MANAGEMENT OF BREEDING GEESE 



rives, and the results in eggs laid and young stock 

 grown will not, therefore, be adversely affected. 

 For this reason, any breeding stock purchased 

 should be secured in the fall rather than to wait until 

 just before the breeding season opens. As a rule, 

 also, a better selection of breeding stock to choose 

 from is available to the purchaser in the fall. 



Time of Laying. Geese start laying in the early 

 spring and continue to lay throughout the spring. 

 With special attention given to the feeding, they 

 should begin in the northeastern part of the United 

 States about February 1 and should continue to lay 

 until about June 1 when geese of the heavier breeds 

 such as the Toulouse, African and Embden will gen- 

 erally be pretty well through. Some individuals will 

 lay later than this and the Chinese geese also have 

 a rather longer laying season extending further into 

 the summer. The length of the laying season is also 

 affected by whether the geese are broken up when 

 they become broody or whether they are allowed to 

 sit. The latter practice, of course, stops the laying. 

 It must be remembered that the Canadian and Egyp- 

 tian as a rule lay only a single small setting of eggs 

 during the season. 



As a rule geese lay during the night or the fore- 

 noon. The frequency of laying varies, some geese 

 lajdng every other day while others lay more or less 

 often. 



Housing. Geese withstand the weather very well 

 and do not need much in the way of houses or 



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