DUCKS AND GEESE 



Length of Time Brooding Is Necessary. The time 

 that goslings need brooding will, of course, depend 

 upon the weather. During mild weather 10 days is 

 usually sufficient, after which they can do without 

 any brooding. Early in the season, brooding must be 

 extended over a longer period. This may mean any- 

 where from 2 to 4 weeks or even longer. 



Artificial Brooding. For this purpose any brooder 

 utilized for chicks or ducks can be used for goslings. 

 To start with they should have a temperature of 

 about 100 degrees but this can be reduced in a few 

 days until in a week or ten days it is only 70 to 80 

 degrees or if the weather is mild artificial heat may 

 be dispensed with entirely. Where there are only a 

 few goslings they may be put with a brood of ducks 

 as long as they need heat. It does not work so well 

 to put them with chicks both because they do not 

 require a high temperature so long as the chicks and 

 also because they are so large as to be likely to tread 

 on and injure some of the chicks. Brooders should 

 be well bedded with straw, shavings or some similar 

 material and should be cleaned out every 2 or 3 

 days so as to be kept clean and dry. Do not crowd 

 the goslings; give them plenty of room. 



Some goose raisers do not depend upon heated 

 brooders at all, especially when only a few goslings 

 are to be brooded. For the first day or two the gos- 

 lings are kept in a covered basket or box in the house 

 near a fire and after this are put out during the 

 wurmth of the day but brought into the house and 



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