Detailed Explanation of the Two-Month Rapid Fattening Method for Meat Geese

Meat geese grow relatively fast before 60 days of age, with high absolute weight gain; afterward, as age in days increases, daily weight gain declines, and feed consumption and costs rise. Therefore, raising meat geese to 60 days of age and then selling them yields the highest economic benefit. Here, we specially introduce the 60-day rapid fattening method for meat geese:

I. Selection of goslings.

Choose meat goose breeds that are large in body size, fast-growing, and tolerant of coarse feed. Goslings should be responsive and lively, with good yolk absorption 1 and good umbilical retraction.

II. Management during the brooding period.

Brooding room temperature: 28-32cc for 1-5 days of age, 25-28°C for 6-15 days of age, and maintained at 18-20°C after 16 days of age; humidity controlled at 50%-60%; rearing density of 8-12 birds per square meter. Before first feeding, goslings should drink water first: add 5 ml of vitamin C, 6 ml of vitamin B, and 5 g of glucose to every 100 ml of 0.05% potassium permanganate water, and let the geese drink it for intestinal disinfection. Then scatter finely chopped vegetable leaves on a plastic sheet to attract the goslings to eat. For goslings 2-4 days of age, feed 4-5 times during the day and 2 times at night; for 5-10 days of age, feed 6 times during the day and 2 times at night; for 11-20 days of age, some grazing time can be increased, and feeding frequency can be reduced to 4-5 times during the day and 2 times at night; for 21-30 days of age, feed 3-4 times during the day and 1 time at night. Afterward, the grazing time can be extended and the number of feedings appropriately reduced.

III. Feeding of 30-day-old geese.

Geese at 30 days of age should be supplemented with concentrated feed and eat their fill before grazing each day; generally, each bird is supplemented with 100-200 g of compound feed per day, with a ratio of compound feed to coarse feed of 2:8. The compound feed should be mixed with water to a semi-dry, semi-moist consistency before being fed to the geese.

IV. Rapid fattening method.

At 40 days of age, geese can reach a body weight of about 2 kg. Starting at 40 days of age, carry out 20 days of intensive fattening, and the geese can reach a body weight of more than 4 kg, meeting market specifications. Intensive fattening can use the following methods:

1. Barn feeding fattening method: Raise the geese indoors in a dimly lit house, restrict their movement, mix carbohydrate-rich compound feed with water, let it stand for 3 hours, then feed it to the geese; feed 3 times during the day and provide sufficient water, with 1 additional night feeding each day.

2. Pen fattening method: Raise the geese in pens, do not graze them, and restrict their movement; use a varied diet, feeding 5 times during the day and 1 time at night.

3. Force-feeding fattening method: Add an appropriate amount of water to high-energy compound feed and roll it into strips 1-1.5 cm thick and 6 cm long, then manually insert them into the goose's esophagus. When force-feeding, hold the goose's head with the left hand so that its beak opens, clamp the goose's body between both knees, dip the feed in water with the right hand, and use the index finger to push the feed strip into the goose's esophagus; after inserting each strip, use the hand to push along the goose's neck so it swallows. For the first 3 days, feed 5 strips per bird per day; from days 4-8, feed 6 strips per bird per day; after 8 days, feed 9 strips per bird per day, and provide sufficient drinking water.