252 MAKING POULTRY PAY 



and early goslings may be also picked during the latter 

 part of August and again in October, provided they 

 are not being fattened for market. It would not be 

 necessary to secure the best farming land for geese 

 raising; on the other hand, geese would thrive much 

 better in low, marshy land which had not been under- 

 drained. If properly handled I see no reason why 

 this industry should not prove a financial success. — 

 [Charles McClave, Ohio. 



CARE OF BREEDING GEESE 



Two geese are usually sufficient for each gander, 

 and they would do better to be in pairs during the 

 breeding season. About February, when the geese 

 begin to talk "goose talk," about building a nest, the 

 ganders will begin to tell you how many there are of 

 them, which fact you might not have known before, for 

 it is very difficult to distinguish the sex in geese. This 

 distinction is very easily made by the ganders, who 

 begin to decide supremacy. One gander will drive all 

 others out of the pen, if they can get out, or injure 

 them quite severely if they cannot keep out of his way. 



Now is a good time to divide the flock. Leave 

 one or two geese with the boss gander, and remove the 

 others to another pen, and in the same way continue 

 to single out pairs or trios until you have them all 

 separate. This is only for the starting year. After 

 they are separated put leg bands on them and record 

 the same for future reference. It's a difficult matter 

 to distinguish the young from the old in the fall, and 

 the use of the leg band is the only way out of the 

 difficulty. If holes are punched in the web of their 

 feet they will grow up after a while, and the scar can 

 hardly be found. 



