DUCKS AND GEESE 



by goose raisers in Wisconsin and the geese from 

 this state are noted for their fine quality. 



A less intensive form of pen fattening is often 

 used by farmers where a small yard is provided in 

 addition to the pen itself and where no effort is 

 made to darken the pen. If no other means for fat- 

 tening are available, a small yard can be built, a 

 few boards arranged for a shelter at one end and 

 the birds fed in this enclosure as described above. 



Noodling Geese. Noodling geese is a method of 

 hand feeding which has for its purpose the produc- 

 tion of the best fattened geese. It is not employed to 

 any extent except in the section about Watertown, 

 Wisconsin, where the farmers specialize to some ex- 

 tent on goose fattening. It is a method requiring 

 long hours and tedious labor and cannot be profit- 

 ably carried on unless a special price can be ob- 

 tained for the product. 



In noodling geese, 8 or 10 geese are placed in a 

 pen about 8 by 12 feet which is heavily bedded with 

 straw. A partition extends halfway across the pen 

 and is utilized to keep the geese separate as they 

 are fed. Young ganders and any old ganders or 

 geese which are to be marketed are used for noo- 

 dling. 



The pen is kept dark and the geese should be dis- 

 turbed only at feeding time. The first feed is given 

 at 5 oclock in the morning and five feeds are given 

 daily at about 4 hour intervals, the last feed coming 

 at 11 p. m. However, when the geese are first put 



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