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New York 
The Rural New Yorker 
The Business Farmer’s Paper 
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VoL. LXXVI. NEW YORK. APRIL 7, 1017. No. 4424. 
A Venture in Goose Farming 
Utilizing a Swamp Farm 
I have ii swamp of seven ac-res with small brook 
through the middle. It is quite wet. and in Summer 
is teeming with imlliwogs and several different kinds 
of bugs and insects usually found in such places. It 
grows quite a crop of hay and rushes each Summer, 
and has been used a.s nothing but part of a pasture for 
young cattle for 110 or more years; is situated in 
southern part of Quebec near the Vermont border. I 
have planned to turn this iTito one large goose pasture, 
and am asking you if my plan is i)ractical. 
(In one side of the swamp is a field of 'ly, acres 
(slightly moist) that I plan to sow to Dwarf Essex 
rape, as a supplementary pasture; on the other side a 
field of about an acre that I plan to sow to Canada 
l>eas with a little millet to support them. These I 
think could be harvested by the gee.se and would help 
get them in condition to fattmi laisily. Incubator to 
be used for hatching and all eggs to be purchased 
wherever I can get them. I have been told that it is 
not practical to try to hatch goose eggs that have been 
handled roughly, or that have been shaken up as they 
would b(‘ in transportation. One woman who has raised 
them tells me that she gathers the eggs very gently 
and places tlnun in cotton and turns them every day. 
I plan to hatch two lots of .‘!00 eggs each, the first 
lot to be placed in the incubators about April l.oth, 
and the others as soon as the first hatch is completial. 
Will buy one old gooso and gamier to lead the dock as 
for specialty products as either f)f the two Eastern 
markets. 
BI'YINi; STOCK.—Personally. I would prefer 
starting in the Fall, hnying breeding stock and mat¬ 
ing the gee.se in the Fall, and then hatching the 
goslings from my own eggs in the Spring. There 
^i;e advantages in purchasing breeding stock over 
and above the purchasing of hatching eggs. In the 
first place, you will find it very diflicnlt indeed to 
purchase goose eggs in large (luantities. I do not 
know of any breedei’s in Canada from whom you 
could get GOO goose eggs, and I would suggest that 
yon get in touch with some of the goose hreedei’s in 
Bristol C'ounty, Dlass., or in Newport Count.v, 
Bhode Island, these two counties being noted as 
goose-raising centres. Coo.se eggs can be shipped 
safel.v a considei’able distance, and I do not think 
they are as liable to breakage as ar<‘ hen's eggs. 
FERTILITY OF ECCS.—On the other hand, one 
great dllliculty in connection with starting in the 
goose venture by buying hatching eggs is the factor 
of fertility. Breeders of geese in large numbers 
often have difticulty in securing a good percentage 
lircducing your own hatching eggs on your own 
plant, you can take precaution to insure good fer¬ 
tility. and the hatching eggs are immediately at 
your disposal. If you have trouble relative to fer¬ 
tility you can remedy the matter. From one to 
four females may be mated with each male, and 
the h(‘st breeders are females three years old or 
over, as most females do not reach maturity until 
about that age. The females .should be pi’ofitable 
breeders until they are 10 or 12 years old. while the 
males may he used until they are six or seven 
years old. Finally, yon are in a position to hatch 
the eggs wluui it is most desirable. 
I^SINC TlfE INCFBATOR.—Coose eggs can be 
incubated in inenbators (luite successfully and they 
require the .same treatment as do dnek eggs. More 
moisture is refiuired for hatching goose and duck 
eggs than is the case with hen egg.s. In fact, it is 
diflicnlt to get too liigh a percentage of humidity 
in the incubators for duck and goo.se eggs. Nat¬ 
urally on account of the size the temperature must 
be about two degrees higher than for hen’s eggs and 
from g2 to Go days are required. 
j 
soon as they are old enough to be out. Will hou.se 
thein every night in one roof shed, facing .south; front 
is made of burlap on frames that swing in ; good dry 
quarters. I understand incubation but have never 
liidched a goose egg. What is an average hatch from 
IGO eggs that have been shipped IfKt or more miles, 
.'iupposing they were of average fertility? 
llow many growing gee.se do you think I should pas¬ 
ture in the swamj) and rape field de.scribedV What 
is a good grain feed for them, how much and how often 
should they have it after tliey are a few weeks old 
and on pasture? I have oats, barley, wheat, little 
corn and can buy the common ground feeds, as shorts, 
ndddlinga, bran, etc. I shall have, in I'all, abundance 
of small potatoes, cider apples, pumpkins, mangels, 
etc.; can cook them and mix with corn if the feed is 
good for them. I .selected rape and Canada peas solely 
on account of their good feeding (lualities. but do not 
know the attitude of a goose towards either one. 
F. I), n. 
A D.TACENT markets.—F rom the standpoint of 
location there are advantages. Idie Montreal 
and Boston markets are not at a great distance and 
Itr(»vided high quality geese are raised there should 
lie no difficulty in disposing of them at either of the 
above markets at very good figures. The Montreal 
market is one of the best on the continent, although 
it is not nearly as di.scriminating as New Y'ork 
a;ul Boston, and it will hardly offer as high jirices 
A Goose Convention on the Highway. Fig. 203 
of fertile eggs, q'his unreliability, of fertility in 
goo.se egg.s makes the purchasing of hatching eggs in 
large quantities a. risky problem, as very few goo.se 
breeders are in a position to guarantee a certain 
percentage of fertile egg.s, and moreover in many 
cases they are not in a position to replace the in¬ 
fertile eggs, heciiuse by the time you have received 
your eggs and have been able to test them the par¬ 
ticular breeder from whom you got the eggs may 
be getting but very few eggs. 
ADVANTAGES OF BUYING BIRDS.—Against 
these disadvantages relative to purchasing hatching 
(‘ggs I would .sa.v that when you purchase breeding 
stock you know exactly the quality of stock you are 
getting, particularly when you are able to get in 
personal touch with the breeder from whom you 
purchase the stock. That iu itself is an important 
matter. Furthermore, it is worth while visiting the 
breeder in question and making the .selection your¬ 
self iirovided .vou are iu a position to .‘select good 
breeders. Then again, having purchased breeding 
stock, tliey can be mated in the Fall so that good 
fertility Avill be insured in the Spring. You are 
BROODING GOSLINGS.—Goslings can be reared 
quite easily with brooders. In fact, 1 have often 
thought that goslings and ducklings are ea.sier to 
reiir with brooders than are chicks. It is import¬ 
ant to keeji the temperature of the brooders fairly 
uniform but not too,^ warm, and as the goslings 
grow rapidly the temperature may be lowered, so 
that in a few weeks they do not i-equire any heat. 
FEEDING THE YOUNG BIRDS.—The feeding 
of the goslings is rather a simple matter, for it is 
well known that gee.se will eat almost anything, al- 
though the goslings have a more delicate appetite 
than mature geese. The little goslings shouhl lie 
F('d a mash food ration of .some kind and o irood 
om* is made of equal parts cornme.il, hr,in and low- 
grade flour. This ma.sh .should lie mixe<l with skim- 
milk or with water, and it should be fed .ibout 
three times a day until the goslings are a few 
weeks old. Oyster shell and grit should be pro¬ 
vided, .so that the goslings can help them.selves at 
any time. Clean water is also e.ssential, and it 
should be given severai times a day. In order to 
have goslings grow well they must be giveu plenty 
