THE POULTRY YARD.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVII, Issue 88, 15 April 1896, Page 2

THE POULTRY YARD.

Care and Fattening of Gkkse.—ln fatteuing geese when there is tima to do so it ia well to introduce the fattening process by degrees, while they are ab grass giving first one and then two or more extra feeds a day. Bub when they are shub up they must have aB much as thpy can eat. The food supply must be in no sense sbinted either in quantiby or quality : that is, if really fine specimens are desired. The time occupied in fattening will extend from a month to six or seven weeks. The food consists of various grains and meals, and ib is well to change the dieb now and then. This stimulates the appetite, and thus furthers the fattener's object. A good mixture to give is composed of barley meal or maize meal with cooked potatoes, in the proportion of about one part meal to two parta potatoes. To this may be added brewers' grains, which are very useful for this purpose. Good, sound oats" given in water is an excellent food also. A supply of sharp gravel musfc not be forgotten ; as the birds canriobgetaboub to find grit for themselves it must be put within their reach, otherwise they will suffer in health, and growth will be retarded. Their readiness for the table can be detected by their weight and plumpness, and by their showing signs of refraining from their food. Like all fattened animals, goese should be sent to market the momenb they are ready, otherwise they will go back, and lose both weight and prime condition. Some people kill them by cutting the back of the head through the joints down towards the eyes ; others sever the large veins of the neck—the latter plan does not soil the feathers so much as the former does. As geese are strong birds it is generally better for two persons to undertake the killing, one of whom holds the head. Bub by tying bhe legs, and holding the body between the knees, an expert operator can manage alone. It is a pity tfy.t geese are nob more widely kepb in this country, as they prove very profitable where they can get plenty of grass until the time comes for them to be fattened. Up to thab period they cost hardly anything for food beyond the value of grass they consume. But of this they will eat a large quantity. Jf obher animals are to share the grazing with them a good range must be provided, for if the space ))e at all limited, a number of geese will soil the grass to auch an extent as to cause both horses and cattle to refuse it. Bub many persons possess an orchard, or piece of waste ground, which could be profitably utilised for geese. Anyone who has a garden, with plenty of green stuff, might buy a few goslings when they are cheap, and by the additional help of some barloy meal and a tub of water, bring them up, until at the age of about six or seven months, they could be fattened off in the usual way. The money thus obtained comee in one lump sum, and the amounb is Hufficieutly large to muke itself felt as a real addition to the income.