How to raise egg geese

Laying geese, that is, geese used for laying eggs, usually start laying eggs at 57 months of age, and the egg-laying period lasts for 8 to 9 months. Therefore, the feeding and management of geese can be divided into two stages: the non-laying period and the laying period. Let’s take a brief look at how to raise egg-laying geese.

1. Feeding and management of laying geese during the non-laying period

The non-laying season is usually from May to August for large geese and from April to July for small geese. Female geese begin laying eggs in the summer and autumn of the previous year. By March to April of the current year, the female geese's physical strength will weaken and the gander's breeding ability will also decrease. At this time, egg laying should be controlled to encourage the breeding geese to molt and prepare for the next egg laying.

2. Feeding and management of laying geese during the egg-laying period

During the egg-laying period, in addition to grazing, the geese should be fed 2 to 3 times a day, with the first feeding at around 9 am. Feeding too early will affect the amount of grass the geese eat. Large geese are given 0.25 kg of concentrate per day, and small geese are given 0.1 to 0.15 kg of concentrate per day. When not grazing, green vegetables and grass should be provided in large quantities and fed every 2 hours. If grazing conditions are good, the use of concentrate feed can be reduced.

3. Feeding and management of mother geese during the incubation period

After the goose hatches, it is usually used to incubate the eggs. Usually the mother goose needs to be replaced after 10 to 15 days of incubation (20 days for large geese) to prevent the mother goose from becoming too thin and prolonging the recovery period. At this time, the eggshell is thinner, and the goose that has been incubating for about 15 days should be replaced, because this kind of goose is lighter and the eggs are not easy to be crushed.

During the incubation period, large geese are usually fed only water and no feed. During the incubation period, the geese are released for feeding every 1 to 2 days. When the goose is feeding, the incubated eggs should be turned over once and then covered with straw to keep them warm. After feeding, the geese should be put into the pond to bathe and eat grass. After coming ashore, they should be put back into the pen after their feathers are dry. When the weather is cold or rainy, only feed and water are provided, no bathing is allowed.

Weather that is too hot or too cold can affect hatching. In cold weather, a fire should be lit indoors to keep warm; in hot weather, if the goose is standing and not incubating, it can be fed with cool well water 3 to 4 times a day, or the goose's head can be covered with wet cotton to help cool down.

4. Feeding and management of goose after hatching

The geese are usually thinner after hatching and should be fenced in first, not fed with feed and only provided with water for 2 to 3 days to make them lose the hatching habit. These geese should be kept individually, given a high-quality feed (the same as during the egg-laying period), fed twice a day with a gradual increase in feed amount, and grazed on good pasture . Extra ganders can be added to the flock of thin geese. When the thin geese recover their strength, they will approach the ganders, and at this time they should be driven into the flock of egg-laying geese.

The above is an introduction to the key points of feeding and management of laying geese. The key points of feeding and management of laying geese will be different at different stages. It mainly depends on which stage your laying geese are in.