■258 PROFITABLE POULTRY PRODUCTION ^ 



except for drinking, until they have produced 

 feathers. 



REARING THE GOSLINGS 



Little goslings are very dainty eaters at first ; their 

 appetites will come in due time. During the first 

 iew days bread crumbs, soaked in milk or water and 

 squeezed nearly dry are very good and are relished. 

 This feed may be given three or four times a day 

 with plenty of water to drink. The drinking foun- 

 tain should be arranged so the goslings cannot wet 

 more than their bills. During the second week a 

 mash of equal parts ground oats, bran and cornmeal 

 mi.xed with hot water may be fed cold five times a 

 day and continued until the goslings are a month 

 old. After the first few days they may have the 

 freedom of a small pen v/here there is plenty of 

 grass, and when two weeks old, their range may be 

 extended. Clover and alfalfa are especially good. 



When one month old the same mash may be used 

 morning and evening with perhaps a meal at noon. 

 Some breeders, however, prefer to feed the mash at 

 inorning and noon with cracked wheat at night. 

 Until the goslings are fully feathered they should 

 be kept out of the water and only those that are in- 

 tended for breeding purposes should learn to swim. 

 AVhen two months old, feeding maj^ be reduced to 

 twice a day — soft feed in the morning and cracked 

 corn or wheat, or a mixture of these two grains, at 

 night. From this time forward the goslings may be 

 allowed to roam at will. About three weeks before 

 killing, those intended for market should be penned 

 in a small space and fed a mixture of two parts corn- 

 meal one part bran and one part beef scrap, with 



