Fresh Dressed Geese
| 1920 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov. | 17 | 34 @ 43c | per lb. |
| 24 | 30 @ 38c | " " | |
| Dec. | 1 | 25 @ 36c | " " |
| 8 | 30 @ 36c | " " | |
| 15 | 30 @ 39c | " " | |
| 22 | 30 @ 40c | " " | |
| 29 | 30 @ 40c | " " | |
| 1921 | |||
| Jan. | 5 | 30 @ 37c | " " |
| 12 | 25 @ 35c | " " | |
| 19 | 25 @ 34c | " " | |
| 26 | 25 @ 34c | " " | |
Fresh Dressed Geese
| 1921 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb. | 2 | 25 @ 34c | per lb. |
| 9 | 26 @ 36c | " " | |
| 16 | 26 @ 36c | " " | |
| 23 | 26 @ 36c | " " | |
| Mar. | 2 | 26 @ 36c | " " |
| 9 | 25 @ 35c | " " | |
| 16 | 25 @ 35c | " " | |
| 23 | 25 @ 35c | " " | |
Live Geese—Via Freight
Live Geese—Via Express
Prejudice Against Roast Goose. There exists on the part of some persons a prejudice against goose on the grounds that it is too greasy a dish. When improperly cooked, goose will prove to be too greasy to suit many fastidious palates but this condition is not so much the fault of the fowl as it is of the method of preparation and cooking. When dressed if the goose shows a large amount of abdominal fat, as it usually does and should, a large part of this should be removed. This fat when tried out is highly esteemed by many cooks and by other persons is treasured as an efficacious treatment for croup in children. Also while the goose is roasting, a part of the fat as it cooks out of the carcass should be removed. Treated in this way one need have no fear that the roast goose will prove too greasy but instead one will be pleasantly surprised at the rich taste which the roast goose possesses.
Methods of Fattening Geese for Market. Many geese are sent to market without any special treatment or effort to fatten them, being taken right off pasture in such condition as they happen to be or at best with only a half-hearted attempt to fatten them by feeding a little corn or some other grain for a short period. When a real effort is made to fatten geese for the market it is generally done in one of three ways. First is pen fattening which is the method best adapted to small lots of geese on the average farm. Second is by noodling which is only attempted in sections where the goose raisers are somewhat of specialists and where the effort is made to turn out geese of superior quality. Third is fattening in large flocks which is practiced only by a very limited number of farmers in scattered sections who take the unfattened geese raised on the general farms and finish them for market.
Pen Fattening. For this purpose the geese are put in pens large enough to hold them comfortably but without any yards. Not over 20 to 25 geese should be penned together for this purpose. To get the best results the geese should be kept as quiet as possible and to accomplish this the pens are partly darkened and the geese disturbed only at feeding time. The geese are fed three times daily; in the morning, at noon and at night, being given all they will clean up. One feed should consist of a moist mash composed of one part shorts and two parts corn meal. This mash should not be sloppy. The other two feeds consist mainly of corn with some oats or barley. Some roughage such as vegetables or hay should also be supplied. The pens should be deeply bedded with good oat straw. The geese will eat a considerable amount of this which thus helps to supply the roughage which they need. The straw also, of course, serves to keep the pen and the birds clean. A plentiful supply of good drinking water is also necessary. The usual period of fattening is three to five weeks and a gain of from 4 to 6 pounds per bird can be secured. This method of fattening is commonly used by goose raisers in Wisconsin and the geese from this state are noted for their fine quality.
A less intensive form of pen fattening is often used by farmers where a small yard is provided in addition to the pen itself and where no effort is made to darken the pen. If no other means for fattening are available, a small yard can be built, a few boards arranged for a shelter at one end and the birds fed in this enclosure as described above.
Noodling Geese. Noodling geese is a method of hand feeding which has for its purpose the production of the best fattened geese. It is not employed to any extent except in the section about Watertown, Wisconsin, where the farmers specialize to some extent on goose fattening. It is a method requiring long hours and tedious labor and cannot be profitably carried on unless a special price can be obtained for the product.
In noodling geese, 8 or 10 geese are placed in a pen about 8 by 12 feet which is heavily bedded with straw. A partition extends halfway across the pen and is utilized to keep the geese separate as they are fed. Young ganders and any old ganders or geese which are to be marketed are used for noodling.
The pen is kept dark and the geese should be disturbed only at feeding time. The first feed is given at 5 o'clock in the morning and five feeds are given daily at about 4 hour intervals, the last feed coming at 11 p. m. However, when the geese are first put on feed they are noodled only 3 times a day this being gradually increased to 5 times. The feeder sits on a box or stool in a corner of the pen, grasps each goose in turn holding it between his legs to keep it from struggling as he stuffs it with noodles. The goose is handled by its neck, never by its legs which are easily injured, and is held with its back toward the feeder. The feeder usually wears gloves to protect his hands from the severe bites which the birds will inflict. The feeder must also handle the birds as carefully as possible, especially as killing time approaches for the flesh bruises easily and the discolored patches spoil the appearance of the dressed goose.
The feeder at the start usually gives each goose from 3 to 5 noodles, gradually increasing this to 6 or 7 noodles if the birds will stand it, the number of noodles fed depending upon the size and condition of each bird, the feeder being obliged to use his judgment in this matter. In general if any feed can be felt in the craw, no noodles are given until the next feeding time. Failure to observe this is likely to cause the bird to go off feed. If any geese are noticed which are off feed they should be taken out and marketed.
The noodles are made of scalded corn meal, ground oats, ground barley and ground wheat or wheat flour, using equal parts of each. This material is thoroughly mixed and salted as one would bread and is then put through a sausage stuffer. The product as it comes from the stuffer is cut into noodles about 2½ or 3 inches long and these are boiled for 10 or 15 minutes or until they float. A wash boiler with a wire rack forming a false bottom about 1½ inches above the boiler bottom is used for this purpose. When cooked the noodles are dipped in cold water and then rolled in flour to keep them from sticking together. A supply of noodles is made which will last for 2 or 3 days' feeding.
Just before feeding, hot water is poured over the noodles to make them warm and slippery. The mouth of the goose is forced open and the noodles are put in, one at a time, and worked down by using the fingers on the outside of the neck. As each goose is fed it is placed on the other side of the partition until all in the pen have been fed. It is important that plenty of drinking water be kept before the geese.
The feeding period where geese are noodled usually extends from 3 to 4 weeks. Gains of 6 to 10 pounds per bird can be secured and often an increased price of 10 to 15 cents a pound can be secured for such specially fattened geese. Noodled geese will average about 25 pounds and some individuals have been made to weigh nearly 40 pounds. One man can noodle from 50 to 100 geese but has to put in long hours. Noodled geese should be dressed where fattened as they are soft fleshed and would shrink badly if shipped alive.
Fattening methods similar to the noodling described are used in parts of Europe for the production of the enlarged goose livers which are employed in making "patte de fois gras".
Methods Used on Fattening Farms
As previously mentioned, a few farmers make a specialty of buying the geese in their section of the country in the fall when it is too late for serious trouble to develop from hemorrhagic septicemia, a disease similar to fowl cholera, and to fatten or finish them in large flocks for the Thanksgiving and Christmas markets. Methods are employed in different sections which differ quite widely.
On a farm in the Middle West the geese are collected from the general farms where they are produced in small flocks and brought to the farm where they are kept in flocks as large as 1,000 or even more, and are allowed to run in a cornfield or orchard. They are fattened for about a month. Corn on the cob and plenty of water is kept before the geese all the time and if they are running in a cornfield they eat the leaves off the corn stalks for roughage. Roughage is supplied if not available otherwise and straw, hay or vegetables are utilized for this purpose.
No shelter is provided during mild weather, the geese getting such protection as they can from the trees or corn stalks. If the weather turns unusually severe, the geese are generally driven into sheds or barns. When fattened the geese are usually shipped to some large market alive. Several farms in the neighborhood of Boston make a specialty of finishing geese each fall, and the methods used are quite different from those described above. No geese are raised on these farms, the operation being confined to the fattening or finishing of the geese and to killing and dressing them for the market. Some of these goose fatteners also have stalls or stands in the Boston markets where they are enabled to dispose of their fattened geese to the best advantage.
Fatteners. In previous years these fatteners depended largely upon the geese produced on the Rhode Island farms for their supply. In the past few years, however, the supply from this source has dwindled greatly and the bulk of the geese for fattening are now shipped from Prince Edward Island, Canada, in carload lots. Such summer geese as are now fattened still come from Rhode Island and are brought in by truck. The fattening season begins in September and lasts until Christmas. Some early goslings are bought in June but there is not as good a profit from the summer geese, the demand and prices being adversely affected by the supply of spring ducklings available at that time.
Experience and good judgment will benefit the goose fattener greatly when purchasing his supply of geese for fattening. What he wants are goslings, not older geese, which have made a good growth and which have a large frame but which are in poor flesh rather than fat. Such geese will make more rapid and more profitable gains. When geese are bought for shipment by the carload from Prince Edward Island, they should be penned and fed at the point of shipment for 3 or 4 days before they are loaded in the cars, so as to put them in shape to stand the journey well. On the farms from which they come, the goslings are not fed much and in consequence are not in shape to stand shipment.
The Goslings which are secured from the farms for fattening are mainly common geese of no particular breed. Some pure bred geese are also obtained as are some first crosses between the pure breeds. A class of geese which is obtained in some numbers from Prince Edward Island and which is much desired is the so-called "Mongrel" goose. These are obtained by breeding a Wild or Canadian gander to geese of dark plumage similar to the Toulouse or African. The mongrel geese much resemble the wild gander in type and color and are in demand on the market because of their wild or gamy flavor. They bring about 10 cents per pound more than common geese. The market, however, is somewhat limited. These geese will not breed although the females will lay eggs. Where the wild gander is mated with light colored or white geese the offspring will have more or less light colored feathers and will not as closely resemble the wild parent and for this reason are not as desirable.
Shipping. The geese are loaded into stock cars into which three separate decks are built to accommodate them. From 1200 to 1400 geese can be loaded into a car thus arranged. The journey usually takes about 5 or 6 days and some fatteners send a man along with the car to feed and water the geese 2 or 3 times during the trip. If a man does not accompany the car, buckets of corn should be placed in the car for feed and some potatoes should also be supplied as these will serve in place of drinking water. If the car is not subjected to unusual delay, the geese should come through in good shape, but if much delayed there may be 25 to 100 geese dead when the car arrives at its destination.
When the car arrives at the end of its journey, the geese are unloaded and driven to the farm where they are turned into the fields together in a large flock. The fields in which they are thus kept should have a supply of growing green feed or grass and a good supply of fresh drinking water. They are kept here until they are wanted for the fattening pens which may be from a week to 20 days after their arrival at the farm. While in this large supply flock they are fed on corn and grass which they can get for themselves.
Summer Geese to be fattened are placed only about 50 in a pen or enclosure; and are provided with a few boards set on posts to protect them from the hot sun. The later geese are fattened in lots of 3 or 4 hundred or even more, depending upon how many pickers are available to be kept busy. It is for this reason also that the geese are not all put on the fattening ration at the same time, but are started at intervals so as to have a continuous supply coming along to keep the pickers busy. The geese not put in the fattening lots at the start are left in the fields to grow and develop until they are needed.
The enclosures in which the geese are penned for fattening are small lots or fields enclosed by stone walls or board fences 2½ to 3 feet high. These lots should be dry and well-drained, a location on a side hill being good for this purpose. The fattening lots must be kept clean and stagnant water must not be allowed to stand in the lots as this is likely to cause sickness, especially diarrhoea. These yards should be plowed up each spring and planted to oats, corn or some other growing crop to sweeten them. No houses or shelters are provided for these geese but some yards are somewhat wooded which affords a measure of protection from the wind.
Feeding. When the geese are placed in the fattening lots, some fatteners prefer to fast the geese for from 3 to 5 days, giving them no feed but plenty of water to drink. This gives them a good appetite and puts them in good shape for fattening.
The geese are fed three times a day, in the morning, at noon and at night. The morning and night feed usually consists of a moist mixed feed fed in troughs; while the noon feed is whole corn thrown on the ground. The use of one feed of corn a day is supposed to check any tendency toward diarrhoea. In very cold weather some fatteners feed the mixed feed at noon and the corn at night. At first the geese are not given all they will eat but are worked up gradually, increasing the amount each day until they are getting all they want. As a rule the geese will drop back a little in feed consumption after they reach the point where they get all they want and from this time on, the feeding must be very carefully watched to see that they are not given so much that they will leave some to sour which would cause diarrhoea. The morning and noon feeds are lighter, the heaviest feed being given at night. The bird's appetites will vary from day to day so that it is best to make the rounds twice in feeding to make sure that they have enough and that none is left. If any is left it must be gathered up and carried away.
No provision is made for furnishing the fattening geese with green feed or roughage. The practice with respect to drinking water varies. Some fatteners keep a supply before the birds in troughs which must be washed out each day to keep them clean. Others furnish no water except that used in mixing up the feed.
Corn Meal is the principal ingredient of the fattening mixture. To a sack of corn meal is added 10% beef scrap and five good shovels of grit or medium sized gravel. In addition some fatteners add 10% of flour to bind the mixture together. This material should be thoroughly mixed up in a dry state as a better mix can be obtained in this way. It is then mixed up with water, the practice here varying. Some fatteners mix in a trough with boiling water a short time before feeding, while others mix it with cold water letting it soak over night and adding more water in the morning if it is too dry at that time. It should be mixed until it can be shoveled readily but should be quite solid, never in a sloppy condition as this is likely to cause diarrhoea. A little salt may be added, if desired, as an appetizer. While corn meal is generally used, hominy may take its place. After the geese are started on the fattening ration, this must be given throughout the fattening period. Changing to some other feed will throw the geese off feed and cause a loss.
Feeding. When the mixed feed is ready it is shoveled into boxes or barrels on a low wagon and driven to the fattening lots where it is shoveled into the troughs for the geese. Ordinary V-shaped troughs are favored instead of flat troughs as the latter afford hiding places for rats which may cause damage in addition to the feed which they eat by frightening the geese.
Geese are easily frightened and must therefore be handled rather carefully and gently as a severe fright will interfere with the gains they will make. Some fatteners provide electric lights where the geese rest at night so that they can see and will not be so likely to become frightened.
When the geese are ready to be killed they are driven up to the killing house and into a pen where they may be easily caught. Each goose as caught is examined to see whether it is in condition for killing. If it is not it is put back with a later lot for additional fattening. Good condition in a goose is judged by its weight when handled and also by the condition of its breast and the fat on its back. A good place to test geese for fat is on the side of the body just below the point where the wing joins the body. If fat can be seized between the thumb and finger at that point, the goose is in good condition.
Dry Picking. All fattened geese for the Boston market are dry picked. The goose is held between the knees of the picker with the wings held fast against the sides of the body. The head is grasped by the left hand, the mouth forced open and the veins in the back of the throat just beyond the skull severed with a sharp knife for the purpose of bleeding the bird. If the bird is to be stuck, which is not always done, the point of the knife is then plunged through the roof of the mouth to the brain. The legs are then seized in the left hand, together with the ends of the wings to prevent the goose from struggling and the goose is struck once or twice sharply on the back of the head with a club held in the right hand. This is for the purpose of stunning the bird. The geese may also be bled by sticking the knife through the neck from the outside just below the head.
The picker then takes his seat beside the feather box, holding the goose on his lap with the head held between his knee and the outside of the box. He proceeds to pluck the feathers as rapidly as possible, removing all the feathers except the main wing feathers or those of the first joint of the wing and the feathers of the neck half way from the head to the body. All the soft body feathers are thrown in the box and saved. The coarser feathers are thrown on the floor. The down is removed by rubbing the moistened hand over the skin. To save the hands, ordinary rubber heels dipped in water are often used. Sharp knives are also used to shave off the pin feathers which cannot be plucked and any down not removed by rubbing.
The dry picked goose presents a much better appearance than a scalded goose and the feathers are more valuable. The skin of a dry picked bird is not so likely to be rubbed off in removing the down.
The Value of the Feathers is sufficient to pay for the cost of the picking or perhaps a little more. The cost of picking in the fall of 1920 ranged from 15 to 20 cents per goose where the picker was boarded and 24 cents without board. A good man can pick about 40 geese in a day. Women are not employed for this work as the geese are too big and too strong for them to handle.
After the geese are picked, the blood is washed from the head and the feet washed if that is necessary. They are then thrown into barrels of cold water to cool and must be left there until the body heat is entirely removed. The wings are tied in place by means of a string or tape tied around the body and wings and the legs may also be crossed over the back and tied. The geese when ready for market are either shipped in by express or are taken in by automobile truck.
Gain in Weight. In fattening according to the methods described above a gain in weight is secured of from 6 to 8 pounds per goose. This does not represent the total gain in value, however, for the fattened geese will bring more per pound as a result of their finished condition. The fattened geese when ready for market will weigh from 12 to 20 pounds. Weights taken on two carloads of fattened geese showed an average weight of 14 pounds. On December 2, 1920, fattened geese from these farms were bringing 42 cents per pound on the Boston market while the mongrel geese were worth 50 cents or a little better.
The question may arise as to the size of farm necessary to carry on a business of this sort. Using the methods employed about Boston a farm of 30 acres would be sufficient to handle 20,000 geese in a season. In selecting a farm for such a purpose, a location should be chosen where there are no close neighbors as the odor from the geese and yards is offensive to most persons.
Selling Geese Alive. Most farmers who raise only a few geese ship them alive, either sending them to some commission house or selling them to someone who makes a specialty of fattening. Such geese are often in poor condition and bring the lowest quotation. Large coops similar to those used for turkeys should be used in shipping geese.
Killing. Where geese are killed on the farm for shipment to market they are usually hung up by means of a cord about the legs. When geese are to be dry picked the veins in the throat just beyond the skull are first severed with a long bladed knife such as used for killing turkeys to cause good bleeding and the point of the knife is then plunged through the roof of the mouth to the brain performing the stick which serves to make the feathers come out more easily as with other classes of poultry. Since it is rather difficult to dry pick geese, they are usually scalded or steamed and where this is done, the stick is not made but after the veins in the throat are cut, the goose is stunned by a blow on the back of the head with a short club. A blood can or weight is then hooked through the lower bill which keeps the neck straightened out and prevents the blood from being thrown about the room or on the birds. The birds are allowed to hang until they are dead and thoroughly bled out.
Picking. When geese are dry picked, the feathers are removed just as soon as the birds are stuck for the longer the delay the harder the feathers pull. The wings are picked to the first joint and the feathers of the neck half-way to the head. The soft pin feathers and fine down may be removed by shaving the skin or rubbing the body with moistened hands will partially remove them.
Usually geese are scalded or steamed for picking. For steaming a wash boiler three-quarters full of boiling water and with a burlap sack tightly stretched over its top can be used. The goose is simply laid on the sack and the steam coming through the burlap steams the feathers and makes them easy to remove. The breast should be steamed first, then the back and then each side. Two or three minutes will be time enough to complete the steaming. The feathers are steamed until they pull out easily. The goose must be kept moving to prevent the flesh from becoming scalded and since the breast is especially tender it is usual to lay the head under the breast to prevent the latter from scalding. After steaming the body feathers are removed and the bird is then singed over a flame furnished by alcohol burned in shallow tin plates, in order to remove the down. The down may also be removed by sprinkling powdered rosin over the goose's body which is then dipped into hot water. The hot water melts the rosin which sticks to the down and the down and rosin can then be rubbed off together.
Geese may also be steamed by scalding slightly in hot water and then wrapping tightly in burlap or some other cloth. They are kept wrapped for about five minutes which allows the steam to work thoroughly through the feathers which can then be plucked easily.
Exactly the same methods can and often are employed in dressing geese as are used with ducks. The reader is therefore also referred to the material in Chapter VII.
There seems to be no great insistence on the part of most markets for dry picked geese. Some will pay slightly more for the dry picked birds but others make no difference.
Packing for Shipment. After picking, the geese are washed and then placed in cold water to cool. Ice water is best for this purpose and is essential in warm weather. The carcasses must be allowed to remain in the water until they are thoroughly cooled, which will take at least one to two hours. If any animal heat is left in the bodies, they will spoil very quickly. Often the carcasses are dipped in hot water, before being thrown in the cold water, to plump them. After they are thoroughly cooled, the geese are packed in barrels for shipping. If the weather is cool they may be packed in well ventilated barrels without ice, but if the weather is warm, cracked ice must be used in packing, proceeding in the same way as when packing ducks as described on page 109. It is always risky to pack without ice.
Saving the Feathers. Goose feathers are valuable and should therefore be saved when the geese are plucked. The soft body feathers and the coarser feathers should be kept separate. The feathers should be cured by spreading them out in a thin layer on the floor of a loft or room, stirring them up occasionally until they are thoroughly dried out, when they can be sacked and sold. Failure to dry the feathers thoroughly will result in their heating and molding with the result that they will arrive at their destination in bad shape and will be worth less money. The soft body feathers of geese are practically all used in making beds and pillows while the quills are sometimes utilized in making toothpicks and cigarette holders. Prices for goose feathers in June 1921 were as follows:
| Pure White | dry picked | 75c | per lb. |
| Good average white | " " | 65c | " " |
| Largely gray | " " | 55c | " " |
| Largely gray | scalded | 40c | " " |
| Long goose quills | 5c | " " |
These prices were for good dry feathers.
Plucking Live Geese for their Feathers
In the days of feather beds and home-made pillows the practice of plucking live geese for their feathers was very common. Now, however, with the demand for goose feathers less and with the opinion of some breeders that plucking geese is both cruel and injurious, the practice seems to be decreasing. Many goose raisers in the South and a less number in the Middle West and North however still pluck the feathers from the live geese prior to the time of moulting. The frequency with which the picking is done varies greatly, some picking as often as every six weeks during the spring, summer and early fall while others pick twice, once in the spring and once in the fall, or once in the spring only. Geese should never be picked during the late fall or winter when the weather is cold or during the breeding season. Both young and old geese are plucked and the average yearly production of feathers per goose is about one pound. When the quills of the feathers are dry and do not contain any blood, the feathers are ripe for picking. In plucking, a stocking is placed over the head of the goose and the goose held on the lap and between the legs during the process.
An assistant to hold the goose during the plucking simplifies the work greatly. In plucking, part of the soft feathers of the breast, sides, abdomen and back are taken but these sections should not be plucked clean. It is especially important that enough short feathers be left to support the wings.
After plucking, the feathers must be cured before they are shipped. This may be done by spreading them out on a floor as described for the feathers taken from slaughtered geese or they may be placed loosely in burlap sacks and hung up in a garret or loft. Hanging in this way and in the loosely woven sacks, they are subjected to a good circulation of air and will dry out without heating. Sacks of feathers should not be piled or packed closely together, on top of one another or even be allowed to lie on the floor until they are thoroughly dry as otherwise they are almost sure to heat and mold.
INDEX
- A
- Absence of crest in Crested White Duck, 34
- African Goose, 156, 157
- Age of
- Amount of feed
- Amount of land
- Arrangement of cars for shipping live geese, 202
- Arrangement of duck plant, 45
- Artificial water yards for ducks, 62
- Aylesbury duck, 23
- B
- Baby ducks, selling, 78
- Bantam ducks, 27, 29
- Bean,
- Bedding
- Beef scrap, feeding, to ducks, 64
- Bib in
- Bill,
- Black East India duck, 29
- Black in bean of
- Black bill in Black East India drakes, 29
- Black
- Bleeding
- Blue
- Body shape in breeding ducks, selecting for, 19
- Braining geese, 206, 209
- Breaking up
- Breast-bone as index of age in ducks, 56
- Breeding
- Breeds of ducks, 9
- Breeds of geese, 147
- Brood coop for goslings, 179
- Brooder
- Brooders for goslings, 180
- Broodiness of
- Brooding
- Brown Chinese goose, 158
- Brownish color in Cayuga ducks, 26
- Buff Ducks, 35
- Button head in Call ducks, 28
- Buying geese for fattening, 200
- C
- Call ducks, 27
- Canadian goose—see Wild
- Capacity of
- Capital,
- Care of
- Carrying
- Caruncles on face of Muscovy, 29
- Cases, shipping, for duck eggs, 119, 137
- Catching
- Cayuga duck, 25
- Celery seed, feeding, to fattening ducks, 93
- Changing feed for fattening geese, 205
- Chestnut colored head in Buff drakes, 35
- Chilling of goslings by rain, 181
- Chinese goose, 158
- Chocolate colored ducks from Colored Muscovy, 32
- Claret in breast of Rouen drakes, deficiency of, 24
- Classification of breeds of ducks, 11
- Cleaning
- Cleanliness of plumage as indication of health, 19
- Color of
- Colored flights in
- Colored Muscovy, 31
- Commercial duck farming,
- Condition of
- Conditioning exhibition ducks, 38
- Conditions for duck raising on the farm, 120
- Confining goslings to yards, 181
- Considerations, general, in making
- Consistency of feed for
- Construction of brooder houses for ducks, 82
- Cooking geese to overcome greasiness, 194
- Cooling duck
- Cooling goose
- Coop, growing, for goslings, 182
- Cooperative
- Copper colored head of Buff drakes, 36
- Cost of picking
- Creaminess in plumage of
- Crest,
- Crested White duck, 34
- Crippled ducks, 97, 104
- Critical period with young ducks, 98
- Crooked back
- Crooked crest in Crested White, 34
- Crooked tail in ducks, 19
- Crossed feathers on neck of Pekin drake, 22
- Crossing African and Brown Chinese geese, 157
- Curing
- D
- Darkening pens
- Dewlap in
- Diarrhoea
- Diseases
- Dished bill in Rouen, 24
- Distinguishing
- Distribution of duck raising, 3
- Dogs a source of loss in ducks, 69
- Double crest in Crested White ducks, 34
- Down, removing,
- Drake,
- Drakerel, definition of, 13
- Drinking dishes
- Driving geese from railway to farm, 202
- Drowning ducks, 31, 128, 135
- Dry, keeping goslings, 181
- Dry land duck farms, 44
- Dry picking
- Duck,
- Duck raising
- Ducklet, definition of, 13
- Duckling, meaning of, 12
- Ducks,
- Dun colored ducks from Colored Muscovy, 32
- E
- Egg class of ducks, 11
- Egg production,
- Eggs, duck,
- Eggs, goose,
- Egyptian goose, 160
- Electric lights
- Embden goose, 156
- Equipment of pens in duck brooders, 86
- Examining
- Extent of
- Eye as indication of health in ducks, 19
- F
- Faded gray in Brown Chinese geese, 158
- Fading of color in
- Fasting geese before fattening, 203
- Fattening farms for geese, 199
- Fattening geese,
- Fattening houses or sheds for ducklings, 48
- Fattening summer geese, 202
- Fawn and White Runner, 37
- Fawn colored breasts in Rouen females, 25
- Fawn on neck, too much, in Fawn and White Runner, 37
- Feather eating in ducklings, 100
- Feathered legs in ducks, 19
- Feathers,
- Feed, cooperative buying of, 101
- Feed cooker
- Feeding
- breeding ducks, 63
- breeding geese, 169
- Call ducks, 27
- ducklings, 92, 132
- fattening geese, 195, 196, 203
- geese during shipment, 202
- goslings, 183
- growing and fattening ducklings, 92-94, 132
- noodles to geese, 198
- show ducks, 39
- show geese, 161
- supply geese on fattening farms, 202
- track on duck plants, 51, 65
- Fences
- Fertility of duck eggs, 20, 77
- Fireless brooding goslings, 180
- First feed
- Fish, feeding, to ducks, 63, 92, 134
- Fits in ducklings, 99
- Flat breast in Aylesburys, 23
- Flatiron shape in Call ducks, 28
- Folded feathers on neck of Pekin drake, 22
- Foreign color in back of White Runner ducks, 37
- Free range
- Freezing of ducks to the ground, 62, 128
- Frequency
- Frightening
- G
- Gains in weight
- Gander, definition of, 149
- Gapes in ducklings, 99
- Geese as weed destroyers, 145
- Goose eggs for hatching,
- Goose fattening farms, 199
- Goose raising,
- Goose septicemia, 186
- Gosling, definition of, 149
- Grading growing ducklings, 87
- Grass yards for goslings, 182
- Gray Call duck, 28
- Gray,
- Greasing heads of goslings for lice, 178
- Green bill
- Green ducks, 102
- Green feed
- Green geese, 149, 187
- Grit
- Growing green feed for ducks, 64
- Growth of goslings, rapidity of, 184
- Gypsy face in Muscovy ducks, 32
- H
- Handling
- Hatches of duck eggs, 78
- Hatching duck eggs
- Hatching eggs, duck, packing and shipping, 40
- Hatching goose eggs
- Health,
- Heating apparatus for duck brooder house, 83
- Heavy bottoms in Runner ducks, 37
- Hemorrhagic septicemia of geese, 186
- Horse power required on a duck plant, 50
- House capacity
- Houses
- Hump back in ducks, 19
- I
- Identification of ducks by toe punching, 12
- Incubation, period of,
- Incubator capacity on duck plants, 47, 71
- Incubator cellar, 70
- Incubators, kinds of, for duck eggs, 70
- Injury
- Insect pests of ducks, 69
- K
- Keel, deep,
- Killing
- Knob on head
- L
- Labor required
- Lameness
- Land required for duck plants, 46
- Laying ration
- Laying season
- Lay-out of duck plant, 45
- Length of time
- Lights
- Live ducks, shipping to market, 116
- Live geese,
- Location
- Lopped crest in White Crested ducks, 35
- Loss
- Lost, goslings becoming, 182
- Lots, fattening, for geese, 203
- M
- Making a start in duck raising, 121
- Making new goose matings, 154
- Mallard duck, 10
- summer plumage of males, 25
- Mandarin duck, 10
- Marketing
- Markets for geese, 187
- Marking
- Mating
- Meat class of ducks, 11
- Mixing feed
- Moisture
- Molt of ducklings as indication of market condition, 102
- Mongrel goose, 148, 201
- Mortality
- Mosquito larvae, destruction of, by ducks, 8
- Mule ducks, 9
- Muscovy duck, 29
- N
- Narrow shoulders
- Nest, preparing the, for hatching goose eggs, 173
- Nomenclature
- Noodles, making, for fattening geese, 197
- Noodling geese, 196
- Number
- of breeding ducks required, 46
- of ducklings marketed per breeding duck, 46
- of ducklings to a pen, 85, 90
- of ducks in leading states, 3
- of ducks in U. S., 3
- of ducks to a drake, 57
- of geese carried on fattening farms, 208
- of geese in leading states, 141
- of geese in U. S., 141
- of geese noodled by one man, 198
- of geese to the acre, 164
- of times
- O
- Objections
- Odor from goose fattening farms, 208
- Opportunities
- Ornamental
- Output of duck plants, 42, 45
- Oyster shell, feeding,
- P
- Packing dressed
- Packing
- Pasturing
- Patte de fois gras, 199
- Pay for picking
- Pekin duck, 21
- Pekin duck on commercial plants, 42
- Penciled Runner duck, 37
- Penciling in
- Penciling, lack of, in Penciled Runner females, 38
- Pen fattening geese, 195
- Pens
- Percent
- Period of incubation
- Period of feeding
- Picking house for duck plants, 50
- Picking
- Pin feathers, removing, from ducks, 107
- Pinioning
- Pneumonia in ducklings, 99
- Popularity of breeds
- Pounds feed to produce pound of market duck, 95
- Prejudice against roast goose, 194
- Preparing
- Prevention of disease in ducklings, 98
- Prices
- Prince Edward Island geese, 201
- Production, yearly, of feathers from live geese, 213
- Profits from duck farming, 54
- Protecting feed of geese from other stock, 171
- Puddle ducks, 9
- Pulling broken feathers
- Purple barring in Black East India ducks, 29
- Purple rump in Rouen drake, 24
- Q
- Quilling in ducklings, 100
- R
- Range
- Rapidity of growth of goslings, 184
- Rations
- Rats as source of loss in ducklings, 101
- Red in plumage of Blue Swedish, 33
- Removing
- Reviving goslings chilled by rain, 181
- Rhode Island geese, 200
- Ribbon or wing bar, absence of, in Gray Call, 28
- Ring, white,
- Roach back in ducks, 19
- Rouen duck, 23
- Roughage
- Round head in Runner ducks, 37
- Runner duck, 36
- S
- Sand, feeding,
- Scalding market
- Sebastapol goose, 148
- Selection of breeding ducks, 19
- Selection of breeding geese, 154
- Selection of duck eggs for hatching, 73
- Selecting the breed of ducks, 122
- Separating growing goslings from old stock, 182
- Septicemia, goose or hemorrhagic, 186
- Sex
- Shade
- Sharp backs in Runner ducks, 37
- Shaving market geese to remove down, 209
- Shelter
- Shipping
- Shipping live geese for fattening, 201
- Short legs in Runner ducks, 37
- Shrinking in shipping ducks alive, 116
- Size
- of breeding ducks, 19
- of breeds of ducks, 14
- of breeds of geese, 150
- of duck eggs, 16
- of duck farms, 42, 44, 46
- of flocks of breeding ducks, 46
- of flocks of ducks on general farms, 121
- of flocks of fattening geese, 195, 196, 199, 202
- of goose eggs, 151
- of male and female Muscovy, 30
- of mating in ducks, 20, 123
- of mating in geese, 152
- of sitting of duck eggs, 7, 129
- of sitting of goose eggs, 163, 174
- Slate on backs
- Smooth head in Muscovy duck, 29
- Sore eyes in ducklings, 100
- Sorting
- Split crest in Crested White ducks, 34
- Steaming
- Sticking or braining geese, 206, 209
- Stippling, gray, on Penciled Runner ducks, 38
- Stunning geese, 206, 209
- Summer geese, fattening, 202
- Summer plumage of Rouen drakes, 25
- Swimming, preventing goslings from, 181
- T
- Temperatures, incubation,
- Temperatures, brooder,
- Testing
- Time of feeding
- Time of first feed
- Time of laying
- Time
- Toulouse goose, defects in, 155
- Tray, feed, for ducks, 66
- Triple crest in Crested White ducks, 34
- Trough, feed, for ducks, 66
- Turning
- Twisted wings in ducks, 19
- W
- Washing
- Water
- Water site for duck plants, 42
- Water supply for duck plants, 52
- Water yards
- Weed destruction by geese, 96, 103
- Weight
- Weights
- White around eyes
- White bib
- White Call duck, description of, 28
- White Chinese goose, 159
- White in breast
- White in fluff of Rouen drake, 24
- White in wings
- White Muscovy duck,
- White on head of Colored Muscovy, 32
- White on neck of Cayuga, 26
- White Runner duck, 37
- Wild or Canadian goose, 159
- Windpipe as indication of age in ducks, 56
- Wing bar, absence of, in Gray Call females, 28
- Wood duck, 10