GEESE 



197 



more heat, the hen should not have 

 more than five to care for. From nine 

 to eleven duck eggs are the number, 

 for the same reasons, that should be 

 given to a hen. 



Goose eggs require thirty days of 

 incubation; duck eggs twenty-eight. 

 Hens are apt to desert them towards 

 the last and should be watched, as 

 they get tired of waiting for their 

 chicks to come out. I also have had 

 hens that were so much afraid^of the 

 queer, green looking babies they 

 hatched out that they would kill them. 

 They seem to know that they are not 

 proper chickens. I feed the little geese 

 hard-boiled eggs, chopped fine, and 

 cracker crumbs moistened with water, 

 and sprinkle a little sand on the food. 

 This is the first food. The next day 

 they get the same, with lettuce 

 chopped fine. After this I add break- 

 fast oats with it and bran. As early 

 as possible I put the geese out on the 

 lawn, take the hen away from them 

 and put them into a box in the wood- 

 shed or kitchen, if the nights are cool, 

 or if I am afraid of cats or other 

 marauders. They do not require heat 

 after a few days, sometimes not aft^r 

 the first day. It depends upon the 

 weather. 



Geese are the easiest of fowls to 

 raise. They are a grazing bird and 

 must have a pasture of something 

 green to graze on. When young they 

 should not have whole grain, but a 

 mash of bran and corn meal with a 



little animal food in it, and always 

 grass or alfalfa to graze on. 



Ducks do well treated in the same 

 way, remembering to give them a lit- 

 tle sand with each meal. 



Died in the Shell I had two hens 

 sitting on duck eggs and the ducks 

 all died in the shell. The eggs were 

 pipped, but it seemed as though the 

 ducks could not get out. I dipped the 

 eggs the last six days in lukewarm 

 water once a day. I opened two eggs 

 and there was jelly around the ducks. 

 Could you kindly let me know why 

 and how it is, as I have two more 

 hens setting? Mrs. C. F. N. 



Answer Sprinkle your ducks eggs, 

 if the weather is warm and dry, three 

 times a week after the first week; let 

 the water be just as hot as you can 

 bear your hand in, and sprinkle it out 

 of a little sprinkling pot or use a 

 whisk broom to sprinkle the eggs with 

 as you would clothes for ironing; 

 leave the eggs damp for the hen to 

 go on them. This is better than float- 

 ing them in the water. Little ducks 

 can be easily helped out of the eggs 

 and still live and be strong; if they 

 seem slow in hatching, bring them 

 into the house and put a warm damp 

 flannel around them and place at the 

 back of the kitchen stove, and I think 

 they will then come out without as- 

 sistance; if not, help them out. 



GEESE 



Geese I have a few geese and just 

 lately they have started to lay; gather 

 from four to six daily. Do you think 

 by turning them daily I might save 

 them up for incubation? About what 

 degree should be kept up for them? 

 I put seven eggs under a hen. Would 

 you also tell me what should baby 

 geese be fed? J. W. 



Answer You can keep geese eggs, 

 by turning them every day, for three 

 weeks. They take thirty days to in- 

 cubate. The incubator should be 

 about 102^ for the first week and 

 103 afterwards. Five eggs is plenty 

 to put under a hen. See instructions 

 in this book for hatching duck eggs 

 in an incubator. Treat goose eggs in 

 the same way. Feed baby geese the 



same as baby ducks for the first week, 

 gradually adding chopped lettuce un- 

 til at least half their food is green food. 

 Geese are grazing animals and require 

 plenty of green, succulent food. They 

 are very easy to raise and do not re- 

 quire brooder heat more than a few 

 days. 



Toulouse Geese First, I have a few 

 geese. I had eight Toulouse goslings. 

 I fed them boiled eggs, bread crumbs, 

 oatmeal (dry), and sometimes clabber 

 cheese with a lot of fine cut grass and 

 young rye from the rye patch, as I 

 have no lettuce yet, plenty of gravel 

 and a pan of water, but they all die 

 from a week to three weeks of age. 



