Geese in the apartment: how to keep as a pet and difficulties

The presence in the apartment of exotic or simply strange animals that were never considered suitable for keeping in indoor conditions remains popular. People keep wild animals and reptiles, ornamental pigs and farm birds. The presence of geese in an apartment has its own difficulties, which you should get acquainted with before starting birds in a metropolis.

Features of keeping geese at home

Goose is a large bird. For normal development, it 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 to consider:

• these are not cats, it is almost impossible to train them to go to the tray, geese eat a lot and shit almost everywhere if they are outside the cage;
• in summer, geese are on the run 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 daily is an impossible task;
• they eat up to 2 kilos of grass or hay per day, consider where to store the food supply, 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 systematically walked and provided with a pond or the opportunity to swim in the bath.

Birds need vet checks and vaccinations. They shed twice a year, so the apartment will have a lot of fluff and feathers. The nature of birds should be taken into account - geese are jealous and remember insults for a long time.

Suitable Breeds

It depends on the preference of the owner. All breeds of geese are divided into 3 types: heavy - when a goose weighs 7-9 kilograms, a goose - up to 8 kilograms, medium, which include most decorative breeds, light breeds, if adult geese reach 4-6 kilograms. Houses give birth to either large birds of 9-12 kilograms, which will amaze neighbors and friends with the size, or representatives of decorative breeds. For example, curly birds have a snow-white color and very beautiful plumage.

Preparation of the premises

The goose can be placed in a cage on a glazed balcony or loggia. It should be borne in mind that with a scream he is able to wake up neighbors. Sometimes they build a small aviary in one of the rooms or in the pantry, or put a suitable cage.If a pantry is determined for the pet’s housing, lighting is required in it (at least 14 hours a day).

Bedding, drinker and feeder are placed in the cage. They are washed daily. In addition to the feeder, a container with small pebbles is required, they are necessary for normal digestion. Water must be in the drinker at all times. Straw or shavings are used for bedding. To avoid odor, the bedding is changed daily. The bird should be let out of the cage every day to warm up. Once every 2-3 days, the goose needs to swim to keep the feathers clean and get rid of excess fluff.

Feeding rules

Feed the pet 3 times a day. In summer, fresh grass is required in the diet, in winter - hay, at least 2 kilograms per individual per day. In the morning and in the 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.

Important: the grain is pre-crushed, poured with boiling water and allowed to stand for 3-4 hours. Whole grains are poorly digested by birds.

During the day, in addition to grass, you need a mix 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. Feed yeast, s alt, fish oil or fishmeal should be included in the diet. To enrich the diet with calcium, cottage cheese is added to the vegetable mash, and whey is given to the pet. The feed must be of high quality, the vegetables must be clean, without signs of mold and rot.

If a little gosling (day old, or the owner decided to acquire a fertilized egg and watched the emergence process) gets to be brought up), he is given hard-boiled, finely chopped eggs. From day 5, cottage cheese is mixed with eggs, a week later finely chopped fresh nettles are 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, it is necessary to ensure that there is food in the feeder in the evening.

Hygiene

Geese must be anthelmintic 2 times a year. Drugs are purchased at a veterinary pharmacy and used according to the manufacturer's instructions. Consultation about the necessary vaccinations can be obtained at the nearest veterinary clinic. It is better to find a hospital specializing in feathered pets. Goslings after 3 weeks of age and adult birds should be bathed 2-3 times a week without the use of detergents. It is better to give your pet a little warm water.

After water procedures, the caterpillar should be placed under the lamp to dry, in winter they simply place the box with the baby closer to the radiator. Paws are washed after each walk and as they get dirty.

Possible difficulties

Main difficulties arise with the toilet. The pet is not able to learn to go to the tray, therefore, when leaving the house, it should be placed in a pen or cage. It is better to cut his wings, a strong and large bird, having taken off, can arrange a pogrom in the apartment. Geese are capricious and jealous, they quickly get used to the 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 space in the apartment to store feed and bedding material, grain mixture can be prepared independently from products bought in the store, but hay in winter can be a problem.

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 to cook it with apples for the festive table, but this is not the best solution.

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