If you live in a rural area, think about organizing your own farm, but do not have much experience in this area, then it is worth considering the poultry industry and, in particular, breeding geese. This business requires relatively small starting investments and at the same time is characterized by a rather high profitability. From one bird per season, you can get about 7-8 goslings that grow very quickly and in two months increase their body weight by almost forty times. Already a two-month-old young weighs up to four kilograms. At the same time, the cost of feed is three kilograms per kilogram of weight gained. Many farms use intensive methods of growing geese, which can significantly increase the already considerable profitability and reduce the payback period of such a farming business.
Of course, it is most beneficial to engage in poultry farming if you have your own farm with poultry houses. In the absence of such, you can rent an area or purchase it in the property. The first option is more profitable at the initial stage of doing business and is suitable if you do not have sufficient funds to purchase an existing farm. The second option is suitable for the long term if you plan to expand your business and create a full-fledged poultry farm in the future.
Why geese?
Geese have the greatest life expectancy compared to other poultry. Although, of course, at the poultry farm the birds do not live to old age, but the long life span favorably affects egg production. Unlike many other birds, the egg production of geese of two to three years of age not only does not decrease, but, on the contrary, increases by almost 20%. Geese are practically non-waste birds. They receive tasty and nutritious meat, fat used in cooking and pharmaceuticals, liver, which is considered a delicacy of products, feathers and fluff, which has high elasticity and low hygroscopicity, as well as eggs. Even litter comes into play - it is an excellent organic fertilizer that owners of greenhouses and greenhouses willingly acquire.
The geese themselves are quite unpretentious in content, quickly adapt to a new place, have good immunity. For these reasons, even beginners in poultry farming can engage in the maintenance and breeding of geese.
Goose business can be conducted in two different directions. The first - the simplest, quickest payback and least costly - growing young animals for sale for meat. The second direction is the breeding of geese - incubation of eggs with the subsequent sale of young animals. Medium and large farms try to cover two areas at once, doing both breeding and raising geese for slaughter. Small farms, as a rule, choose the first direction with the prospect of subsequent breeding of geese, which can significantly increase the profitability of the business.
But nevertheless, in spite of all the advantages of such a farm, before starting to solve organizational issues, it will not hurt to draw up a detailed business plan. For some reason, it is widely believed that a business plan is needed only in cases where an entrepreneur plans to borrow money or attract investors. Meanwhile, phased work on a business plan will help you clarify a large number of important issues - from the presence of competitors and the demand for such products to the total cost and expected profit.
Organization of a goose breeding farm
If you consider breeding geese as a business, and not as a hobby or extra income, then you should start with a herd of at least 500 goals. As for the breed, which is worth choosing for breeding, here the opinions of experts differ. Several breeds can be distinguished at once, which are most popular among domestic poultry houses: Kholmogorskaya, large gray, Danish legart, Toulouse, Gorky, Italian white, Rhine white, Arzamas, Emden, Kuban. Geese of the Kholmogorsk variety are considered one of the largest. The mass of an adult male can reach ten kilograms, and females - eight kilograms. One female lays about forty eggs. Large gray geese have a strong physique. An adult gander weighs about eight kilograms, and a female weighs about six kilograms. The egg production of this breed is the same as that of Kholmogorsk. Legart geese are considered the most beneficial in content. They eat 20% less feed than birds of other breeds. At the same time, goslings at two months of age reach a body weight of more than six kilograms. The Toulouse breed was bred in France. Geese of this breed are characterized by the greatest body weight and fat content. The weight of the gander can reach up to twelve kilograms, and the females - up to ten kilograms. Toulouse geese are bred mainly to obtain the liver. They do not tolerate low temperatures and move little. Gorky breed is meat. An adult gander reaches a weight of ten kilograms, and a goose - eight kilograms. Females lay up to 50 eggs in one clutch. Geese of the Italian white breed are distinguished by rapid growth and good weight (up to nine kilograms). Geese chip up to 50 eggs. Geese of the Rhine white breed are distinguished by good egg production (up to 45-50 eggs per clutch), moderate weight (up to six and a half kilograms) and at the same time high taste qualities of meat. Birds of Arzamas selection tolerate temperature extremes and are resistant to diseases. Their meat has a good taste, and body weight does not exceed seven kilograms. Emden geese are large and fat. The weight of a goose can be about ten kilograms, and females - eight kilograms. The best indicators of egg production are geese of the Kuban breed . They lay up to 90 eggs! At the same time, geese of this species are of the light type - the weight of the goose does not exceed five kilograms, and the gander - five and a half - six kilograms.
Thus, for a beginner, geese of the Legart breed are suitable. In the future, you can increase the number of livestock due to Italian white and large gray birds. And then you can cross one of these breeds with Chinese goose, which will increase the egg production of birds more than doubled.
In general, geese are quite unpretentious in content. Most of the time they spend in the fresh air. However, one can’t do without a house. Under it, you can use an old plank shed with a wall thickness of 3 cm or even a former barn. Ideally, your farm should be located close to pasture and pond. An adult goose eats about 1.5-2 kilograms of fresh herbs per day. If there is a reservoir near the farm, you can grow not only birds, but also fish, which will increase your income. The area of the house depends on the livestock of your herd. Although geese do not lead a very mobile way of life, but because of their large body mass, they require at least one square meter per bird. The height of the house in the passage should be up to two meters, and near the walls - at least up to one and a half meters.
Despite the fact that geese are water birds, they do not tolerate excessive moisture. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure dryness and the absence of drafts in the house: if necessary, repair the roof, fill the cracks in the walls with a mixture of clay and barn in a ratio of 1: 1. It is desirable that the windows and manholes face south or southeast. The floor must also be dry. Geese tolerate low temperatures quite well. The main thing is that in the house in winter there should be a deep litter with a thickness of at least thirty centimeters. It must be constantly changed. Hay is used as a litter. It can be harvested by yourself. However, keep in mind that the consumption of litter in the grouse will be very large: the beak and paws of geese are their weak points. They must be kept clean and dry. Accordingly, you will need to not only prepare large quantities of hay, but also find a place to store it. Hay can also be purchased. For 500 geese, about 500 kg of hay will be required. Such an amount will cost 25-30 thousand rubles.
In order for goose droppings to be used as fertilizer, the litter is sprinkled once a week with simple (400 g) or double (200 g) superphosphate per one square meter of floor. Superphosphate dries the litter and prevents the release of large amounts of ammonia from it. Also, do not forget to regularly clean and disinfect the crawler.
One room for the house can be divided into several pens: a common one for keeping the main herd and separate for old and young birds, for especially pugnacious geese and gander. In a random season, nests must be installed in the pen, which are made of wooden boards or slats 60 to 70 cm in size with a wall height of 15-20 cm. The slots between the boards in the nest must be such that the bird's head cannot climb through them. The bottom of the nest is covered with lush litter, and goose down is laid on top of it. It is recommended to block the nests so that the geese do not see other hens, otherwise fights cannot be avoided.
To increase the percentage of fertilized eggs, it is necessary to provide the bird with the possibility of regular walks. If it is not possible to keep the bird on a free range in the yard, it is necessary to equip special aviaries. An aviary for goslings should be an area of at least one square meter, for young animals - from five square meters, and for adult birds - from fifteen square meters.
Breeding geese
For successful goose breeding, it is necessary to choose the right pair. When choosing a bird, pay attention to its origin. It is recommended to purchase birds from different breeders in order to avoid the emergence of family ties between females and males. Distinguishing a gander from a goose is quite simple. Males are usually 1-1.5 kg heavier than females. On the wings they have the so-called "scissors" - two small feathers. Good birds should have ten fly feathers of the first and second order, the same number of tail upper and lower feathers should be on the tail. When selecting males, it is necessary to take into account not only productive qualities, but also its militancy. The gander, which is killed by females, is rejected and is not left for breeding.
3-5 geese are left for each gander. You can use a good gander for 8-10 years. But every year a herd of geese is replenished with a young bird by 20-30%. If the herd is just forming and only young birds are present in it, then families are formed at the rate of 2-4 geese per gander, in order to increase productivity. In autumn, males, which are characterized by the lowest productivity, are slaughtered for meat. During males, it is recommended that males be kept separate from each other to prevent constant fights. In winter, males are kept separate from geese. At this time of the year, when kept together, most of the gander is fed from a common feeder, but it is recommended that a separate feeder be made for the leader. In the spring, gander is resettled into families, and after the offspring all all individual families are again united into one herd.
Make sure that the birds bred in the same litter do not interbreed with each other, as this will negatively affect both the weight of the offspring and their breed qualities. If a female chooses a gander from someone else's herd (for example, this is possible with a joint grazing), then experts advise to purchase or exchange it. The laying of geese begins in late February - early March. The laid eggs must be carefully collected and stored in a dry place at a temperature of 7-13 ° C for no more than a month. Store them upright with the sharp end down. For safety, they are shifted every day (turned over). To increase the percentage of hatching, the eggs are laid under the brood no later than ten days after they are laid, but it is better not to delay it and lay eggs in 3-5 days.
Geese usually nest in mid-March, but the exact timing depends on the conditions of the birds and on the weather. If the female does not incubate eggs well, but at the same time has a high egg production, then she should not be rejected. Eggs obtained from such a bird are laid to hens. If possible, you should strive to obtain coeval broods. To do this, geese should begin to incubate eggs almost simultaneously. If one of the geese landed on the eggs before the others, it is recommended to lay one egg on it, and when the remaining geese sit on the eggs, the laid egg is taken. Lining eggs is best in the evening. 10-12 days after the onset of hatching, the eggs are carefully removed from the nest and viewed on an ovoscope, removing substandard eggs from the masonry. On the 28th day they are sprayed with water, on the 29th day the first bites appear, and on the 30-31 days the whole brood appears.
Feeding geese
Goslings are fed as soon as they have dried. Early feeding and drinking contributes to the subsequent better development of young animals. In the first 3-5 days after birth, goslings are fed every two hours. Vegetable foods (nettle, clover, dandelion, herbs from sweet cereal grass and legumes), finely chopped chicken eggs with crushed wheat, small oatmeal, barley groats and wheat bran must be present in the diet of chicks. Often the goslings of the first days of life are fed with soaked crushed peas with finely chopped greens, as well as wet, loose mixes with lactic acid products (yogurt, cottage cheese). It is recommended to add baker's yeast and fish oil in a small amount. Especially good results are obtained by combining concentrated feed with green feed. The main condition is that all feed and water must be fresh and clean. Moreover, water should always be in excess, as geese not only drink water, but also wash their beaks with it. To avoid splashing water (first of all, excessively high humidity), drinking bowls are installed on trays covered with a metal or wooden grate. From the tenth day of life, potassium permanganate is added to the water for goslings every other day, diluting it to a pale pink color.
The food for goslings of the first days is laid out on trays with low sides. From the third day they are replaced with wooden troughs so that the growing chicks do not trample the food. From 1-1.5 months young growth is fed from adult bird feeders. For 2.5 months, goslings eat about 30 kg of greens, 12 kg of grain mixture and 3 kg of other feed.
In summer, adult birds are recommended to be bred on pasture. In the absence of such, they must be given, without limitation, fresh greens (nettle, weed, meadow forbs). In winter, up to 30-40% of concentrates are replaced with roughage - hay flour, oatmeal, root crops and millet husk. In addition, in the autumn-winter period, it is recommended to introduce barley, corn, peas or beans, sugar beets, boiled potatoes, chalk, shells, and feed fat into the diet of geese. As a supplement, birds are given special vitamin mixtures (consumption is 50-70 g per head). In the breeding period, geese are fed especially abundantly and often to increase egg production: in the morning and in the afternoon they are given a wet mash, and in the evening - grain. Since geese are distinguished by a high metabolism of minerals, their diet should have enough calcium, phosphorus and sodium (they are given by crushed shell and chalk).
Costs and revenues of a goose farm
For the construction and / or repair of the premises for the poultry house, the arrangement of aviaries for walking geese, at least 150 thousand rubles will be required. In retail, the cost of a caterpillar is from 120 rubles and above. Wholesale price will be almost two times lower - from 70 rubles per head. Thus, the purchase of 500 birds will require 35 thousand rubles. But this is only if you get geese of the same breed. Experts advise taking several breeds at once, respectively, the purchase price will be higher in the end. A minimum of 30 thousand rubles will be spent on the purchase of hay for bedding. Grain can be purchased at a price of 150 rubles per 50 kg. Also, if you intend to breed geese, you will need special equipment - an incubator, an ovoscope and a brooder (from 50 thousand rubles). Although it is better (and more profitable) to breed goslings with a brood hen. Goslings from the age of three days are on sale.
Additional costs associated with veterinary care of birds. So, for example, it is necessary to vaccinate livestock in the fall and spring. Although some farmers are saving on this. Geese, indeed, have good immunity, but they are also susceptible to disease. Moreover, if at least one bird falls ill in the herd, it infects everyone else. The cost of vaccination will be about thirty rubles per individual. This is incomparably less than the possible losses from the epidemic.
Another thirty thousand rubles will be required to complete all necessary certificates and product documentation.
Geese reach "marketable" weight in 3-4 months. By this age, young growth reaches a weight of eight kilograms. Thus, it is quite possible to recoup the costs of organizing a farm during the first year of operation. According to various sources, the profitability of this type of business is at least 75%. Относительно низкая конкуренция в этом сегменте и высокий спрос на продукцию позволяют предприятию стать прибыльным уже через 12-14 месяцев с начала работы.
Sysoeva Liliya (c) www.clogicsecure.com - a portal to small business business plans and guides08/18/2019