The presence of exotic or simply strange animals in the apartment, which were never considered suitable for keeping indoors, remains popular. People keep wild animals and reptiles, ornamental pigs and farm birds. Having geese in an apartment has its own difficulties, which you should get acquainted with before getting birds in a metropolis.
Features of keeping geese at home
The goose is a large bird. For normal development, she needs at least 2 square meters of space. After all, not every owner will allow himself to let a goose walk around the apartment every day.The main disadvantages of large birds that should be considered are:
- these are not cats, it is almost impossible to train them to go to the litter box, geese eat a lot and shit almost everywhere if they are outside the cage;
- in summer, geese are out for a walk during the day, it is impossible to provide such conditions in the city, no one will allow birds to eat lawns, and grazing them for several hours every day is an impossible task;
- they eat up to 2 kilograms of green mass or hay per day; you should think about where the food supply will be stored, especially in winter;
- geese are loud birds with a loud voice; people living behind the wall will not be delighted with such a neighborhood;
- They must be regularly walked and provided with a pond or the opportunity to swim in the bathtub.
Birds require veterinary examinations and vaccinations. They molt twice a year, so there will be a lot of fluff and feathers in the apartment. The nature of the birds should be taken into account - geese are jealous and remember an insult for a long time.
Suitable breeds
It depends on the owner's preferences. All breeds of geese are divided into 3 types: heavy - when the goose weighs 7-9 kilograms, goose - up to 8 kilograms, medium, which includes most decorative breeds, light breeds, if adult geese reach 4-6 kilograms. At home, either large birds of 9-12 kilograms are kept, which will amaze neighbors and friends with their size, or representatives of decorative breeds. For example, birds of the curly breed have a snow-white color and very beautiful plumage.
Preparing the premises
The goose can be placed in a cage on a glazed balcony or loggia. It should be borne in mind that he can wake up his neighbors with his scream. Sometimes they build a small enclosure in one of the rooms or in the storeroom or place a suitable cage.If a pantry is designated for the pet’s housing, it needs lighting (at least 14 hours a day).
The cage contains bedding, a drinker and a feeder. They are washed daily. In addition to the feeder, a container with small pebbles is required; they are necessary for normal digestion. Water should be in the drinking bowl at all times. Straw or shavings are used for bedding. To avoid odor, the litter is changed daily. The bird should be allowed out of its cage every day to exercise. Once every 2-3 days, the goose needs to swim to keep its feathers clean and get rid of excess fluff.
Feeding rules
Feed the pet 3 times a day. In summer, the diet requires fresh grass, in winter - hay, at least 2 kilograms per individual per day. In the morning and evening they give crushed grain (a mixture of corn, oats, wheat). Adult birds consume 300 grams of grain mixture per day, divided into 3 doses.
During the day, in addition to grass, you need a mash of finely chopped vegetables (carrots, beets, pumpkins, potatoes). Individuals living in an apartment are given minced meat 2-3 times a week. This is a source of protein. The diet should contain feed yeast, salt, fish oil or fish meal. To enrich the diet with calcium, cottage cheese is added to the vegetable mash, and whey is given to the pet. The food must be of high quality, the vegetables must be clean, without signs of mold or rot.
If a small gosling is adopted (one day old, or the owner decided to purchase a fertilized egg and observed the process of emergence), he is given hard-boiled, finely chopped eggs.From day 5, cottage cheese is mixed into the eggs; after a week, finely chopped fresh nettle is introduced into the diet.
After 2-3 weeks, the baby is gradually transferred to an adult diet. He also needs constant access to fresh water. Geese prefer to feed in the evening and at night; you need to make sure that there is food in the feeder in the evening.
Hygiene
Geese must be wormed twice a year. The drugs are purchased at a veterinary pharmacy and used according to the manufacturer's instructions. Consultation on necessary vaccinations can be obtained at your nearest veterinary clinic. It is better to find a hospital that specializes in feathered pets. Goslings after 3 weeks of age and adult birds should be bathed 2-3 times a week without using detergents. It is better to give your pet lukewarm water.
After water treatments, the gosling should be placed under a lamp to dry; in winter, the box with the baby is simply placed closer to the heating radiator. Paws are washed after each walk and whenever they become dirty.
Possible difficulties
The main difficulties arise with the toilet. The pet is not able to learn to go to the tray, therefore, when leaving home, it should be placed in a pen or cage. It is better to clip its wings; a strong and large bird, when it takes off, can cause mayhem in the apartment. Geese are capricious and jealous, they quickly get used to their owner, but they can pinch strangers and try to drive them out of the territory that the animal considers its own.
It is necessary to allocate a place in the apartment for storing feed and bedding material; you can prepare the grain mixture yourself from products purchased in the store, but problems may arise with hay in winter.
In captivity, with good care, a goose can live up to 30 years.When planning to have a feathered pet in a city apartment, you need to objectively assess your capabilities, since the bird is not very suitable for indoor keeping. Of course, there is always the option of preparing it with apples for the holiday table, but this is not the best solution.
