Gray goose: description and characteristics of the breed, varieties and content

Grey goose is a large meat-fat breed of poultry, which is characterized by medium egg production and valuable down. Most often it is found in private courtyards. The gray breed includes several varieties of geese, which are bred for personal needs and for the sale of meat products. Birds are unpretentious in care, do without a reservoir and love to spend the summer on the pasture.

History of Breeding

Grey geese are bred by selection. Scientists set the task of obtaining a new type of poultry adapted to warm and cold climates.In crossing, the Roman and Toulouse breeds were used. The Ukrainian scientists of the economic complex in the village of Borki, Kharkiv region, began to develop a new variety. As a result, the Borkovsky or Ukrainian breed of the same name appeared.

During the Great Patriotic War the employees of the farm had to be evacuated. The work continued in the economy of the Tambov region. Scientists have managed to improve the quality of the breed bred in Borki. The exterior of the birds was almost the same. But a variety of geese was still singled out separately under the name Tambov.

General description and characteristics of large gray geese

External signs common to the Tambov and Ukrainian goose:

• broad-chested, with developed muscles;
• strong, close-fitting wings;
• head size is proportional to body size;
• eyes outlined in orange;
• beak orange with pink tip;
• medium length neck;
• various shades of grey;
• wings marked with a wavy pockmarked pattern;
• paws are orange.

The giant gray goose differs from other breeds by the absence of a bump above the beak and a “purse” under the beak. Geese fly well, so their wings are clipped. Females are smaller than males. They have a shorter neck. The pack has a hierarchy. Gray geese are sociable and noisy. Birds warn relatives of danger with the voice of a bird.

The normal weight of an adult goose is 5-6 kilograms, a fattened goose is more than nine kilograms. Geese do not gain more than seven kilograms and give 40-60 eggs per year.An egg weighs 160-180 grams. The survival rate of goslings is 65 percent. During the period from hatching to two months, the chick becomes heavier by 5 kilograms. Three-month-old goslings look like adult birds and are ready for slaughter at 9 months. The young molt every six months. Adult geese renew their plumage once a year.

Breed Varieties

Borkovsky goose is also known as Kharkov goose. Differences between the main greylag goose varieties relate to climate tolerance and dietary composition.

Ukrainian goose is most adapted to a warm climate and needs year-round plant feeding more than others. The Tambov variety is suitable for a temperate climate and nutrition with cereals. Other domestic breeds:

• Kuban goose - distinguished by a longitudinal black stripe on the back, from head to tail, inferior in weight to the Bork and Tambov species, in an adult carcass - 5 kilograms, more resistant to frost and dampness, has strong immunity;
• Shadrinsky (Ural) goose - known since the 17th century, appeared as a result of crossing wild and local poultry, looks like Tambov, but it can also be white;
• Mirogorod goose - used to improve other breeds, has low egg production, the female gives 15 eggs per year, the advantage, compared to the Kuban, is 400 grams.

Varieties are colloquially united under the common name gray cardinal.

Main pros and cons

Pros and consprecocity;low need for swimming;preservation of advantages when crossing with other breeds;attachment to housing;the ability to obtain plant food on pasture;versatility.rancor;average quality meat deteriorates with age;consume a lot of food;sensitive to conditions of detention;weak immunity.

Grey breed geese in egg production are inferior to breeds of the egg direction, but in the meat-fat group they show high productivity. Goose down is used to insulate outerwear, stuff pillows and blankets.

Geese should not be left in the summer in the sun. Birds quickly get sunstroke and get sick from a slight draft.

Maintenance and Care

The main requirement for a poultry house is dryness and warmth. The goose house is assembled from bricks or wooden boards, insulated and the cracks are sealed. The floor is placed on a raised platform, forty centimeters above the ground, so that dampness does not penetrate through the flooring.

For winter, the floor is covered with a layer of peat or straw. The bedding is changed every 3 days. During the winter, in a poultry house with adult birds, 40 kilograms of bedding are consumed, and with goslings - 8 kilograms.In the spring, the used goose litter is used as fertilizer. In summer, fine sand or gravel is poured onto the floor of the house.

Other requirements for keeping gray geese:

• natural and artificial lighting;
• temperature +20 degrees;
• hanging feeders;
• autodrinkers.

Nests are being built for geese - cardboard boxes with straw at the bottom are placed in the house before laying eggs.

Diet

Food is selected taking into account the purpose of breeding geese. For fattening, birds are given more grain with protein - barley and oats. To prevent vitamin deficiency and normal digestion, geese need fresh field grass, alfalfa, hay. For the development of bones in chicks and the formation of eggshells in laying hens, fat-free cottage cheese, flour from fish and beef bones, chalk and s alt are given.

A special approach to feeding is required for gray goslings up to four months of age:

• 1st-3rd day - chopped boiled egg and corn grains mixed in cottage cheese;
• 4th-7th day - boiled chopped potatoes, carrots, cake;
• 2nd-4th week of life - legumes, bran and mineral supplements are introduced;
• 5th-8th week - crushed barley, oats and wheat, bone meal are added;
• 3rd-4th month - bone meal is removed from the diet.

From the sixth month, the young are given more peas. The food is diluted with a small amount of water to the consistency of porridge. When fattening, there are 8-12 kilograms of feed per kilogram of weight, most of which is succulent feed.

Birds become adults at the age of nine months. Their diet does not change significantly. In summer, geese forage for plant food in the pasture. For the winter, hay, root crops, as well as alder and birch branches with leaves are harvested for them. The rods are hung in the goose, and the crushed leaves are added to food.

Chicks are fed 4 times a day, and geese - 3 times. To digest food, young and adult birds are given to swallow fine gravel or crushed shells. Fresh mixtures of grains and herbs can be combined with compound feed.

Bird breeding

Grey geese become sexually mature at 8-10 months. The mating season is in February and March. In the wild, males are monogamous. In private farms, there is one goose for two or three geese. Females incubate eggs from March to April. For the time of incubation, additional lighting is required in the evening so that the daylight hours of the hens last 15 hours.The temperature in the poultry house should not fall below nineteen degrees Celsius. Therefore, in a long cold spring, you will need to heat the room with a heater.

Calcium-rich foods are added to the diet of hens - cottage cheese, yogurt. They also provide ready-made food supplements. Otherwise, from a lack of substance, the geese will peck at the egg shells. The hens are fed 3 times a day, calling to the feeder in turn.

Peak fertility in gray geese occurs in the third or fourth year of life. The geese lay every two days. New eggs are transferred to the incubator and kept cool. To hatch the chicks, 15-17 eggs are left, which are laid on the hen at the same time. Gray geese take care of their offspring with care, and geese protect them. Taking chicks from their parents is not recommended. The birds are getting restless.

Frequent diseases

Grey geese are susceptible to typical infectious diseases in poultry. Symptoms and treatments are summarized in the table:

Transmitted goslings from mother. Conjunctivitis Introduction of serum, antibiotics, nitrofurans.Rodent-borne Salmonella and carrier geese. Drowsiness Pathogen Pasteurella is transmitted from wild birds. Apathy The acute form proceeds rapidly, without symptoms and is incurable. Geese die for no reason.Develops after infection with coccidia bacteria. Mucoid, bloody diarrhea Using antibiotics and probiotics.Parasites enter the body of birds while grazing in swampy areas. Periodic diarrhea Parasites are destroyed by anthelmintic drugs: Albendazole, Levamisole, Tetramizole.

Name	Description	Symptoms	Treatment
Viral enteritis	Occurs due to poor hygiene in the poultry house.	Nasal discharge Diarrhea with blood	Vaccination after hatching and revaccination at one month of age.
Salmonellosis	The bacterium is activated when immunity decreases after illness, overheating or beriberi.	Thirst Paralysis Conjunctivitis Swollen joints	The antibiotic Tromexin is used.
Pasteurellosis	Accompanied by sepsis and fatal.	Green Litter Lameness Dangy Wings	In the chronic form, antibiotics are used.
Coccidiosis	More common in goslings up to three months of age.	Anemia Slowness Chills
Worms		Weight Loss Goslings retarded in development	Twice a year, preventive worming is carried out.

The main reasons for the spread of infections are a dirty poultry house and the lack of supervision of geese on grazing. Food and water should not be left free for sparrows and other wild birds.

Where to buy and cost?

Eggs and chicks of gray geese are sold by private farms in the Sverdlovsk, Chelyabinsk, Rostov, Voronezh, Bryansk regions, as well as in the Altai Territory. The average price for goslings is 900 rubles. The cost of a young goose family of three females and a gander is 10,000 rubles. A breeding goose can be purchased for 3,500 rubles. The cost depends on the age and purity of the birds.

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