How to feed geese in winter: diet, maintenance and care at home

With the advent of cold weather, the maintenance of the poultry yard requires increased attention from farmers. In comparison with other inhabitants of the poultry house, geese are more picky about the conditions and diet. Breeders are rightly wondering how often and what to feed geese in winter so that the rate of build-up of mass and productivity of birds does not fall in the cold season.

Why is winter feeding different?

The maintenance of geese in winter should be based on a complete diet that provides nutritional deficiencies in the absence of fresh pasture, keeping warm, harmonious development and he alth.In summer, birds are fed grain in the morning and evening, and geese consume most of the food while walking. In winter, conditions are limited, and food must provide all the needs of the bird.

When developing a winter menu, you need to consider what geese need:

• animal and vegetable protein;
• carbs;
• fiber;
• amino acids;
• vitamins and minerals.

All components must be present on the menu daily in sufficient quantities. The mode of eating is changed gradually, moving from two meals a day to three, and then to four meals a day.

How to feed geese in winter at home

In the cold season, the nutrition of geese should be enhanced, in comparison with the summer menu, and varied. But don't feed the birds either. Obesity has a negative effect on the egg production of geese.

The basis of the winter diet of the inhabitants of the goose farm is:

1. Grain. Cereals are a source of carbohydrates for birds. Barley, oats, millet, wheat, corn are suitable for geese. Barley grain is rich in B vitamins.
2. Vegetables. Carrots, zucchini, beets, pumpkin, cabbage are given fresh, pre-chopped. You can offer boiled potatoes to geese. Vegetable crops are a source of vitamins and plant fibers.
3. Hay and silage. Grass is the main part of the geese's diet. In the absence of fresh greens, the birds are offered dry or soaked chopped hay, blanks in the form of brooms from dried nettle, birch, and alder. Brooms can be given whole or added crushed to the mash.
4. Beans. Peas and beans are pre-soaked and given to geese to make up for the deficiency of vegetable protein, B vitamins.

As a source of fiber, bran, meal, cake are added to food. Until December, two meals a day are left. In the morning, the geese are given a mash, which is a soaked mixture of cereals (1 part) and vegetables (1.5 parts) with various additives.

Additional ingredients can be:

• dried aquatic plants;
• vegetable pastes;
• vitamin complexes;
• yeast;
• meat and bone or fish meal;
• crushed eggshell;
• powdered pine needles;
• prepared dietary supplements.

In the evening feeding the birds are given soaked grain.From January they switch to three meals a day. Cereals are offered twice a day, in the morning and evening feedings, and for lunch, a wet mash of grains and vegetables is served. Or they give a mash in the morning, hay and chopped vegetables in the afternoon, grain in the evening.

After 3-4 weeks, the fourth feeding is introduced into the diet. A wet mixture of grains and vegetables is given twice a day. Soaked or sprouted grains are also offered twice. Simplifies feeding by using ready-made feed mixtures, the composition of which is adapted to the needs of birds.

What can not be given in winter?

From every food group, there are types of food that can cause malfunctions in the digestive system and cause serious illness.

Do not give geese the following food:

• fresh rye;
• Moldy and spoiled food;
• potato broth;
• potatoes with sprouts and green fruits (contain solanine);
• hay containing seeds of poisonous plants (lily of the valley, quinoa, ragweed);
• brooms from tree branches containing a large amount of tannins (oak, willow).

It is necessary to monitor the content of s alt, which should be present in the diet, but in a limited amount - no more than 0.5 grams per day.

How to water the geese?

Compliance with the drinking regime is an important part of keeping geese in the winter. Just like in summer, birds need water in winter. An adult individual drinks up to 2 liters of liquid daily.

The lack of water in the diet of geese causes a decline in productivity: females do not lay well, and males have reduced sexual function.

Geese should have free access to fresh water. The filling of drinkers must be carefully monitored or automatic drinkers should be installed to ensure a constant supply of fresh portions of water. It is allowed to give birds melt water in winter. Snow is collected from areas remote from residential areas, animal walking areas and roadways.

Rules for caring for goslings

After a few hours after the appearance of goslings, they need to be fed. In the first week of life, chicks are allowed to feed:

• crushed hard-boiled eggs;
• boiled millet, corn, barley porridge;
• semolina porridge;
• crushed oatmeal;
• mashed beets, carrots.

In the second week of life, boiled mashed potatoes can be introduced. Compound feed mixtures are selected by age. In the first 10 days they give a starting mixture, then they switch to highly nutritious feed.Feed the brood every 3 hours from birth to 7 days. By the age of two weeks, goslings are transferred to four meals a day. From 8 weeks of age, young animals are transferred to an adult diet.

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