In addition to the usual domestic chickens, small and large farms it makes sense to grow other birds. A significant benefit can bring breeding geese. One of the earliest, and at the same time most valued goose breeds by poultry farmers is Arzamas.
Breed history
Arzamas geese belong to the oldest breeds - it is believed that they appeared in the XVII century. Confirmation of this can be found in various literary sources and contemporaries notes.
Check out the breeds of geese for home breeding.
Their appearance is associated with the beginning of the goose fights, for which the corresponding birds were required. It is believed that the breed was formed as a result of the selection of the strongest Tula geese, and the main purpose of its breeding was to get resistant and brave fighters, which was achieved.
The mention of these birds is found in the pages of Ivan Abozin's book "Poultry Farming", published in 1875. The author emphasizes their similarity with the Tula geese, but at the same time notes that the Arzamas are much larger and stronger.
The birthplace of this breed is considered to be the city of Arzamas, from which it got its name. In the memoirs of eyewitnesses you can find notes that geese, which are grown in this city, are very similar to swans in their size and stator.
Only from the XIX century, this fighting breed began to breed as meat, and it proved to be an excellent new one.
Did you know? Geese during a molt cannot fly, and the period of change of feathers lasts about six months.
Exterior
Consider the main external characteristics of this breed. 
- Color - One of the distinctive features of the breed, as the feathers of its representatives are snow-white.
- Head - small, rounded; forehead and neck - massive; cheek muscles are well developed.
- Beak - may be loony, steeply and straight-bearing in shape. It is massive, at the base it is painted orange, and at the tip it turns into ivory.
- Eyes - sky blue or black, large. The eyelids are colored bright yellow.
- Neck - long and has a pronounced bend.
- Back - massive, straight and flat.
- Chest - wide, round and full.
- Wings - fit snugly to the body, their tips reach the waist and cover it.
- Legs - short and powerful, painted orange.
- Paws - large, with straight fingers.
Familiarize yourself with the characteristics of the Linda breed, Danish legart, large sulfur, Tula geese, Kholmogory, Rhine, and Toulouse geese.
Productive qualities
In addition to excellent external data, Arzamas geese are distinguished by high productivity:
- The live weight of the gander is about 6 kg, the goose - 5-5.5 kg, and the young in 2 months weigh 3.5-4 kg each.
- Egg production is medium, goose lays up to 25 eggs per year.
- Laying starts in geese at about 300 days of age.
- The mass of one egg of Arzamas goose is 170-180 g.
- The breed is characterized by high rates of hatchability of offspring, fertilization of eggs reaches 85%. Geese have a well-developed maternal instinct, they are excellent chickens.
Important! The young of this breed has high viability and high survival rates - up to 96%.
Feeding ration
Fattening of these geese is not much different from the fattening of other breeds:
- Goslings for 7-10 days are fed with chopped boiled eggs with greens.
- From the 10th day they can gradually introduce crushed millet and corn.
- The daily portion of a goose to 7 days makes 30 g, and in 7-14 days rises to 90 g.
- From two weeks of age, mixed feed can be added to the diet of young stock - it promotes rapid growth and weight gain, and also contains the necessary nutrients and nutrients.
It is worth noting that the feathered feed is given both dry and in the form of a mash. Wet food contributes to the normalization of the gastrointestinal tract of birds, as well as their overall health. Adults need 330-340 g of food each day.
Important! Arzamas geese can also be fed with vegetables, dairy products, cereals, shell rock, chalk and hay flour, but this is not as convenient as animal feed for breeders, as you need to constantly monitor the balance of nutrients that birds receive with food.
Conditions of detention
Growing Arzamas geese suggests a poultry house, as well as a place for walking stock. Not necessarily, but the presence of a reservoir is highly desirable.
- The house should always be warm, dry and well ventilated. Its size should be calculated on the basis of the number of livestock: at least 1 square meter should be allocated for each goose. m living space.
- Although the Arzamas breed is cold-resistant and its representatives tolerate frosts well, it is advisable to warm the walls and floor in the birdhouse - this will help prevent dampness and, accordingly, various diseases that may result from high humidity. The air temperature in such a room should not fall below 10 ° C.
- The floor in the house is covered with litter, the thickness of which must be at least 30 cm. To do this, you can use hay, straw, peat, sunflower husk or sawdust. The main thing - all the time to ensure that the litter was dry and clean. In the summer period, the litter should consist of sand or sawdust, in which case it has an exclusively hygienic purpose.
- For geese, it is necessary to arrange the nests, preferably wooden and with a thick bottom, in order to avoid overcooling of the embryos in the eggs.
- The house should be equipped with feeders and drinkers, as well as to prepare manholes for the pets to go outside.
- In the house it is necessary to install containers with sand or ash so that pets can independently clean their feathers in them.
Birds need to walk, both in summer and in winter, so you should prepare a space for this. Walking can be both open and closed. If there is a fence, it is much easier to control the geese and the food they consume. It is advisable to sow in advance on the site of the intended walking grass grasses.
Learn, than goose fat, goose eggs, goose meat is useful.
Well, if there is a reservoir next to the house, its presence greatly simplifies the care of geese. If there is no reservoir, then you can equip an artificial one, or simply arrange tanks with water so that the geese can swim in them.
Did you know? Geese are long-livers among birds, they live for 20-25 years.
Now you know when and how the Arzamas breed of geese appeared, as well as how to provide them with proper care and proper nutrition. Do not forget that the genetic feature of these birds is a belligerent temper, because initially they were bred as fighting. At the same time, thanks to this, the Arzamas geese adapt well to the habitat conditions and show a high survival rate.
Video: Arzamas and Kholmogory geese breed
