The goose is an animal that is raised for the most varied reasons: from the production of eggs, to meat and feathers, but sometimes also as a garden and guard animal. Whatever the purpose of breeding, it is a fairly simple animal to care for, but it is very important to know what to feed the geese: goose feeding is essential in the growth and healthy development of the animal.
What do they eat?
Feeding domestic geese presents no particular concern, since geese are virtually omnivorous . It is a trait that they developed following their cohabitation with man: if originally the favorite food of wild geese was made up of grass, aquatic plants and small molluscs, since they started living alongside man they have taken the habit of eating leftovers from meals and garden waste .
However, if there is the possibility, it is always good to graze your geese . By doing so, they will have the opportunity to graze the grass in the fields and also eat tubers and roots, as well as some caterpillars and insects , thus adding proteins to their diet. For our part, we can supplement what they take on grazing with a few grains of wheat or barley, or even better with specific pellets that guarantee them adequate support of nutritional elements . Either way, make sure they always have plenty of fruit and vegetables.
In the event that there is no possibility of grazing them, or if they are kept fattening, it is necessary to integrate the specific feedwith cut grass, fodder corn, vegetable peels and roots . Other geese food that we can give are seeds (barley, oats, wheat), dandelions and white clovers, but also vegetables (carrots, cabbage, salads).
In case you have a vegetable garden, be very careful to leave the geese free; as well as sheep, in fact, they can damage and eat various plants and vegetables , in particular corn plants, peas and lettuce.
Feeding newborn geese
What do geese chicks eat? Unlike that for chickens, just hatched geese food should not contain coccidiostat inside. For chicks, a protein-rich first period feed is indicated , to be supplemented with grass and vegetables after about 15 days.
To help bone and plumage development, you can also dissolve powdered or flaked brewer’s yeast in the water (avoid the one in loaves which can cause intestinal fermentation and dysentery) in the water, which acts as a mineral and protein supplement. business suit. It must be administered continuously and constantly: up to 4 months about one and a half tablespoons dissolved in 1 liter of water, while once you become adults it can be diluted in 4/5 liters.
Organic feeding geese
According to the organic standard, the diet that a poultry farmer must give to his birds must be based above all on cereals and vegetable proteins . The administration of animal proteins is not allowed, much less that of substances that stimulate the appetite or promote the growth of the animal.
It is therefore a less protective diet than that of conventional poultry farms. With this diet the animal is raised in a natural way, in order to obtain meat and products richer in flavor than those of traditional poultry farms.
Can geese eat bread?
Although it is common to give white bread to ducks and geese in the ponds of the parks, in reality it is absolutely not a food for geese , indeed it can be lethal.
Why does white bread kill birds? Geese, as well as ducks, swans and other water birds, can suffer from the so – called angel’s wing . It is a deformation of the wings , which finds its causes in food imbalances, such as: excess of proteins , deficiency of vitamins D and E and of mineral salts, in particular manganese. These imbalances can cause delayed development of the wing cartilages.
This deformation causes the last wing joint to bend unnaturally outward , rather than lying flat along the body as it should. Whether it occurs on both wings or just one of them, it prevents the animal from flying and therefore from escaping from predators or sheltering from the elements.
If it occurs in very young birds, this condition can be corrected by intervening on the feeding and immobilizing and repositioning the affected wing or wings, without however being sure of a complete recovery.
In fact, this deformation cannot be cured , but only prevented with a correct diet from birth. Ducks, geese and birds reared by humans or those living in urbanized areas suffer from it, since their diet is often made of white bread or pasta and therefore an excess of carbohydrates and sugars. So avoid giving geese bread, crackers or popcorn, giving them cereals, lettuce, cabbage or chard instead.
