Content
Among the heavy meat and greasy breeds of geese, the Kholmogory breed of geese stands out for its unpretentiousness to living conditions and its peaceful disposition. Relatively peaceful, of course. The gander will always protect his family, no matter how peaceful he is.
Kholmogory geese were bred by crossing Chinese and Arzamas breeds of geese. But this is only one of the versions. The most common.
Since Kholmogory geese are one of the oldest breeds, one cannot be 100% sure that the only version of the origin of the breed is correct. At least today at Kholmogory breeds of geese 2 lines stand out:
- large birds with a long beak with a hump. Drooping feathers are sometimes observed on the wings of these geese;
- geese with short or medium-length beaks.
When breeding the first group, most likely, Tula fighting geese were used, in which the norm is drooping feathers on the wings, a large beak and heavy weight.
The ancestors of the second line included common gray and Chinese geese.
Although, perhaps, these are later additions to the breed, since it is unknown whether the Kholmogory geese were even named after the place of their breeding or the place of distribution.
The first documentary mentions of this breed date back to 1885. Over the decades of breeding Kholmogory geese, many lines have appeared and disappeared in the breed, until today only these two remain.
Description of the Kholmogory geese breed
Kholmogory geese are very large birds. The weight of a gander can reach 12 kg, and that of a goose – 8 kg. A distinctive feature of the Kholmogory breed of geese is the bump above the beak, which reaches its full size in the 5th year of the goose’s life; a very large dewlap under the beak, sometimes called a purse; two fat folds on the abdomen. The body is wide, massive with a well-developed chest. The beak and paws are orange. The photo clearly shows the bump, “purse” and folds on the stomach.
The color of Kholmogory geese can be gray, white or gray-piebald.
Kholmogory geese have the ability to quickly adapt to life in a large herd, which is greatly facilitated by their calm nature.
Productive characteristics of the breed
There are no complaints about Kholmogory geese in terms of meat and fat production. Already at just over 2 months, goslings of the Kholmogory breed gain weight of 4 - 4.5 kg. There are serious claims against the Kholmogory residents regarding egg production.
Kholmogory geese reach full development only by 3 years. At this age, the fertilization rate of eggs in the Kholmogory breed reaches 80%. The goose lays only 30 eggs per year. The weight of an egg for a young goose is 140 g, for a three-year-old goose - 190 g.
What helps geese is that they are long-lived.The life expectancy of Kholmogory residents is about 16 years.
Maintenance of Kholmogory residents
Geese of the Kholmogory breed tolerate frost well if there is a properly equipped poultry house. Their main requirements for a winter shelter: good ventilation, absence of drafts and a dry floor. Drafts are the most dangerous for Kholmogory residents.
During wintering, all the cracks in the goose barn are sealed, and a thick layer of straw is laid on the floor. In summer, birds can easily get by with a canopy from the sun. With the onset of rains and winds, the perimeter of the frame on which the canopy is attached is covered with plastic film or roofing felt.
Therefore, it is better to first stretch a fine-mesh mesh from the inside.
You can also use sawdust or straw/hay as bedding. But we must remember that a hungry bird may begin to eat the litter. In summer, geese graze on their own, and in winter they must always have access to food, which additionally performs a warming function in winter.
Birds are afraid not of frost, but of lack of food. It is not for nothing that traditionally migratory birds, such as swans and ducks, now increasingly spend the winter on ice-free reservoirs in cities. Why waste energy and fly somewhere if the townspeople will provide food. The situation is similar for geese. A thick layer of bedding will protect their paws from frostbite, and the food in the feeder will prevent them from freezing.
The owner’s task is to ensure that the litter is always dry. Geese have liquid droppings, which will cause the bedding to become wet. Wet spots are removed and fresh bedding is added in their place.
If this rule is not followed, the feather structure of the bird will deteriorate due to ammonia fumes. The feathers become ruffled and stop warming.
The area of the poultry house is calculated based on 1 m² per head. But keep in mind that this is a place to spend the night. For walking, one goose requires 5-6 m².
Feeding Kholmogory residents
The diet of geese includes grain feed, finely chopped root vegetables, and greens. Chalk and fine gravel or crushed stone must be kept separately.
In winter, one head is given 160 g of mixed feed, 150 g of grass meal, 500 g of chopped root vegetables. Vitamin and mineral premixes are mixed into the feed.
In the summer, the Kholmogory residents are driven out to graze in the meadow. An adult goose eats up to 2 kg of grass per day.
Breeding the Kholmogory breed
Kholmogory geese are good brood hens, but despite this, the percentage of goslings hatched is very low. There are several reasons for this.
- For better fertilization of geese, several geese should be left in the herd. One is not enough.
- The larger the gander, the harder it is for him to impregnate a goose, and the size of the offspring does not depend on the size of the gander. Therefore, it is better to leave small males for breeding.
- Kholmogory geese are very heavy and often simply crush their eggs.
- Oddly enough, it’s precisely the fact that Kholmogorki are good hens that gets in the way. They rarely leave the nest, thereby preventing the eggs from cooling properly. Periodic cooling and moistening of eggs is necessary for normal embryo development.
Based on the totality of all factors, the hatchability of Kholmogory goslings is only 60%.
Kholmogors can also be bred by incubation. True, the same cooling and humidifying factors are present here. In an incubator it is quite difficult to achieve the 70% humidity required for normal embryo development.
The incubation period for goose eggs is 30 days at a temperature of 37.9.
Incubation errors:
Raising ducklings
Kholmogory ducklings are not picky eaters. You can feed them with starter feed for poultry chicks or prepare their own food.
On the first day of life, goslings are not fed, as they continue to digest the egg yolk. The countdown of feeding days begins on the second day of life for the goslings.
When preparing it yourself, the first two days the goslings are given chopped boiled eggs and ground grain. Later, cottage cheese, cake, and chopped grass are gradually added.
This phenomenon can be avoided by feeding with factory-made dry feed. In this case, you just need to make sure that the goslings always have water.
From the age of one week, goslings can already be released into the meadow along with an adult bird.
Determining the sex of goslings:
Reviews from owners of Kholmogory geese
Conclusion
Kholmogory geese are profitable in those regions of Russia where there is a lot of water and green grass all summer. In this case, the bird gets its own food and costs the owner very little. Only the broodstock have to be fed and only in winter.
Please tell me, I heard that if you incubate eggs at home, after hatching the goslings will need to be patched and pierced with some expensive medicines, is this true or not? And what exactly! Thanks for the info!