Looking after geese can be a rewarding hobby. The beginner should start with a trio of adult geese and confine them to a moveable pen until the birds become accustomed to their new territory. The moveable pen allows the geese to be regularly moved to fresh pasture.
Housing.
Geese do not require an elaborate shed. A moveable shed with a flat, sloping roof is a suitable shelter. The shed needs to be fully enclosed and locked at night for protection against foxes, dogs and feral cats.
The trio of geese will need a shed with a floor space of 1 m 2 per bird and a run. A 15 cm layer of wood shavings on the floor will help maintain dry conditions in the shed. Geese tend to foul their sleeping quarters so damp litter must be removed frequently. Each shed should have nest boxes, even though some geese may nest on the floor. Geese can be housed on slatted floors. The slats should be 2 cm wide at their top to ensure a comfortable standing surface and 1.5 cm wide at the bottom, while spacing between slats should be 1.5 cm to permit droppings to pass through. Droppings removal access from under the floor is essential.
Runs.
Yards should be provided with each shed. Their size is determined by the amount of space available and the method of management. Each goose should have at least 2 m 2 of ground space. Yards should be as large as possible and preferably sown to suitable pastures such as millet, kikuyu, paspalum and Rhodes grass before geese are introduced. Each breeding flock need not be confined to a separate shed and yard.
Geese have been used to weed a variety of crops (for example, cotton and strawberries) and to keep fence rows, irrigation ditc hes and other inaccessible areas, clean. They are also considered to be effective in controlling the pond weeds, para grass, water-lily and water hyacinth.
Raising geese in orchards may be a profitable method of controlling grass growth. As certain pesticides are toxic to geese, care must be exercised when using these in an orchard stocked with geese. The stocking rate for adequate grass control is 50 to 60 adult geese/ha. If only light grazing is required, this stocking rate could be reduced to 15 to 20 adult geese/ha. Excellent control of pasture may be obtained by moving the water trough to grassy sections of the orchard. One water trough is sufficient for 10 ha. A shallow ditch will serve for both drinking and swimming. Swimming provides beneficial exercise and helps prevent sore feet.
Fencing.
Canadian Geese
A 1m high fence made from 2 mm wire netting makes a satisfactory enclosure. A two-strand electric fence, with strands spaced at 10 cm and 30 cm from the ground, will prevent geese from straying.
Handling and catching.
Geese can be easily driven and drafted into holding pens. When handling and catching geese, experience and discretion are necessary. Geese can inflict painful blows with their wings and scratches with their feet. Grasp a bird with one hand firmly around the neck and close to the body. Geese should never be caught by the legs as lame, disjointed or broken legs often result. A stout piece of wire with the end shaped like a shepherd’s crook is handy for catching geese.
After catching the bird, the operator pulls the bird to him. The bird is lifted gently by passing an arm (usually the right) round the bird’s body, grasping the legs with one finger between them and pinning the wings closely between arm and body. The bird is carried under the arm with the head and neck protruding back under the operator’s arm.
Sexing adult geese.
When buying a trio of geese, it is essential that they be sexed so that one gander and two geese are actually obtained and not any other combination. An incorrect selection can be made by casual observation.
Identifying males.
After the goose is caught, it is lifted by the neck and turned on its back, either on a table or over the knee with the tail pointed away. The tail is bent downwards and the forefinger inserted in the cloaca about l cm and moved around in a circular manner to enlarge the sphincter muscle which closes the opening. Pressure is applied directly below and on the side of the vent in order to evert and expose the sex organs.
In some birds, the male organ is difficult to unsheathe. It is spiral in shape and white, and is up to 4 cm long in mature ganders.
Birds are then marked using leg bands, web punching, or wing bands.
Masculinity is usually expressed by a larger body, larger neck. and somewhat coarser and larger head-parts than those of females. The male of those breeds having knobs at the base of the bill, such as African and Chinese, have larger knobs. In immature geese these differences may not be easily distinguished. Sex-linked characteristics in two pure breeds of geese enable the birds to be sexed by colour. The ebden gosling can be sexed by colour only until the dilution gene whitens the plumage. In the pilgrim breed, the sexes can be determined from day- old to maturity because the down and, later, the plumage colour in males is light or white, while in
Ssnow Geese.
females it is dove-grey.
It has been said that eye colour and the pitc h of their call can be used to sex geese - the ganders having blue eyes and the goose having brown eyes, and that the gander has a shrill, high pitched note compared with the lower, deeper, harsher note of the goose - these two methods are not infallible ways to separate the sexes.
Incubation.
Incubation of geese eggs varies from 30 days in smaller breeds to 33-35 days in larger breeds.
Sexing goslings.
When birds are used for breeding, nutritional studies or similar purposes, separation of sexes at an early age (day-ld) is desirable. Sexing is done in a warm room, and under a strong light to allow the small penis of the male - a distinct whitish papilla about 5 mm long - more easily distinguishable.
Author:
Paul Kent
