Microlivestock Little-Known Small Animals with a Promising Economic Future (1991) / Chapter Skim
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7 Geese
7 Geese
Pages 101-114
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From page 101... ...
These birds are especially appropriate for providing farmers a supplemental income. With little extra work they supply nutritious meat, huge eggs, and rich fat for cooking, as well as soft down and feathers for bedding and clothing.
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From page 102... ...
These breeds seem better suited to hot climates. In addition to these, many European and Asian countries have their own local breeds and types, and there are even several wild species that show some potential for captive production.
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From page 104... ...
(For instance, in Canada, geese are wintered outdoors in subfreezing temperatures, with merely a simple shelter from wind.) For tropical developing countries, the Chinese type, which is widely kept in Southeast Asia, is especially promising.
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From page 105... ...
BEHAVIOR One of the most intelligent birds, the goose has a good memory and does not quickly forget people, animals, or situations that have frightened it. While personalities and habits vary among individual specimens, there are common behavioral patterns, such as the pecking order, that allow individuals to live peaceably together.
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From page 106... ...
HUSBANDRY Methods of caring for adult geese vary according to climate, breed, and people's experiences and needs. Overall, however, the birds cause little trouble and require little expense.
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From page 107... ...
. They might thus produce lean birds that would fetch premium prices because excessive fat is the major drawback of today's commercial geese.
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From page 109... ...
This method of clearing fields was so effective that by 1960 more than 175, 000 geese honked their way across the carefully tended farmland, mainly in the Southwest. Seven days a week, rain or shine, the feathered field hands slaved uncomplainingly from daybreak to dusk, even putting in overtime on moonlit nights.
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From page 110... ...
Opposite: Geese make good "watchdogs." They once saved ancient Rome from the attacking Gauls, and today they help guard modern missiles on military bases in Europe. At the Ballantine bonded warehouses near Glasgow, Scotland, more than 100 geese zealously protect 240 million liters of maturing whiskeys.
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From page 112... ...
Excessive concentrations of geese on ponds or along creeks encourages unsanitary conditions, muddies water, hastens bank erosion, and destroys plant life. Where sanitation is poor, salmonellosis can devastate geese and be transmitted, via meat and eggs, to humans.
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From page 113... ...
needed by grazing geese; · Physiology of digestion and reproduction; · Clarifying the inheritance of various traits; · Genetic selection for specific meat, eggs, growth factors, or disease resistance; · Comparative studies of the relative efficiency (especially of feed utilization) of the various types and breeds for specific climates in underdeveloped countries; · Weeding tropical crops with geese; and · Studying diseases and cross-infection with other birds
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