i have 5 day old pilgrim gosling they are both girls...i have them eating chick starter and was told by the woman i bought them from to make a paste out of it with warm water..i want to know if i should be do this and how old they are when i don't have to mix with warm water and they can it just dry food...they do it grass i pick for them and drink lots of water.. i get them out every day 3 times a day and they love to play around on the floor with us.....anyone can help with what i might be doing wrong or what else to feed them as they get bigger
I'm not sure why she suggested to make a paste but as long as you have plenty of clean fresh water you should not need to make a paste. Does the chick starter have grit already in it? If not you need to offer grit. It can be as simple as putting a bowl of fresh shovled dirt in with them. Geese thrive on grass so if you offer enough fresh grass clippings a day free choice they will be fine on that. If you can let them roam around the yard they will choose grass.
They can eat the food dry just fine. I always gave my goslings bits of chopped veggie and fruit scraps (nothing spoiled obviously) in addition to getting grass during play time in the yard. They enjoy having a variety of things to eat.
I have no idea what the lady was talking about. NEVER heard need to make paste. My cotton patch is 3 days old. She eats unmedicated chick starter fine, and there is plenty of water. Also I drop a little grass in there with her too, but she seems to really loves spinich leaves. My understanding is; the geese grow really fast so the high protien content in chick starter will easilly be balanced out with the green grass, veggies she will choose to eat, Geese are grazing animals. They love grass. They eat grass and root in the dirt as well; they do need grit. If you have plenty of water, chick starter is fine, but do include grass or greens for your babies as well as a little dirt. I was concerned about my new baby too. I got her the day she was born. The first days she seemed a little lost (well hello she is new to this world). I was concerned about her eating properly, I laid a soft while towel in the bottom of her pen, I could see by the end of the first day she was eating fine, the white towel showed the "end result." LOL. No to the paste, let them do their thing naturally. have fun with your new babies. I am.
yes. If you are feeding mash that is really powdery, you can barely dampen the feed. Not a paste, but enough water so it will barely, sort of, form a ball when you squeeze it together. If you dampen feed, do not leave feed sitting in the pen in warm weather for too long, as it can spoil. I don't dampen feed for hatchlings. The feed I use is not dusty and I keep fresh water for them to rinse it down. If the feed is at all dusty, then dampen it. It can be dusty or powdery if it is super fine grind, and it is possible for the hatchlings to inhale it and cause lung problems..
