A Detailed Guide to Farming Meat Geese for French Foie Gras
AbstractIntroduction to French foie gras: it is a French dish, made mainly using goose liver as the primary ingredient. Meat goose farming methods: first thoroughly disinfect the farm; when the goslings are first placed in the farm, the temperature must be kept at around 25-28°C; after 3-4 days of rearing it needs to be kept at around 22-23°C; after 15 days of rearing it needs to be kept at around 20°C; the geese can be raised in separate groups according to male and female, and fed concentrated feed according to their different growth stages.
I. Introduction to French Foie Gras
1. French foie gras is a French dish, made mainly using the liver of geese, birds of the Anatidae family, as the primary ingredient; goose liver generally weighs 600-900 grams, though some foie gras from the Toulouse and Strasbourg regions can weigh as much as 2 kg.
2. There are not many geese used to make French foie gras, and they must be large in body size, so that a sufficiently heavy goose liver can be produced.
3. Besides weight, the color of the goose liver is also relatively important; a liver that is injured or damaged cannot be used to make French foie gras; only pure goose or duck liver can be sold as “Foie Gras”, and the word “Gras” in French means “fatty”.
II. Meat Goose Farming Methods
1. Brooding management
(1) First, the farm must be thoroughly disinfected to prevent bacteria from infecting the goslings.
(2) Then the newly purchased farming equipment, etc., must also be thoroughly disinfected, and the newly purchased goslings must also be disinfected, to prevent bacteria from being brought into the rearing house.
(3) Finally, the heat-preservation supplies can be placed in the sun to dry for about one and a half hours.
2. Temperature and humidity
(1) Newly purchased goslings have a relatively weak constitution, so the management of temperature and humidity in the rearing house also requires great attention; when the goslings are first placed in the farm, the temperature must be kept between 25-28°C, and the humidity must be maintained at around 60%.
(2) After the goslings have been reared for about 3-4 days, the temperature can be gradually lowered and kept at around 22-23°C, while the humidity remains unchanged.
(3) Generally, after 15 days of rearing, the humidity of the farm must be raised to around 70%, while the temperature must be kept at around 20°C; then after about 7 more days of rearing, the temperature of the farm can be returned to normal.
3. Raising in separate groups
(1) During this period, the geese can be raised in separate groups according to male and female, which can avoid some unnecessary losses; generally, each group of goslings raised should be at most around 600 birds.
(2) Usually, according to the growth conditions of male and female geese, reasonable grouping is carried out by size; the reference standard for rearing is around 5-6 birds per sq m.
4. Feeding methods
(1) Whether the feeding method is correct directly determines the output and quality of the meat geese; during the rearing process, especially in the gosling growth stage, they must be fed at least around 6-8 times a day, and given water at least 3-4 times.
(2) In the growing goose stage, reasonable herding and grazing are needed, and at the same time they need to be fed around 3-4 times a day.
(3) In the fattening growth stage of the geese, concentrated feed is mainly given; generally they can be fed around 3 times during the day, and at the same time supplementary feed can be given in the evening, so that the fattening effect will be better.