How should the rearing environment be regulated during the brooding period of geese?
The brooding period of geese refers to the rearing stage from hatching to 4 weeks of age. At this time, regulation of the rearing environment is the focus of gosling rearing management and directly affects the growth and development, survival rate and production performance of the goslings. The Zi goose is a small-type goose breed; the goslings are relatively small and have weak adaptability to the environment, and their early growth and development are slow. Therefore, in view of the physiological characteristics of Zi geese during the brooding period, scientific regulation of the rearing environment is of great significance.
?Environmental temperature.Goslings are very sensitive to temperature, and both high and low temperatures are detrimental to their growth. When the temperature is high, goslings are prone to respiratory diseases or colds; when it is low, they easily catch a chill, leading to indigestion or death from piling. Therefore, a dedicated person must attend to the brooding stage and adjust the brooding temperature promptly. Because the Zi goose is a small-type goose breed, its ability to adapt to low temperatures and sudden temperature changes is very weak. Therefore, a relatively high temperature is required in the early brooding stage, and the rate of removing heat supplementation should be relatively slow.
A suitable brooding environmental temperature is an important condition for promoting the growth and development of goslings and raising their survival rate. It is the comfortable temperature actually felt by the goslings themselves at this rearing stage, not a reference temperature value derived from experience. Therefore, in actual rearing, more thermometers must be placed in the brooding house and the environmental temperature observed frequently. Whether the brooding temperature is appropriate should be judged by the goslings' specific behavioral performance and health condition. The specific method of judgment is as follows: when the temperature is suitable, the goslings are evenly distributed, breathe calmly and are quiet, have a normal appetite and feed intake, quickly fall into a quiet sleep after eating their fill, and have normal droppings, growth and development. Although goslings still have the habit of liking to lie together to rest, there is no piling or crowding one another.
In brooding production, some patterns also need to be grasped flexibly: the temperature may be higher at night and on cloudy days and lower at noon and on sunny days; it may be higher for small flocks and lower for large flocks; and it may be higher for weak goslings and appropriately lower for strong ones. After 21 days of age, when the goslings' cold resistance has increased and the temperature inside and outside the house is basically the same, heat supplementation can be gradually withdrawn.
?Relative humidity.In production, the humidity in the brooding house is required to be suitable. If the humidity is too high, pathogenic microorganisms can easily survive and reproduce, causing mold to appear in the litter, and goslings are prone to many diseases such as pullorum disease, coccidiosis, aspergillosis and colibacillosis; if the humidity is too low, the house is dry, which speeds up the loss of water from the goslings' bodies, makes the down brittle and the toes shriveled, and makes goslings prone to respiratory diseases and the like.
Within 2 weeks of age, goslings have vigorous metabolism and rapid growth and development, require a high temperature and are prone to dehydration. Therefore, the relative humidity should be 60%-70%. From 3 weeks to 4 weeks of age, goslings' metabolic rate accelerates and they are highly active; excessive humidity will hinder the dissipation of their body heat, so the relative humidity should be around 65%.
There are many ways to control the humidity in the house, and the following 4 methods can be adopted: first, install cloth curtains on the ventilation windows, which both serve to ventilate and achieve the effect of absorbing moisture and retaining heat; second, separate feeding and resting places to prevent goslings from knocking over the water in the drinkers and making the litter damp; third, change the litter frequently and clean out manure and filth frequently to keep the brooding room dry at all times; fourth, quicklime can be used to absorb moisture.
Zi goose goslings should be raised in groups according to body constitution (strong or weak) and body weight, and the rearing density should be gradually reduced as the days of age increase. Usually, from 1 day to 5 days of age it is 20-25 birds per sq m, from 6 days to 10 days of age it is 15-20 birds per sq m, from 11 days to 15 days of age it is 10-15 birds per sq m, from 16 days to 21 days of age it is 7-10 birds per sq m, and after 21 days of age the density gradually decreases.
?Reasonable lighting.Sunlight can increase goslings' body temperature and appetite, aid digestion, speed up metabolism, enhance the absorption of vitamin D, promote calcium and phosphorus metabolism, promote bone growth and strengthen the body's disease resistance. If the light is strong and lasts a long time, goslings cannot get proper rest and are prone to feather-pecking vice. Newly hatched goslings have weak eyesight, and if the light is dim it is not conducive to their drinking and feeding. At night, artificial lighting should be used to make up for the insufficiency of natural light, ensuring that the flock can move, eat and drink under light of appropriate intensity, so as to increase the growth and development rate of the goslings.