GOOSE BREEDING THREAD - for breeding, incubating, hatching and rearing.

[tillyita]

Even in humans - some are more susceptible to vitamin and mineral deficiencies than others. If they also had access to pasture and greens it would reduce the effect. Also, if the corn/maize was treated it can make the niacin it contains biologically available for the animal. Corn and maize do contain significant amounts of niacin it is just not bio-available unless it is treated.

Agreed about being an individual thing.  Interesting about treatment.  Corn/maize has a reasonable amount of niacin in it.  How do they treat it?  One way of getting more out of it is fermentaion or sprouting, I imagine.  

It gets cooked with an alkali - usually lime. I don't know if fermenting would have the same effect.

 

[livininbrazil]

I picked grass for them everyday but a large coffee can of grass doesnt sound like it was enough now that i know what to do for them. Last year was the first time i used brewers yeast for them, i hadnt heard of it before then. Mine free range now through the summer with just a treat if needed to move them.

The first geese I had were 2-day-old goslings. Quite by accident, I seemed to do everything right. They had a little one-yard-square run which I constantly moved about so they could have a constant supply of grass and the grass they were on happened to be in flower, so they also had seeds which, of course, was great for them. They got cracked corn and chick-crumb, and grew beautifully, and when they were a month old, i made a big run on grass for them. At two months old they free-ranged. My others were born free-ranging, but I topped up their grass with corn and chick crumb, too, mainly to get and keep them tame, being with their parents. All went well..........but it does seem that some have a greater need than others, simply by seeing that some go down with problems, while others, raised in just the same way, seem absolutely fine.
Looking forward to seeing pics of your little favourites, by the way.

 

[livininbrazil]

It gets cooked with an alkali - usually lime. I don't know if fermenting would have the same effect.

Interesting, as corn is the basic staple food of just about everything here. I´ll have to read up more about it.

 

[tillyita]

we have wheat here - so get to miss some of those problems. Have a different set instead

Corn is expensive here!

 

[livininbrazil]

we have wheat here - so get to miss some of those problems. Have a different set instead

Corn is expensive here!

Do you know, I´d love to give mine the mixed grains that so many folks do, but I can´t...it´s not easy to find, and also, if I find it, it´s expensive. Corn/maize is the cheapest you can find here. Farm folks feed it to everything. And us! I can´t believe the number of things that can made out of corn! Even icecream, and I love it!!!!!!

 

[8GeeseALaying]

The first geese I had were 2-day-old goslings.  Quite by accident, I seemed to do everything right.  They had a little one-yard-square run which I constantly moved about so they could have a constant supply of grass and the grass they were on happened to be in flower, so they also had seeds which, of course, was great for them.   They got cracked corn and chick-crumb, and grew beautifully, and when they were a month old, i made a big run on grass for them.  At two months old they free-ranged.  My others were born free-ranging, but I topped up their grass with corn and chick crumb, too, mainly to get and keep them tame, being with their parents.  All went well..........but it does seem that some have a greater need than others, simply by seeing that some go down with problems, while others, raised in just the same way, seem absolutely fine.
Looking forward to seeing pics of your little favourites, by the way.    

Seems some are more hardier than others.

I will get some more recent ones with my camera. The ones i have now were taken with my phone and are kind of grainy and far away

 

[livininbrazil]

Look up Pellagra and look at the origins.
or look at this link for poultry specific: http://www.poultrynews.com/New/Diseases/Merks/207024.htm

But this doesn´t say that corn CAUSES niacin deficiency, it just shows that they can be niacin deficient if they don´t get supplements, which is what a lot of us already know. Thanks, though, it´s always good to chew over stuff.

 

[EeyoreD]

Interesting, as corn is the basic staple food of just about everything here. I´ll have to read up more about it.

I think sprouting does have some effect, but not the same as cooking then soaking it in lyme (the actual process is called "nixtamalization" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nixtamalization ). Not sure at all about fermenting.

EDIT: And yeah, I think it's a problem if the only available food is corn. If they can graze or get supplements it's probably less of an issue.

 

[livininbrazil]

I think sprouting does have some effect, but not the same as cooking then soaking it in lyme (the actual process is called "nixtamalization" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nixtamalization ). Not sure at all about fermenting.

EDIT: And yeah, I think it's a problem if the only available food is corn. If they can graze or get supplements it's probably less of an issue.

Well, thanks for the explanation Eeyore, I´m always learning something new on these threads. It´s great. But I´m glad I have my own teeth, or I´d not even try to say the word for this process!
I´m sure any goose only fed corn is going to have a bad time of it, seeing as they´re grazers. Ideally, geese would be on grass as a rule, and having other bits and bobs, including a little corn, as top-ups.
Well, I´m not about to start cooking corn in lime, and they already get soaked corn for treats, which they love. I´ve never tried fermenting it, so I don´t know. Must try it.

 

[seminolewind]

Today I get a full out attack. I kept pushing him away and he kept coming at me. I've tried the holding thing for 6 months. Today I locked him up for half an hour. What do I do now? He doesn't scare me. But I can't see tolerating that behavior.