Incubation of goose eggs is an occupation in which it is possible to achieve high hatchability - from 75 to 90%. To obtain the maximum number of chicks, you need to choose a high-quality incubation material, correctly produce its laying in the incubator and maintain a favorable temperature and humidity before breeding the chicks.
And if everything is done correctly, then in 29–32 days the farmer will receive goose offspring.
Selection of material for incubation
The material for incubation is collected from the nests every hour, so that the eggs do not have time to cool down or become dirty.
Prolonged stay in a dirty house affects the hatchability: after 5 hours microorganisms penetrate the pores of the shell, which prevent normal development of the embryo.
Eggs intended for incubation must comply with the following parameters:
- uniformly colored shells without cracks and chips, smooth to the touch,
- correct form
- standard weight (120–160 g for eggs of light breeds of geese, 170–200 g for eggs of large breeds),
- medium size (length - 8–10 cm, width - 4–5 cm),
- no pollution (adhering litter, feathers) and blood traces.
Before laying in the incubator, the eggs shine with an ovoscope. This device allows you to identify unfertilized eggs or specimens with a non-viable germ. Signs of a quality egg:
- protein is light, without dark spots and extraneous patches,
- the air chamber is small, located at the blunt end,
- the yolk is one, has no clear boundaries, is located in the central part and does not stick to the walls,
- when turning, the yolk is mobile, it easily returns to its original position.
Disinfection
After collecting the incubation material is disinfected. For disinfection use hydrogen peroxide (1–1.5%), persins (3-5%) or light pink solution of potassium permanganate. Eggs are immersed in a liquid, heated to a temperature of 35 ° C, for 3-5 minutes, then rinsed in water and dried. Some farmers prefer to irrigate the eggs with a spray disinfectant solution.
You can disinfect with an ultraviolet lamp: it is enough to hold an egg under the lamp for 10 minutes (5 minutes on each side).
Features of incubation goslings
Incubation is a method of artificial breeding of young geese in a special agricultural machine. The first feature of this type of production of goose offspring is that it also depends on a variety of natural factors, under the influence of which the vital activity of an adult bird was found.
- diet and composition of feed for poultry during active laying,
- the correct ratio of the number of males and females in the household,
- regular geese walking,
- microclimatic conditions in the house, etc.
After all, all this directly affects the formation and quality of eggs, from which, as a result, chicks will be born in the incubator.
The second feature of gosling incubation is the influence of factors of artificially created environment and incubation regime. Removal of chicks can occur both in self-made, and in industrial devices.
The hatchability of the goslings will depend on how the farmer organizes the vital activity of the poultry in his farm, as well as creates the conditions for the incubator.
How to choose goose eggs for incubation?
To get healthy goose offspring, it is necessary to properly select eggs for incubation.
For incubating goose eggs at home, you should use only those specimens that meet the following criteria:
- there are no spots, blackouts in the protein part when viewed through the ovoscope,
- during the turning the yolk can always return to its original location, which is also visible with the aid of the ovoscope,
- the shell has a smooth surface
- the yolk is always in the center, which will also help to know the ovoscope,
- weight corresponds to the norm: 120-140 g (light rocks), 160-180 g (heavy rocks),
- dimensions are between 8-10 cm - in length and 4-5 cm - in width,
- having the correct shape,
- produced from geese aged 2-4 years, not more.
Goose egg compared to chicken and quail
All eggs whose dimensions exceed these limits, that is, small and too large, belong to the category of marriage.
The laying of goose eggs in the device is made only after a thorough check of the shell.
Such an examination of the surface is intended to identify all cracks and other defects on the shell.
All defective units must also be rejected because the germ cannot form in them.
It is recommended when inspecting eggs before laying in the device to use a special translucent device - an ovoscope.
Storage and processing of goose eggs before laying in the incubation machine
Incubation of goose eggs at home provides for a special mode of storage before laying in the incubator. After collecting the eggs from the geese, they should be in a position on their side in an environment in which the temperature does not exceed a range of 8 to 15 degrees.
Humidity of air should be in the range from 75 to 80%. If the storage of goose eggs for further incubation lasted more than eight days, it is no longer rational to use them for planned purposes. After a week, the chicks' hatchability drops significantly. This dynamic is displayed in the table below:
Specialists in breeding geese at home are advised to turn the eggs, which are intended for further incubation, starting from the fifth day of their storage.
And creative farmers came up with another interesting way to preserve eggs: to heat the goose product daily, for example, in the same incubator, for an hour and then return to the storage location.
What temperature should be maintained during temporary heating? It should be about 37.2 degrees, but no more.
This method in the practice of poultry farming was called "as in the nest." It helps create an effect when the goose sits on the eggs in the nest to hatch them.
The next important point that requires detailed consideration is how to properly process the eggs before laying in the incubator. There are different views on the procedure for washing a goose product.
Some farmers are inclined to believe that washing them is not recommended. This may adversely affect hatchability. From this point of view, eggs of low and medium pollution should be cleaned with a soft brush and sprayed with disinfectant solutions (factory-made or home-made)
But with intensive pollution of the shell, you should still resort to this procedure. Because the incubator should be sent thoroughly cleaned and disinfected eggs. They are washed using:
- Persintam,
- hydrogen peroxide,
- deoxon-1,
- potassium permanganate.
At home, preparing a solution of one of these substances in water (from 0.5 to 3%). The egg is lowered into the vessel with a solution for two or three minutes, then rinsed and dried.
It is forbidden to wipe them with a cloth, napkin, so as not to damage the protective shell. At the same time, this temperature of the solution is needed, which will exceed the temperature of the goose product itself by 5 degrees.
After cleaning and disinfecting, the eggs are ready for breeding the geese in the incubator.
Rules laying goose eggs in the incubator
Eggs are placed in an incubator in a horizontal position.
In an incubation cabinet, eggs are placed horizontally marked with crosses and zeros. This is done to facilitate the turning of the eggs from one side to the other.
What temperature should be in the incubator at the time of laying eggs? The device must be preheated to the internal air temperature of 37.8-38.0 degrees and, with the same indicators, the goose product should be laid. This helps avoid sticking of the embryo to the shell.
After the laying of eggs is done, the success of the process will depend on how well the goose egg incubation regime is supported, namely:
- air temperature is regulated,
- maintain proper moisture levels
- regular and timely turning of the eggs.
In order for home incubation of goose eggs to be productive, it makes sense to consider the whole process of incubation and its features in stages from A to Z.
Turning and spraying eggs
Incubation of geese at home provides for the constant turning of the eggs in the incubator in order to evenly warm up at least 4 times a day.
In order not to get confused about which side to turn the egg, it is supposed to mark it with various convenient symbols on both sides (for example, the symbols X and O).
This concerns precisely manual turning.
Modern production incubators, on the other hand, are distinguished by the automatic rotation mode of trays, for which the required interval is set. One day before the goslings hatch in the device, the eggs stop turning.
For those who want to know how to bring out the goslings in the incubator, it is important to note another rule: to produce regular irrigation of the incubated eggs.
It is necessary to start spraying eggs from the fifth day of stay inside the device. For this, a weak potassium permanganate solution is most often used. Spraying helps cool the goose eggs in the incubator.
From the 10th day spraying is performed twice a day, from the 20th - three times, from the 24th day - four times. From the 28th day, the irrigation stops and until the chicks appear, it does not resume.
Temperature indicators in a goose egg incubator
The temperature in the incubator for goose eggs should be maintained at a level that does not lead to hypothermia during the first 15 days and overheating - in the last days of incubation.
The key rules in accordance with which the incubation temperature is maintained are the following principles:
- Warming up the incubator before laying up to 37.8-38 degrees.
- The increase in temperature in the first four hours to 39 degrees, so that the eggs warmed to 37.7 degrees.
- Maintaining the first two days at a temperature of 38 degrees. Lowering it from the third day to 37.8 degrees.
- The decrease in the rate inside the incubator from the fifth day to 37.6 degrees.
- Lowering the temperature from the tenth day to 37.5 degrees.
- Reducing the rate on the 28th day to 37.3 degrees. When it happens, the goslings take out in the incubator at home.
The cooling process during the incubation of goose eggs is vital. Eggs are rather large in size, the embryos warm up well and can die from overheating if the temperature is not observed. Practicing daily cooling of eggs by turning off the device for half an hour to avoid a sharp temperature drop.
Ventilation and humidity in the incubator
Humidity in incubators for breeding geese with their own hands, as well as in industrial-type devices, should be sufficiently high. Initially, it is set at 70% and remains so for the first week of incubation. From the 8th to the 27th day, it may slightly decrease - up to 60%.
The output of the goslings in the incubator at home is performed necessarily at high humidity - from the 28th day it rises to 90% and remains at this level until the final completion of the incubation cycle.
This is extremely important because the eggshell in goose eggs is very thick and hard. It is difficult to chick the chick. And from high humidity, it softens somewhat, it is easier for the chick to choose from it. Ventilation must always be open.
Below is a table of incubation of goose eggs, which reflects the indicators of a comfortable temperature and humidity conditions:
Hatching goslings in an incubation device
Incubation of goose eggs takes a total of 30 days. If it is determined on which day the first signs of hatching occur on the goslings, it is safe to talk about the 29th day. In this time interval, you can notice the nakley shell.
In the question of the day when the mass hatching of chicks begins, all farmers agree on the answers: on the 30th day of incubation. If we talk about how many days the hatching ends, then practice shows that the whole process can sometimes stretch to 32 days.
One of the reasons for the protracted hatching process can be problems in goslings with release from under the shell. In this case, it may require a very careful, careful mechanical influence of the farmer himself.
Doubtful eggs should be scanned through the ovoscope, determine the location of the beaks, and in these zones make holes in the shell so that the chicks can continue to act on their own.
Typical mistakes farmers novices
Poultry farmers who do not have the experience and sufficient knowledge about how to breed goslings in an incubator often make mistakes that lead to the death of goose offspring and to low hatchability results. They violate a number of rules, which, on the contrary, it is extremely important to adhere to, so that the geese do not suffer.
The reasons why newcomers have low hatchability rates of chicks are as follows:
- Sharp temperature drops. They can lead to overheating of the eggs, and to hypothermia. The result is the death of the embryo. If there is a threat of interruptions in the supply of electricity, you need to take care of the acquisition of the generator. Rule: you can not dramatically change the temperature.
- A frivolous attitude to the indicators of humidity, unwillingness to track it and regulate it in the necessary limits. Rule: humidity should be increased / decreased at all times.
- Wanting to control the hatching of the goslings in the incubator, inexperienced poultry farmers can often open the incubator and look inside. The result is a supercooling of the sample and the death of the chicks. The rule is: minimal mechanical interference in the process of the birth of offspring (only the need to help the chick to get out of their shell).
- Trying to save on the consumption of resources, some newcomers resort to turning off or dimming the light in the incubator. The result is the fading of the embryos. Rule: hatching goslings in an incubator should be accompanied by a stable lighting mode. It is strictly forbidden to turn off the light or change its mode.
- Novice poultry farmers, trying to see their first brood as quickly as possible, can pick up chicks from the incubator too early, long before they are completely dry. The result is hypothermia and death of the newborn chick. Rule: hatching goslings in the incubator provides for their stay inside the device until dry.
The process of incubating eggs requires special attention from poultry farmers. It can be performed both in home-made incubators and in production devices.
Plant machines provide ample opportunities for adjusting the microclimate inside, which is key to hatchability and survival of chicks. Creating favorable conditions for eggs is the key to getting healthy goose offspring.
In order to see in detail the process of incubating eggs of geese in practice, we offer to view a selection of videos:
Basics of artificial breeding goslings at home
Incubation of goose eggs takes place in a special apparatus - homemade or factory made. The success of the process is influenced by the capacity and correct settings of the machine, as well as the natural features of the life of the laying goose. She needs to walk and feed as much as indicated in the recommendations. You should also maintain a microclimate in the house.
Attention! This is important if you want to incubate the offspring of any poultry: ducklings, chickens, poults.
Not all goose eggs can be incubated artificially. Incubation of instances that go beyond the limits of norms will not bring results. Choose eggs by the following criteria:
- Laying age - 2-4 g.
- The egg has the correct form. The shell is flat, clean, without cracks.
- Egg size: 8-10 cm long, 4-5 wide.
- Its weight is 160-180 g for heavy goose breeds or 120-140 g for lightweight.
- When studying in the spectroscope in the protein part there are no dark fragments. The yolk is a clear contour, located in the center. The air bubble is small, located at the blunt end of the egg.
- When turning on the ovoskop, the yolk is mobile, but always tends to return to its original position.
Preparing eggs before laying
After collecting the first thing, clean and disinfect the egg. So you eliminate bacteria and viruses that came from the house. Procedure:
- Pour warm water into a convenient container (30-35ºС). The temperature should not fluctuate strongly on either side.
- Add a little potassium permanganate (to a pale pink consistency) or 1-1.5% hydrogen peroxide.
- Dip the egg. Lightly rinse it in liquid or clean the surface of the shell with a soft brush.
- No later than 5 min. Remove the material from the solution, rinse in clear water and put to dry on a towel.
Farmers use other techniques:
- irrigate the eggs from a spray disinfectant,
- проводят процедуру под УФ-лампой (по 5 мин. для каждой стороны продукта).
При необходимости владельцы инкубаторов могут какое-то время хранить материал. Нужно подготовить помещение с влажностью около 75% и прохладной атмосферой 8-15 °С. Яйца укладывают в горизонтальном положении. Начиная с 5-х суток их необходимо переворачивать каждый день.
Attention! Практика показывает: после 5 дней хранения выводимость птенцов составляет почти 80%. После 10-ти — 72,7%. К 15-му дню она резко падает до 53,7%.Next to store the goose eggs for the incubator does not make sense.
Bookmark material. Temperature conditions
Incubation of eggs should be done in a horizontal position. Farmers are advised to mark their sides with crosses and zeros for convenience. So it's easier to remember the sides for turning over.
Pre-incubator is heated to 37.8-38ºС. The accuracy of the values is important for the efficiency of the technology: this thermal interval prevents the embryo from sticking to the shell. The quality of cultivation depends on:
- maintaining a stable temperature,
- moisture control
- timely turning of the material.
Poultry farmers focus on the first and last days of egg incubation:
- The first 4 hours the air in the cabinet must be at the level of 39ºС.
- Then, for 2 days, keep the heat at 38ºС.
- Maintain the temperature at 37.8ºС for 3-5 days.
- During the 5-10-x - 37.6 ºС.
- From the 10th day - 37.5ºС.
- On the 28th day, set the mode to 37.3ºС. It will continue until the output goslings.
Attention! Starting from the 15th day, and especially at the final stage, it is important not to overheat the offspring.
In addition to rigorous compliance with temperature requirements, it is necessary to turn off the device daily for 30 minutes.
Incubator Care
The initial humidity in the apparatus is 70%. Starting from the 8th day, for 3 weeks, keep it at around 60%. Before breeding chicks, dramatically increase the humidity to 90%. The hard and thick shells will soften, and the goslings will be able to easily pierce it with their beak.
Full warm-up during incubation of eggs is impossible without constant turning. This manipulation is resorted to at least 4 times a day. In modern incubators there is an option to automatically flip the contents. In other machines, this must be done manually. One day before chicks are born, stop the procedure.
Another mandatory technique in growing eggs is irrigation. Starting from the 5th day in the incubator, spray them with water with a small amount of potassium permanganate. This will help cool the contents of the tray. The amount of spraying depends on the period of stay in the device:
- 5-10 days - 1 per day,
- 10-20 - twice
- 20-24 - three times
- 24-28 - four times.
From the 28th day before the hatching of chicks, irrigation is stopped. Birds will hatch in the range of 30-32 days. Incubator will help make the process more efficient. Follow the algorithm of work and get the desired result.
Technology news
Scientists and specialists in veterinary medicine at the University of Auburn, USA created an expert system for the diagnosis of poultry diseases
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Last 72nd number of interdepartmental research and production collection "Poultry Farming"
Chemical composition
Outwardly, duck eggs can be distinguished from chicken eggs by size, by the color of the shell. Ducks lay large eggs, their shells are thick, white, olive, or light brown in color with dark patches. The shell is porous, so the product is not recommended to be stored at room temperature. It is kept in the refrigerator at a temperature of 10 ° C: it is advised to use it for 7-10 days. Experts indicate the following chemical composition of the product obtained from the duck:
- water - 69.7%, 70.83 g, in chicken 73.6%,
- the proportion of dry matter - 30.0%, in chicken 26.4%,
- protein - 13.7%, 12.81 g,
- fat - 14.4%, 13.77 g,
- carbohydrates - 1.2%, 1.45 g.
The ash in the duck product is 1.14 g, in chicken 1 g. The main components of ash are potassium, sodium, calcium and magnesium. In a chemical study, iron, copper, zinc, iodine, and fluorine are determined in the product. In the yolk are many vitamins of group "B", "A", "E". Experts indicate the following quantitative indicators:
- choline (vitamin b4) - 263 mg,
- carotene - 195 mg,
- folic acid (vitamin b9) - 81 mg,
- beta carotene - 14 mg,
- cobalamin (vitamin b12) - 5 mg,
- cholecalciferol (D3) - 2 mg,
- pantothenic acid (B5) - 2 mg,
- tocopherol (vitamin "E") - 1.3 mg.
If we consider the mineral composition of the yolk, then most of it contains potassium and fluorine. Their number is almost the same, 222 mg. Leading position holds sodium, 146 mg, calcium, 65 mg. Iron in the yolk is, but it is a little, 4 mg. It is even less zinc, 1.4 mg, and copper, 0.1 mg. The amount of iodine, fluorine and manganese is negligible.
The yolk of a duck egg contains 34 mg of selenium. This substance is involved in the formation of the hormone testosterone. A lack of selenium in the body leads to male and female infertility. During the hormonal restructuring of the body may fail, which leads to the appearance of malignant tumors. Selenium helps to improve immunity in adults and children.
What is the use of the product?
The composition of a duck egg consists of trace elements and vitamins that are involved in the metabolic processes of the human body. A lack of potassium or calcium, sodium or selenium will lead to the most complex pathologies in all vital systems.
Regular consumption of duck product will compensate for the lack of macro and micronutrients. An adult can eat 2 eggs a week. The child is given one in 2 weeks. The product is used only in boiled form. The shell is pre-washed using baking soda. Egg cooked 20 min.
Raw and boiled duck egg
At home, it is eaten as a separate product, used to make salads, pastries, creams, mayonnaise. The yolk has an orange tint. The dishes are rich and bright yellow. They are delicious, look beautiful on the table. When cooking eggs, yolks are recommended to roast:
Duck eggs are used by beauticians to prepare nutritious masks for the face and body. They produce a lifting effect, improve the elasticity of the skin, give it a healthy glow. The product is mixed with sour cream, oatmeal. It turns out a good tool that normalizes the work of the subcutaneous sebaceous glands.
Product Harm
Eggs can cause an allergic reaction. Before use, it is necessary to test for antibodies. Do not recommend this product to people with high cholesterol in the blood. If the body does not properly absorb cholesterol, it will be deposited on the walls of blood vessels in the form of plaques, thereby reducing blood flow.
Waterfowl, especially the one on the pond, is often exposed to Salmonella infection. Pathological microflora can be both on the shell and inside the product. At the same time the bird itself can only be a carrier.
Her symptoms are hidden. The infection passes to a person, causes severe intoxication, affects the gastrointestinal tract, blood vessels of the circulatory system. In order to prevent the spread of salmonellosis, the USSR Ministry of Health has developed a regulation on products obtained from waterfowl.
The Ministry of Health in 1955 adopted a decree on the proper use of duck and goose eggs. In 2016, the situation was slightly corrected. The product is prohibited to sell in the markets and in stores. It is not allowed to use it for cooking in catering points. Products are only for making dough. In the composition of creams, sauces, salads it should not be. The shell must be burned. Hands wash with antiseptic.
How to incubate?
Farmers most often use duck eggs for their young. To do this, from the bird population select individuals that will be the parent flock. In the aviary place 1 drake and 4-5 females. Picked layers with high egg production. For females equip nests. Masonry begin to collect a month after the formation of the duck family.
Masonry collected daily. Eggs are laid in the cells with a sharp end up: in this area there is an air chamber. Store the material in the refrigerator at a temperature of 10 ° C, at a humidity of 70%. For breeding ducklings use a hen or an incubator. Under 1 duck of musky breed you can lay up to 20 eggs. The duration of maturation of masonry 28 days. Indelique can incubate longer, up to 32 days. The same mode is maintained during incubation.
Incubation of duck eggs
In the incubator create a certain microclimate. The cabinet is periodically ventilated to clean and moisten the air. The material is inverted so that the embryo does not adhere to the inner shell of the egg. It is recommended to adhere to the following incubation mode: it is divided into 3 periods and the time of the curse:
- 7 days - temperature 38.0-38.2 С, humidity 70%, samples turn over 4 times a day. Airing the cabinet do not hold,
- the next 2 weeks - 37.8 C, humidity 60%, the number of coups 4 times. The incubator door is opened for 5 minutes
- up to 25 days - leave the already created temperature and humidity. Cabinet air 15 min. per day,
- Curse begins on day 26. The temperature is reduced to 37 ° C, the humidity is increased to 90%. Turns do not, so as not to harm the chicks. Air incubator for 20 minutes. It is recommended to transfer the samples to the removal chamber. In it, it will be easier for the appeared ducklings to stand up and spread their wings.
Chicks are removed from the incubator after they dry completely. They must be fed immediately. Yolk stock they completely spend. Before feeding, young animals are ground with glucose or sugar water. In 1 liter of water dilute 2 tbsp. l Sahara. Feeding is carried out with a syringe without a needle. In the future, the young give a boiled egg, 10 g per head. For the full development of ducklings prescribed a certain diet.
Duck eggs are a valuable food product, but experts caution to eat them raw. Farmers who deal with ducks do not sell them on the market, they use them for incubation. Table, unfertilized eggs, sent to the bakeries or the production of confectionery. The incubation material is used to rejuvenate the poultry beef.