[MANAGEMENT OF GEESE.]
Goose raising is not so extensively engaged in as duck raising, the conditions under which they can be successfully raised being almost entirely different from those necessary for successful duck raising. The duck, being smaller, can be raised in a more limited space than can the goose, the latter needing free range and water, while the former has been proved to do equally as well without water.
While the goose can not profitably be raised in as large numbers as the duck, still it can not justly be termed unprofitable. There are many places on a farm that are worthless for cultivation that could be utilized with excellent results for goose raising. Fields that have streams, branches, or unused springs on them could be turned to good advantage by making them into goose pastures. Many farmers are profiting by this and adding to their incomes annually. The care and attention necessary for raising geese are very small when compared with the returns, and the cost of food is also proportionately small in comparison with the cost of food used for other birds bred for market. A goose on range will gather the largest portion of its food, consisting of grasses, insects, and other animal and vegetable matter to be found in the fields and brooks.
The simplest kinds of houses are used for shelter; these should be built after the plans of those given for ducks, but should be proportionately of larger size to accommodate comfortably the number of birds to be kept. Geese are long-lived birds, some having been known to attain the age of 40 years, while birds of 15 and 20 years of age are not uncommon. They retain their laying and hatching qualities through life. Ganders should not be kept for breeding after 3 years of age; young ganders are more active and insure greater fertility of the eggs than old ones do; besides, ganders become more quarrelsome as age advances.
The feathers of geese are an important source of revenue and find a ready sale in the markets. A goose will average about 1 pound of feathers a year. The feathers should be plucked when there is no blood in the ends of the quills; this can be readily ascertained, as they will then leave the flesh without hard pulling. Almost all breeds of geese are good sitters and attentive mothers, and if left to themselves will make their nests, much as when wild, and hatch a large percentage of their eggs. But hens are now more frequently used for hatching goose eggs; as by taking the eggs from the goose when laid and giving them to hens to hatch, the goose will lay a greater number of eggs than if she were permitted to sit.
All breeds of geese, except perhaps the Egyptian, are to be recommended to farmers who keep a limited number in addition to other poultry and allow them the freedom of the farm, but when goose raising is to be more extensively engaged in, the African goose is to be especially commended. It is the quickest to mature, most prolific, and the easiest to handle of any of the varieties.
MATING AND SETTING.
In breeding African geese, mate two geese to one gander, and it will be still better if pairs are used to secure better fertility of the eggs. Those who contemplate raising geese should secure their stock in the fall, so that the birds may become accustomed to the place before the breeding season begins. The breeding stock should be at least 2 years old, and fully matured birds. When stock is purchased in the fall they should be turned out in a pasture, and no other food than what they gather themselves will be needed until the grass goes down. Their rations should then consist of equal parts by measure, bran, middlings, and corn meal, with 5 per cent of this bulk of beef scraps. They should be given a light feed of this ration in the morning, and at night they should be fed cracked corn. Ten per cent of the bulk of the daily ration should be green foods, steamed clover, and cooked vegetables.