Poultry keeping: keeping geese in winter
Geese breeding is quite profitableevent. Young individuals gain about 4 kg in 2 months. Mostly these birds are grown for the use of meat. But there are several breeds that go well. Geese is also fed by special technology to produce a large liver.
Features of the content
There is an opinion that thanks to a good downy cover, this species of birds is not afraid of frost. This is only partly true. Indeed, geese can tolerate frosts well up to -10 aboutC. With good care of them -30 aboutWith nothing at all. But there is a very important nuance - they do not tolerate dampness.
If the humidity is greatly increased, then the feathersinstantly get dirty and stick together. In this case, the down layer does not fulfill its functions. The litter in the sheds quickly becomes wet and gets dirty, as a result - the birds freeze their legs. This is a very dangerous condition for geese, and they begin to ache and even die.
The content of geese in winter at home
Before the arrival of cold weather, it is necessary to prepareroom for wintering birds. It does not have to be a perfect barn. It can be built from old boards. If cracks are formed in it, they can always be filled with straw or modern sealants.
Thus, geese will be protected from wind anddampness, and this is more frightening for them than frost. The floor in the barn must be made of boards. Land planking or cement is not suitable - the birds will freeze their feet.
On the floor is laid litter of affordable raw materials. It can be:
- straw;
- sawdust;
- peat.
The deck must be at least half a meter in height. In this case, the bird not only will not freeze, but will feel comfortable. The maintenance of geese in winter at home requires frequent cleaning of the upper layer of the flooring. Thus, moisture will not spread through the room.
The place of the dirty layer of dirty raw materials is putsame new. Experienced poultry breeders came up with a little trickery in order to avoid the smell of ammonia in the shed. For this, once every 7-10 days, you need to sprinkle the top layer of the floor with superphosphate. At 1 m2 consumed 400 g of substance.
The content of geese in winter at home (photoin the article) does not require a permanent stay in the shed. The bird needs to be let out for a walk. Even in severe frost geese can stay in the open air for about 1-2 hours. The main thing is to remove the snow on the paddock, so that their feet do not freeze.
What to build a wintering room
A warm and cozy room is the key to success and the husky maintenance of geese in winter at home. For beginners below, several ways of arranging a dwelling for birds will be presented.
Wintering geese can safely in the woodindoors. It can be a ready shed or knocked out of boards specially. Also recently, breeders practice keeping geese in winter in polycarbonate greenhouses.
Such a room lets in light, and under the snow init becomes even warmer. In the greenhouses there are absolutely no drafts, which is very important for proper wintering of birds. Some farmers send geese to winter in film greenhouses. This option is also possible provided the proper arrangement of this zone.
Wintering in greenhouses
This option is now quite popular among the owners of poultry. The maintenance of geese in winter in the greenhouse gives good results. Individuals continue to develop, sweep and increase body weight.
To properly arrange a place for wintering, you need to comply with a number of rules:
- The greenhouse must sometimes be heated in severe frosts;
- strengthen the greenhouse for stability during snow and wind;
- make lighting.
These items of the plan will ensure the quality maintenance of geese in winter. Before settling, the birds should be carefully cleaned there. In the dust and debris the individuals will begin to ache. Also need to provide ventilation.
In the greenhouse, polycarbonate will be warmer. This material has the property of rapidly heating up. It is also necessary to make a high floor on the floor. The top layer must be cleaned in time.
The maintenance of geese in winter in the greenhouse: reviews
Farmers and owners of private properties are satisfiedthe opportunity to equip places for wintering birds in greenhouses. Many believe that this can save on fertilizer. Geese love to bury their excrement in the ground. Thus, the fertilizer will be ready by spring.
In connection with the downtime of greenhouses in the winter, occupying them with poultry is a great idea. Most often, heating and lighting have already been done here. Thus, it remains to equip the nests and decorate the flooring.
The owners note that to care for the geese ingreenhouses are much more convenient. During harvesting and feeding people do not freeze and feel comfortable. Also in the daytime, you can do without additional lighting, because the walls are good light.
Necessity of walking
In the cold season, even in the cold, you need to let go of geese for walks. They should last at least an hour. Thus, the birds develop their paws and make it possible to digest the feed well.
If geese lead a sedentary lifestyle, then all the stocks they have are stored in fat, and not in muscle. Also, fat birds stop carrying eggs, and then it is almost impossible to establish this process.
In winter you can let the geese swim in shallowwater reservoirs. So they will develop their muscles, and the meat will become very tasty. At this time, the owner can safely clean the room and ventilate it.
How to equip the gusatnik
To build a barn or to drive birds into a greenhouse is inadequate care. The gusyatnik must be equipped according to the rules. The equipment consists of:
- drinkers;
- feeders;
- nests.
These three elements must necessarily be in the premises of the gyrosatel. Sockets can have standard sizes. Height and width - 50 cm, and length - 60 cm. They can be made of boards, boxes or plywood.
Between the nests there must be partitions, and in frontit is necessary to form a step at 10 cm. The bottom should be built of wood. Goose bury eggs in the decking. If you make the floor concrete or iron, then the eggs will freeze. Such nests should already be at the 15-20th of January.
If there is a possibility, then it is better to make roosts ina separate room. This can be implemented with the help of a partition. Thus, other individuals can not prevent goose from carrying eggs. Birds often fight among themselves and drive others off their nests.
Collect eggs better early. Birds carry eggs at night or early in the morning. By lunch time they can already be frozen. In the room you need to clean often. Strong fouling affects the number of eggs received from one individual.
If the hen sit on the nest to receiveoffspring, she needs to arrange additional care. She can not get up from the perch even to eat. Thus, it is necessary not to aggressively remove and pour fresh food and pour water.
In the opposite case, when the bird for a long time leaves the nest, it is necessary to take care of the heating of the eggs. Feed the poultry better rough and solid food so that it does not stain the eggs.
Formation of feeding troughs
The content of geese at home (photowintering options in the article) is accompanied by the arrangement of good feeders. The most optimal option is two boards, shot down at an angle. At the top on the sides you need to make additional slats that will not allow the bird to get inside.
Follow along to nail shields that will not allowgeese to scatter food. The feeder should be large, or they need to be done several times so that the birds eat at the same time and do not need supplements, otherwise it will be difficult to follow the correct diet. This threatens to unnecessarily set the fat.
The upper limit of the feeder should not be lower than the back of the bird. Periodically, the feeders are washed and dried to avoid rotting. For small nests, you can build individual small troughs.
Drinking regime
If there is not enough water or an untimely replacement of the old one, the bird can get sick. Also geese will stop carrying eggs. This process depends to a large extent on the conditions of the maintenance of individuals.
To litter is not wet, a container of waterset on a wooden grate or metal sheet. Thus, excessive humidity in the room is avoided. As containers, you can use large buckets or any trough.
You can hold a hose from a barrel of water to the water bowl. Thus, fresh water will flow. The pressure should be made minimal. If the bird does not drink more than 2 days, then it completely stops rushing.
You can water geese with thawed snow water. It contains many minerals. Some owners put a bucket of snow in the room.
What to feed the geese during the cold
The number of feedings per day depends on the month in whichseason and bird life regime. The maintenance of geese in winter requires a certain feeding schedule. Until January, the bird is better to give food twice a day. The first feeding should be bunches, and in the evening - rough grain.
To make a mash, you need to mix foodwaste and a small amount of porridge. It is best to use oatmeal. This is the most favorite porridge geese. In this mixture, fish meal and carrots recycled on a grater are added.
In January, the number of feedings increases tothree times. At this time the bird spends a lot of energy - there is a preparation for oviposition. In this period the grain is given in the morning and in the evening, and the mash-pan is at lunch time. With the preparation for the breeding season, the amount of food should be increased and not be afraid of obesity of the bird. In February, it is worth adding beets and carrots to the diet of geese in large quantities to awaken the appetite.
At this time there is an active feeding of gander. They lose a lot of energy on the mating process. To do this, feeders are hung on the walls to a height of 90 cm. In this case, the goose will not get enough food. Or before additional feeding, the whole bird, except the gander, is taken out for a walk.
If the farm does not have enough grain, you canpartially replace it with potatoes. This vegetable is not that high-calorie, and it will need 3 times more. In the diet must be present roughage. Hay can be given in dry form or steamed with the addition of oatmeal and vegetables.
The maintenance of birds in winter in Siberia
Some owners experiment and keep the bird in the cold on the street. Scientists have proved that geese can withstand temperatures below -60 aboutC. For successful wintering under the open sky it is necessary to make a very high flooring from the straw on the site, so that the geese can dig into it.
The maintenance of geese in the winter on the street suggestsincreased in quantity and caloric intake. Thus, geese will gain fat mass and will be able to safely endure severe frosts. On the street, it is also necessary to equip nests and places for feeding.
Some masters on the street just put threepartitions without a roof so that the bird could hide from the wind. To keep the paws from freezing, they can be greased with grease. It is proved that strong frosts are better tolerated by geese of large breeds.
The maintenance of geese in winter in Siberia requires additional costs for feed and grooming. So it is advisable to put together at least a small barn from the boards without additional heating.
Nuances of lighting indoors
If you use bulbs until January-February, thenIt is possible to speed up the process of laying and incubating new offspring. Lighting creates additional heating, and the bird stray from the right development cycle. During this period, it is better to turn on the light, observing the light day mode. You can even reduce the lighting time of the sheds by 2-3 hours.
Since mid-January, bulbs can be used as a catalyst for accelerating masonry and a good process of incubating offspring. At this time, the light is left on for 12 or more hours.
The tricks of keeping geese in winter
For the winter leave only healthy and strong individuals without visible pathologies. Feeders and drinkers should be cleaned daily, in order to keep the frozen food at the bottom.
On the walls must always hang a feeding for raising the immunity of the bird:
- a piece of chalk;
- rakushnyak;
- egg shell.
It is necessary to organize access to the sun in the barn. Then the bird will more easily bear wintering with the help of good immunity work. Feeding geese can be done in the winter on the street.
Eggs must be collected very early and monitoredregime, when the geese carry them. This is especially important when keeping geese in the winter in Siberia under the open sky. Because not in time the collected eggs in the frost very quickly crack. Water in drinking bowls is changed at least 3 times a day. One can not give a drink to geese, otherwise they will not get drunk, and this threatens a violation of the circulation process. Then the geese become too noisy or, conversely, weak and sleepy.
The maintenance of geese in winter without a barn is a more complicated process that requires a lot of knowledge and additional physical work.
