Prices for Breeding Stock
While the demand for breeding stock is not so broad with geese as it is with some other classes of poultry, there does exist a steady and profitable demand for this class of fowls. Goose eggs for hatching are usually sold in sittings of 5 and the price varies somewhat depending upon the variety. As a rule, Embden and Toulouse eggs will bring from 60 cents to $1.20 each. Chinese goose eggs will bring from 40 cents to $1 each while the eggs of the African goose will bring from $1 to $2 each. Of course the price of eggs for hatching like that of breeding birds depends on the quality of the stock. The prices for the birds themselves for breeding purposes will run anywhere from about $8 to $10 apiece for good birds suitable for breeding on farm flocks, to $25 or even $50 each of birds of especially fine quality.
CHAPTER XI
Management of Breeding Geese
Range for Breeders. Since grass or other vegetation, when plentiful, will furnish practically the entire living both for breeding and growing geese, it is by all means desirable to have suitable range for the breeding stock. Aside from economy of production range is desirable from the fact that the breeders keep in better condition and better results in breeding and fertility are obtained. The range for breeding geese should therefore consist of grass land or pasture. Often rather low wet land can be used for this purpose, particularly if some higher land is also available to provide a more favorable kind of grass. Often geese can be ranged on the same pasture with horses or cattle. Later in the season after the harvest, both breeding and growing geese can be given the range of the stubble fields to good advantage as they will glean most of the shelled grain. The entire flock of breeders is generally allowed to run together but the flock may be divided if desired, or each mating may be kept in a colony by itself if the fighting of the ganders proves troublesome.
Number of Geese to the Acre. The number of geese which can be kept or run to the acre depends of course upon the nature of the land available for the purpose. The better the pasture and therefore the more green feed available throughout the summer and fall, the more geese can be run. In general, the practice is to run from 4 to 25 geese to an acre; ten is a fair average under normal conditions.
Water for Breeding Geese. While water to which the geese can have access for swimming is not absolutely essential for their well being, they like it and it is well to provide water if possible especially during the breeding season. It not only takes care of the problem of supplying drinking water, but in the opinion of many goose raisers, increases the fertility of the eggs laid. A natural water supply such as a stream or pond in the pasture is therefore desirable, but if none is available an artificial pond or tank can be furnished to good advantage.
Distinguishing the Sex. It is difficult to distinguish the sex of geese. It is, of course, necessary to know the sex so as to provide the proper number of ganders and so as to know what birds to pen together in making a mating. Once the sex of a bird is determined it is well for the novice to mark it by means of a suitable leg band so that its sex can be easily distinguished in the future.
It is more difficult to distinguish the sex of young than of old geese. The gander is generally slightly larger and coarser than the goose, with a longer, thicker neck and larger head. The gander also has a shriller cry than the goose whose cry consists of a harsher sound. Some goose raisers claim that they can distinguish the sex of mature geese by the body shape, the underline of the body of the gander from the tail to the point where the legs join the body being nearly straight, while in the goose this line tends to round out with the fuller development of the abdomen. This difference is more marked during the laying season than at other times. Considerable experience is necessary in order to distinguish sex by any of the means described and the really sure way is by an examination of the sexual organs or by observing the actions of the geese when mating.