CHAPTER XIV 

 Fattening and Marketing Geese 



Classes of Geese Marketed. The market geese 

 consist principally of the surplus young ganders not 

 required for breeding purposes and such of the old 

 geese of either sex as it may be considered desirable 

 to get rid of. Some young females, when the num- 

 ber raised is in excess of the number required for 

 breeders also find their way to market. While these 

 geese are marketed in the largest numbers during 

 the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season, 

 particularly the latter, some geese of course find 

 their way to market practically throughout the year. 

 There is also a rather limited trade in "green geese" 

 which corresponds to the trade in spring or "green" 

 ducklings. Green geese are goslings about 12 to 16 

 weeks old, generally of the larger breeds, which are 

 forced for rapid growth and are made to weigh in 

 the neighborhood of 10 pounds at that age. These 

 bring a good price and yield a good profit where 

 there is demand for this class of geese. 



Markets and Prices. As with most classes of poul- 

 try, the large cities offer the best market for geese. 

 Especially the cities which have a large foreign pop- 

 ulation make good markets as many foreigners are 



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