Breeding geese is an easy and profitable business. Birds grow quickly, providing their owners with tasty, nutritious meat, large eggs, and liver. Down and feathers are used to make clothing and bedding. For breeding, it is better to purchase high-quality young stock that can produce strong, productive offspring. Geese of the Bashkir breed are popular among farmers. A more detailed story about the distinctive qualities of these birds.
History of breeding
The ancestor of the Bashkir geese is the common gray goose.When breeding this breed, the goal was to produce birds that could easily adapt to cold climates and limited amounts of water. At the same time, the geese had to quickly gain weight.
The breeders coped with all the tasks: the Bashkir goose is slightly lighter than the heavy varieties of these birds, but gains 3 kilograms 2 months after birth. Therefore, it is suitable for industrial cultivation and personal rural farmsteads. Even summer residents who travel out of town only for the summer choose this breed to get high-quality fresh meat for the family table.
Description and characteristics of Bashkir geese
The Bashkir goose is a light-selling goose; if the gray gander reaches a weight of 8-9 kilograms, then the Bashkir goose weighs 3-5 kilograms. Moreover, weight is gained very quickly with minimal food costs; a couple of months after birth, the bird is suitable for slaughter as it gains 3 kilograms. These geese are sometimes called Bashkir Linda for their external similarity, but the true Linda is larger in size.
Bashkir geese are distinguished by high egg production; the eggs of geese of this breed are not inferior in taste to chicken eggs, they can be used not only in baking.
Geese of this breed are responsible mothers; they very rarely abandon their nests. The survival rate of chicks is 95-98%, which is a high figure. Birds are not afraid of frost and adapt to difficult living conditions.These are beautiful compact individuals with white plumage and one fat fold on the belly, with bright orange legs and an orange-colored beak with a white border at the base. They have strong immunity and high resistance to disease.
Advantages and disadvantages
Birds can withstand harsh winters; they do not necessarily need a pond, just a small container in which they can splash around. Since the chicks grow rapidly, the carcasses are not too fatty. When slaughtered at 2 months, they are neat, since molting in goslings begins 70-75 days after hatching from the eggs. Choosing this type of geese provides high profitability for the poultry business.
Conditions of detention and care
Birds are not afraid of frost, but they suffer from high humidity in the room. The poultry house for them should be dry, with good ventilation and without drafts. Windows are required; in winter, additional lighting should be turned on to increase daylight hours to 14 hours.
Geese are sensitive to smells. The litter must be changed systematically. They use shavings or straw for it. The floor in the room is made of earthen, concrete, or wood. With the concrete option, the floors are colder; the thickness of the bedding should be increased. Wood is a less practical option.
The height of the poultry house must be at least 2 meters, with a roof that does not allow rain and snow to pass through. Feeders and drinkers for birds are placed in it; a practical solution is the remains of plastic plumbing pipes.These feeders are easy to clean, they have high sides and do not have sharp corners. In addition to feeders and drinkers, geese need containers with an ash-sand mixture; chalk and crushed shells are left for them in the house.
For each head in the poultry house, for geese of the Bashkir breed, there should be 0.7-0.8 square meters of area. The room should be fenced off with a net to separate adult birds from young birds and geese on the nests.
Houses are built for nests; they can be separate for each goose or shared for 3-4 nests. A large house requires dense, opaque partitions.
In addition to the poultry house, the geese have a fenced paddock nearby, since they are an active, energetic bird. Birds should be removed daily in dry weather. They walk even in winter at temperatures down to minus 15 ° C, for 1-2 hours. In summer, the birds are provided with a larger run, with a canopy under which the birds hide from the bright sun, rain and wind. They can stay on it 24 hours a day in good weather. If there is enough grass on the walk, the birds feed on their own; if not, the owners bring them grass.
Diet
Geese are unpretentious eaters. Since they grow quickly, they eat a lot of food per day.
in winter
Geese stop grazing after the first frost. They are fed 3 times a day in winter. In the morning, crushed grain is given, with feed yeast mixed in. For each head per day you need 300 grams of grain mixture, 1 kilogram of vegetables (potatoes, beets, carrots, pumpkin). Vegetables need to be chopped. In addition, hay is placed in the feeders.
In the evening, the birds receive silage, crushed oats, corn, and wheat. 2-3 times a week the birds are given a little meat and bone waste. Protein is essential in the poultry diet. You can feed fish waste.
In summer
In good weather, the birds are on the run around the clock. They eat up to 2 kilograms of grass daily. In the evening they are given 100-120 grams of grain mixture. The diet should contain feed yeast, bone and fish meal. Birds need access to clean water, small pebbles for good digestion, and place containers with chalk and small shells.
Reproduction
For each gander there should be 3-4 geese. They hatch chicks from February to April. The eggs can be placed under the goose or placed in an incubator. If they are heavily soiled immediately, while still warm, they are washed with a warm, slightly pink solution of potassium permanganate. If the infection enters the egg through open pores, the chicks will not hatch.
The goose sits on the eggs for 28-30 days. She should not be disturbed at this time. There should always be food and water near the nest. After the goslings hatch, they are taken from their mother and placed under a lamp. In the first days, goslings are given chopped boiled eggs; after a week, cottage cheese should be added to the eggs. Then – finely chopped green nettle. If it’s warm outside, 10-12-day-old goslings are sent to pasture.
Where to buy and cost
Pedigree specimens are purchased from breeding farms, at agricultural exhibitions, and from trusted producers in their region. You can buy adult geese for breeding or small goslings. SPC "LLC Bashkirsky" goose has its representative offices in different cities of Russia. The daily cost of goslings is about 150 rubles, for older ones – up to 400 rubles.
Raising geese allows you to observe the life of birds. For many, a hobby eventually develops into a serious business. Fast growth, the taste of meat, the opportunity to enjoy delicious liver, and the high cost of production add to the popularity of the activity.
