by Good afternoon. Today we will talk about the conditions of keeping goslings from the first days of life at home. Although goslings are quite unpretentious birds, but still when keeping them you should adhere to certain rules, arranging the gosling house and providing the correct diet.
Conditions for keeping goslings from the first days of life
Before purchasing young goose, the house is cleaned of debris, the old bedding is replaced with new. The ceiling is whitewashed with a lime solution, and all structures are disinfected with caustic (2% solution). But other similar products with similar properties can also be used.
To prevent excessive dampness in the room, a layer of lime is poured onto the floor in the amount of 0,6-1,0 kg per square of area. Dry bedding is laid on top, the material for which can be:
Only clean and fresh materials are used as bedding.
Drinking bowls for goslings
Special attention should be paid to drinking bowls. After all, these waterfowl love water and splash in the drinking bowls, spraying water in all directions. As a result, the bedding gets soaked through. Therefore, the drinking place should be arranged so that the bedding remains dry. You should also always have a supply of dry material for bedding – for each individual up to 60 days old, at a rate of 8 kg for each.
To prevent water from splashing, experienced breeders recommend placing water bowls on wide trays covered with a metal mesh on top, or using special types of water bowls.
The first type is called vacuum and is made from a glass jar and a deep plate. To make it, you need to place wooden stands in the plate, which are slightly lower in height than the sides of the plate. After that, water is poured into the jar.
Then the vessel is quickly turned over and placed on a stand. Because of this, the water is consumed, and a vacuum is formed inside the vessel, the pressure of which is different from the pressure outside. Thanks to this, water from the reservoir will not overflow from the plate, and the bedding will not get wet.
Another type is nipple drinkers. The principle of their operation is similar to the previous drinker, they are made from a basin and a plastic bottle, in the bottom of which a hole with a diameter of 5 cm is made. A valve or nipple must be inserted into the lid, which will regulate the release of moisture from the hole in the bottom.
Making feeders for ducklings is much easier. From the moment of birth, ducklings are fed from low trays up to 2 cm in height. The length of such containers should be such that each individual has up to 4 cm around the perimeter.
When the young animals are 30 days old, the trays are replaced with adult feeders, the length of which is calculated so that each goose has 15 cm of capacity. The number of feeders should be such that all the young animals eat at the same time.
Temperature for goslings
It is also important to maintain a certain temperature regime in the room. In goslings up to 14 days old, the body thermoregulation is not yet adjusted, so the amount of heat given off is often greater than the amount received. Therefore, such chicks need special thermal comfort, especially for those goslings that are hatched in an incubator.
When a hen hatches goslings, they spend almost all their time under her wings and warm themselves from her soft and warm down.
Temperature conditions for goslings at different periods of life:
- from hatching to three days of age – 28-30ºС;
- at seven days of age, chicks need 23-25ºС;
- in two weeks – 20-22ºС;
- Monthly young animals feel comfortable at a temperature of 18-20ºС.
Air humidity is maintained at 65-70% throughout the entire period of gosling rearing. To understand whether the goslings are satisfied with the selected thermal regime, you should monitor their behavior.
If the young goslings are warm enough in the goose house, these birds lead an active lifestyle, eat well, are cheerful, and do not huddle together. When the poultry house is too hot, the goslings breathe frequently, are lethargic, lose their appetite, open their beaks wide, and lower their wings. If the room is cold, the chicks huddle together and refuse to eat.
In this case, you need to immediately raise the temperature in the goose house by three degrees higher than the standard and provide the birds with a complete diet.
Ventilation and lighting for goslings
Now about the conditions of keeping goslings in the poultry house. It is important that the poultry house has powerful ventilation, because geese can release too much carbon dioxide when breathing. Therefore, this indicator in the goose house can exceed atmospheric values several times.
In order for fresh air to enter the room freely, it is necessary to install windows in it, in which the vents can be freely opened. But it is important to prevent the occurrence of drafts – the speed of incoming air should be no more than 3 m/s.
It is also necessary to provide sufficient lighting in the poultry house. It will depend on the length of daylight hours and the age of the chicks. Goslings are kept in brooders from the moment of hatching until they are a week old, where they need round-the-clock lighting so that the babies can better adapt to the new conditions. At night, the light is not turned off, only slightly dimmed. This is done so that even at night, hungry goslings can reach the container with food. And well-fed young animals sleep peacefully in dim light.
But by the 14th day from the moment of birth of the goslings, the lighting in the brooder is reduced to 14 hours a day. And for month-old goslings it is not needed at all.
It is also important to observe the density of chicks. According to the standards, up to 10 goslings up to 30 days old, 4 goslings from 30 to 75 days old, and 2 waterfowl over 75 days old can be kept on one square meter of area. If these standards are not observed, or cramped cages and brooders are used, then the young will develop unevenly, and the weakest individuals may die.
It should be remembered that the flock is not formed from all hatched goslings. Crippled and sick chicks are not taken into it, and those babies whose limbs are moving apart should be kept separately.
The paws should be placed at the right distance from each other and fixed with a ribbon or cord. The legs usually become strong after 12-14 days and will be positioned correctly. In this case, the cord can be removed and the chicks released to the other goslings.
Walking goslings
Organizing a walk for young geese is another important condition for their proper maintenance. If the weather is warm and without rain or wind, then three-day-old goslings can already be let out for a walk. But this only applies to the young that are raised by females.
Those babies who were born in an incubator are allowed to go outside only 5-7 days after birth. The area should be planted with soft grass, and the area itself should be fenced with a metal mesh.
On the first day, the walk time should be no more than ½ hour, but gradually the time the goslings spend outside is gradually increased. Young animals at the age of 14 can be outside all day.
It is also desirable that there be at least a small pond in the walking area where the goslings could splash. When raising young goslings in such conditions, the plumage of individuals grows faster, and stronger individuals do not pluck feathers and down from weaker individuals.
But to prevent the chicks from getting sick, it is not recommended to let them out for walks in rainy weather. From the age of one month, goslings can be sent for walks to pastures intended for cattle. These waterfowl eat little grass, so they will not cause much damage to pastures.
Goslings are quite unpretentious and easy to raise. But it is important to follow certain rules of care, otherwise weakened individuals may feel uncomfortable and often die.
