It is important for a farmer or owner who decides to raise poultry to know how many different breeds of geese live at home. After all, then you can understand how long their productive period can last, when the goose lays full-fledged eggs, and the gander contributes to the appearance of healthy offspring. At the same time, the young bird does not lose weight, but is ready to intensively gain weight if necessary.
Lifespan of a domestic goose
The bird, which lives peacefully on farms or in private plots, descended from the wild gray goose. This wild relative lives on average 20 years. Although he faces danger from birds of prey and animals, as well as hunters. The domestic goose is in a calmer environment and can completely relax at night. Therefore, breeders call a life expectancy of 30 years quite realistic.
What can affect the timing?
Since the goose is completely dependent on humans, its future is largely in the hands of the owner. Discarding the intervention of fate, we can identify several main reasons that determine the life span of a given bird.
Proper nutrition
The goose's diet should include components required by the body during the process of growth, tissue repair and normal life activities. When caring for their pets, the owner must feed them fully and at the same time.
The best option is to send adult geese to pasture for the entire warm period of the year. There they eat a variety of herbs, which are the main source of vitamins. Sometimes they come across insects. If the meadow is adjacent to a body of water, birds have the opportunity to consume duckweed, sedge and other aquatic plants. They find shells at the bottom and catch fry. On a wet bank, geese can find worms and a variety of insects. This dramatically improves your diet. The owner can only provide a light evening feeding of the geese with high-calorie food so that the flock returns home on its own.
If it is not possible to enrich the pets’ menu with protein by sending the animals to the pond, the following is added to complementary foods:
- shell rock;
- bone meal;
- dairy waste;
- feed with additives.
This lifestyle is not suitable for goslings. They require intensive controlled feeding. In addition, if left unattended in a meadow, they can become a victim of a kite. Only by taking care of the safety and proper feeding of goslings can you find out how long geese live at home.
Conditions of detention
Little goslings must be protected from infections even before birth. To do this, make sure that the eggs intended for hatching are clean. They are thoroughly washed and disinfected with 1% formalin solution or 0.3% potassium permanganate. Day-old goslings are given a pale solution of potassium permanganate as a drink.
To prevent diseases, it is recommended to drink the following drugs with water or add to food:
| Chick age | Name of the drug | Dosage |
| 11-12 days | "Cormogrizin" | 0.4 g per 1 kg of feed |
| 13-14 days | "Biovit 120" | 0.4 g per 1 kg body weight |
| 15-40 days | Sodium Selenite | 0.1 mg per 1 kg of live weight |
These drugs are sold in large packages designed for farms. Sick geese are separated from the rest or slaughtered for meat. When diseases are detected, everything possible (room, containers) is disinfected.
Any disease more or less shortens the life of a goose. Therefore, it is very important to adhere to sanitary standards and keep the bird in normal conditions. It is good if the barn in which the geese spend the night is shaded by trees. This protects it from excess heat in summer.At this time of year, litter can be minimal, provided that the room is cleared of manure every day. If there is an earthen floor, its top layer is gradually removed along with the dirt. When an inconvenient depression is formed, clean soil from the street is filled in and compacted.
For the winter:
- seal the cracks in the walls of the barn;
- lay out the litter in a layer of 30 cm;
- maintain temperature above -5 °C;
- arrange water heating;
- do not allow straw or sawdust to get wet to the top layer.
If the herd size is large, the premises are divided into cages, each containing up to 20 animals. By looking after the interests of geese, you can ultimately find out for yourself how long they live at home.
Breed
About 25 breeds of geese are common among amateur poultry farmers. Long-lived geese include:
- Tula due to its resistance to low temperatures and diseases;
- Kholmogory because of their deep ancestral roots, high consumer qualities and majestic appearance, which have gained respect among the people, expressed in improved care;
- gray, due to genetic endurance.
Breeders are working to improve poultry egg production and accelerate weight gain. Crossing the best specimens of different long-lived breeds will lead to the birth of geese with a longer life span. The bred offspring are not used as producers.
The goal of poultry farmers
Since farmers breed poultry to make a profit from the sale of meat, eggs or young animals, geese live on their farm as long as it is profitable for the business. Birds are slaughtered for meat at 2.5-5 months. The peak productivity of selected specimens is 3-5 years, after which they are slaughtered for meat.Therefore, geese intended for consumption survive longer than this period only in small farms, where the favorite is left to live until old age.
Decorative breeds are the least likely to die from violent death. They are looked after like flowers in a garden. Age does not interfere with the function of decoration.
Is it possible to extend?
The productive age of the goose is extended by carefully selecting the best individuals in the required ratio. Observations are carried out from the first days of life. Frisky babies with shiny and thick plumage are marked with paint. Then there is elimination due to illness, injury and success in comparison with competitors from the selected circle. Having safely reached the best age (3 years), these birds can not worsen their results for 7 or even 10 years.
Records of long-living geese
The Guinness Book of World Records includes a goose that lived for 49 years and 8 months. He died in 1976. In Ukraine in 2020, a goose was discovered that lived for 31 years. He is declared the main old-timer of the country among his relatives. It is noteworthy that the bird is still alive and well.
