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Among the heavy meat-greasy breeds of geese, the Kholmogory breed of geese stands out for its unpretentiousness to the conditions of detention and 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, the Kholmogory breed of geese has 2 lines:
- large birds with long hooked beaks. On the wings of these geese, feather drooping is sometimes observed;
- geese with a short or medium length beak.
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 a lot of weight.
In the ancestors of the second line, ordinary gray and Chinese geese were noted.
Although, perhaps, these are already later additions to the breed, since it is not even known that the geese were called Kholmogory geese at the place of their breeding or at the place of distribution.
The first documentary mention of this breed dates back to 1885. Over the decades of breeding Kholmogory geese, many lines appeared and disappeared in the breed, until today only the indicated two remained.
Description of the breed of Kholmogory geese
Kholmogory geese are very large birds. The weight of the gander can reach 12 kg, and the geese – 8 kg. A distinctive feature of the geese of the Kholmogory breed is a 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 legs are orange. The photo clearly shows the bump, “purse” and folds on the stomach.
The color of the 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 largely facilitated by their calm nature.
Productive characteristics of the breed
There are no complaints about the production of meat and fat for the Kholmogory geese. Already in 2 months, the goslings of the Kholmogory breed gain weight 4 – 4,5 kg. There are serious claims to the Kholmogory people for the production of eggs.
Kholmogory geese reach full development only by 3 years. At this age, the fertility of eggs in the Kholmogory breed reaches 80%. The goose carries only 30 eggs a year. The weight of an egg in a young goose is 140 g, in a three-year-old – 190 g.
It helps geese that they are long-livers. The life expectancy of Kholmogory is about 16 years.
Maintenance of Kholmogory
Geese of the Kholmogory breed tolerate frosts well in the presence of a properly equipped poultry house. Their main winter shelter requirements are good ventilation, no drafts, and a dry floor. Drafts are the most dangerous for Kholmogory residents.
During the winter, all the cracks are closed in the goose house, and a thick layer of straw is laid on the floor. In summer, the birds may well make do 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 wrap or roofing material.
Therefore, from the inside, it is better to first stretch a fine-mesh chain-link mesh.
You can also use sawdust or straw/hay cuttings as bedding. But we must remember that a hungry bird can start eating litter. In summer, geese graze themselves, and in winter they should always have food available, which additionally performs a warming function in winter.
Birds are not afraid of frost, but the lack of food. It is not for nothing that primordially migratory birds, such as swans and ducks, in our time increasingly remain to winter on non-freezing reservoirs in cities. Why waste energy and fly somewhere if the townspeople provide food. Geese have a similar situation. A thick layer of bedding will protect their paws from frostbite, and food in the feeder will not freeze.
The task of the owner is to ensure that the litter is always dry. Geese have liquid droppings, which will cause the litter to get wet. Wet spots are removed and fresh bedding is poured in their place.
If this rule is not observed, the structure of the feather deteriorates in a bird from ammonia fumes. 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 needs 5-6 m².
Feeding the Kholmogory
The diet of geese includes grain feed, finely chopped root crops, greens. Be sure to stand separately chalk and fine gravel or crushed stone.
In winter, 160 g of compound feed, 150 g of grass flour, 500 g of chopped root crops are given per head. Vitamin and mineral premixes are mixed into the feed.
In the summer, the Kholmogory people are driven out to graze in the meadow. An adult goose eats up to 2 kg of grass per day.
Breeding of the Kholmogory breed
Kholmogory geese are good hens, but despite this, the percentage of goslings hatched is very low. There are several reasons for this.
- For better fertilization of geese in the herd, several ganders should be left. One is not enough.
- The larger the gander, the harder it is for him to fertilize the goose, and the size of the offspring does not depend on the size of the gander. Therefore, it is better to leave for breeding medium-sized males.
- Kholmogory geese have a very large weight and often they simply crush eggs.
- Oddly enough, but it is precisely the fact that kholmogorki are good hens that hinders. They rarely leave the nest, thus preventing the eggs from cooling properly. Periodic cooling and moistening of eggs is necessary for the normal development of embryos.
In the aggregate of all factors, the hatchability of goslings in Kholmogory is only 60%.
You can also breed kholmogorov by the method of incubation. True, the same factors of cooling and moisturizing are present here. In an incubator, it is quite difficult to achieve 70% of the humidity necessary for the normal development of the embryo.
The period of incubation of goose eggs is 30 days at a temperature of 37,9.
Incubation errors:
Cultivation of ducklings
Kholmogory ducklings are picky eaters. They can be fed starter feed for poultry chicks or you can cook 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 the goslings’ life.
When cooking on their own, the first two days goslings are given a chopped boiled egg and ground grain. Later, cottage cheese, cake, chopped grass are gradually added.
You can avoid this phenomenon when feeding with factory-made dry compound feed. In this case, you just need to make sure that the goslings always have water.
From a week old, goslings can already be released into the meadow along with an adult bird.
Determining the sex of goslings:
Feedback from owners of Kholmogory geese
Conclusion
Kholmogory geese are beneficial in those regions of Our Country where there is a lot of water and green grass all summer. In this case, the bird earns its own food and is very cheap for the owner. You have to feed only the broodstock and only in winter.