Are White Geese Easy to Raise? A Complete Guide to Farming Techniques

Although there are very many goose breeds, most farmers today raise White Geese. White Geese tolerate coarse feed, have strong disease resistance, and carry low farming risk. So what farming techniques are there for White Geese?

1. Selecting goslings

Goslings should be ordered from breeder goose farms with standardised management, pure breeds and no history of infectious disease. Before breeder geese begin laying, they must be vaccinated against gosling plague, paramyxovirus and other diseases, so that the goslings have sufficient maternal antibody protection.

2. Farming scale

The farming scale should be determined according to the farmer's funds, forage, market sales and other conditions. Generally, a farming household raises about 500 meat geese, or about 150 breeder geese. Professional large-scale farms can raise appropriately more: 1 000 to 2 000 meat geese, or 500 to 1000 breeder geese.

3. Building the goose house

The goose house should be built on high, dry, flat or gently sloping land, facing south or southeast, with sandy loam or soil of good permeability. Farmers can use abandoned old houses or build simple sheds, enclosed with bamboo fences or coarse netting for rearing. Sheds can also be built beside ditches or rivers with flowing water and enclosed for rearing, taking care to install metal netting to prevent predators.

4. First feeding of goslings

Usually the rearing density for goslings is 20—25 birds per sq m. After the goslings enter the house, they should first drink water within 1—2 hours; those that are weak and cannot drink should be trained to drink by hand. After 2 hours, put the prepared special gosling feed, chopped tender ryegrass and bitter lettuce into the trough and let them eat freely. For the few goslings that do not know how to eat, train them by hand 1—2 times.

5. Feeding management

According to the physiological characteristics of goslings, high-quality special gosling feed should be used; this not only meets the growth needs of goslings but also increases the survival rate during brooding. For forage, tender ryegrass, bitter lettuce and other succulent green feeds can be used, chopped and mixed with concentrated feed for feeding, allowing the goslings to eat freely. During the brooding period, the ratio of concentrated feed to forage is 1:2.

6. Group management

As the geese grow, after 1 week of age raise 20 goslings per sq m, and after 2 weeks of age raise 15 goslings per sq m. Afterwards, adjust according to the specific growth situation; if suitable, they can be raised in large pens, but each group should preferably not exceed 200 birds.

7. Daily management

Clean the goose house every day, frequently wash the feed troughs and water troughs, and spray once every 5—7 days with 0.2% Baidusha. According to local conditions and the immunisation programme, carry out immunisation promptly and accurately to strengthen the goslings' resistance to disease.

8. Raising adult geese

When geese grow to 4—10 weeks of age, they should be separated from the brooding house and moved to the growing goose house. Usually feed them 4—5 times a day, including 1 feeding at night. When feeding, chop the forage, mix it with concentrated feed and place it in the trough; the ratio of concentrated feed to forage is 1:4. The concentrated feed can be a self-mixed formula, with the formula (%) as: corn meal and pellets 45, rice bran 15, wheat bran 10, soybean meal 22, fish meal 4, bone meal 1.5, shell powder 1.6, trace element and vitamin additives 0.5, salt 0.4.

9. Disease prevention and control

Large-scale goose farming should keep the goose house clean, the ground dry, and the pens ventilated and frequently cleaned. Disinfect the site and equipment with medication regularly or irregularly. When an outbreak is found, isolate and treat promptly and bury dead geese deeply. Carry out regular immunisation and deworming; inject the goose flock according to the immunisation programme with gosling plague vaccine, avian influenza vaccine, egg-laying plague vaccine and so on, and regularly ask a veterinarian to come and check for and expel parasites.