it.
6. Examine the tummy - it should not be saggy.
7. Look at the beak - there should be no discharge from the nostrils.
8. Choose the most active birds: sedentary goslings sitting quietly in a corner with closed eyes can be sick. Small healthy chicks actively react to unfamiliar sounds and objects.
9. Birds should stand firmly enough on their paws.
10. When buying goslings, check if they have all the necessary vaccinations by age.

Requirements for the conditions of keeping goslings

And here you are - the happy owner of three, five, and maybe ten little yellow goslings. They huddled in a box and look at you with their beady eyes, asking: "Where are you taking us?" Of course, before you go to buy goslings, you had to equip them with a house in which they will live.

Geese should be kept in comfortable conditions, preferably with a reservoir on the territory

It is best to settle the kids in a specially built gosper. If this is not available, then a small shed will do. Before the young animals move into it, the barn is cleaned, disinfected, it is advisable to whitewash the walls, and cover the floor with straw with a layer of 10-15 cm.By the way, goslings are kept in warm rooms until they reach the age of 15-20 days (warm weather should also be established outside by this time).

Young goslings should be kept in comfortable temperature conditions.

Temperature conditions are very important: if the birds are cold, they will clump together and crush each other, and they can also die from excessive heat. In order for the goslings to be comfortable, poultry farmers recommend observing the following temperature regime:

Table 2. Recommended temperature regime for young goslings

1-5 days	28-27 degrees
6-15 days	26-24 degrees
16-20 days	23-18 degrees

There should be drinkers and feeders in the baby room. To avoid dampness, place the drinkers on the grates, under which there is a tray-like container to collect the splashed water.

Small goslings cannot be kept in a crowd - they can overwhelm each other if there are too many of them: divide the room into separate compartments. On 1 square meter, about 10 goslings can easily exist at the age of 3 weeks. Moreover, in hot weather, the number of goslings in the same area should be reduced by 1.5 times.

It is important to keep the room where the goslings live, to update the litter.

Video - growing geese at home

It is possible to release goslings outside for a while from the first days of life, if the air temperature outside the window is high enough. Birds are taught to walk gradually. It is best to walk them in an open-air cage so that birds of prey do not get to them. Once the warm weather has finally settled, take the goslings to pasture where they can nibble on the grass. From 45 days with goslings, you can also visit water bodies.

Feeding goslings

Very young goslings are fed millet or oatmeal with the addition of finely chopped boiled eggs or cottage cheese. After 3-4 days, chopped grass is added to the food. At the age of 1 month, goslings include carrots in their diet - a source of carotene. It should be rubbed on a fine grater and given 5 times a day. A mixture of porridge, carrots, herbs and cottage cheese is called "mash", the goslings love it very much. It is given to babies 5-6 times a day. The mash should be crumbly, soft, but not watery.

Feeding little goslings

Experts advise buying goslings in the spring and summer, when nature dresses in its green outfit: during this period, there are plenty of natural pastures all around, where the goslings can graze and eat fresh green plants. By the way, a month-old gosling eats almost a kilogram of grass a day. Most of all, babies like nettle, dandelion, sorrel, sow thistle.

• In addition to food and fresh water, goslings also need to put a bowl of gravel or coarse sand - they are necessary so that the stomach of the birds can grind the food.
• Do not forget about water - geese drink a lot, and they should have water at all times. According to observations, one goose at the age of 50 days drinks up to 1 liter of water per day.

Geese must be provided with clean drinking water

• The peculiarity of geese is that they cannot distinguish the temperature of the food, so make sure that the food for the goslings is not hot or very cold.
• If you are raising goslings for meat, then it is advisable to feed them with highly concentrated feed mixtures, while about 50% of the total food should be fresh herbs.

You can slaughter goslings to get meat already at the age of 70 days - by this time they are already gaining a fairly large mass. If you missed the time, and the goslings have outgrown this age, then you need to start slaughtering in 60-70 days, when the growth of new feathers ends.

Video - tips for keeping geese