Use green feed with caution: six points to note when feeding geese with green feed
Geese are herbivorous animals, and feeding is generally based on green feed, supplemented with concentrated feed. It is now spring, and there is a wide range of choices for green feed for geese, but note that when feeding geese with green feed, the following six points should be noted:
Geese
1. Green feed should be collected and fed fresh; it must not be piled up for a long time, to prevent the green feed from producing nitrite after being piled up for too long, which can cause nitrite poisoning in geese after eating it.
2. After the green feed is collected, use clean water to wash off the mud and sand, then cut it short for feeding. If geese eat green feed containing mud and sand for a long time, it can cause gastroenteritis in geese.
3. Green vegetables or pasture grass that has just been sprayed with pesticides must not be collected for feeding, to prevent pesticide poisoning. Generally, green vegetables or pasture grass that have been sprayed with pesticides can only be collected after 15 days.
4. Do not feed geese too much green vegetables that contain a lot of oxalic acid, such as spinach, beet, etc. This is because oxalic acid combines with the calcium added to the diet to form water-insoluble calcium oxalate, which geese cannot digest and absorb. Feeding this kind of green feed in large amounts for a long time will lead to an increase in the calcium oxalate content in the goose's body, causing rickets or paralysis in geese, and thin-shelled or soft-shelled eggs in female geese.
5. The feeding amount of certain leguminous pasture grasses that contain a lot of saponin should also not be too much, because excessive saponin accumulated in the goose's body will inhibit the growth of goslings. The saponin content in some varieties of alfalfa is as high as 2%, therefore, green alfalfa cannot be used as the only green feed for geese.
6. Feed a diverse range of green feed; this can not only increase the palatability for geese and raise the feed intake of geese, but also provide rich and comprehensive plant protein and vitamins.