Abstract
ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to investigate whether goose growth and feather characteristics are influenced by their line and feeding surroundings, inclusive of floor materials and types, since there are no reports regarding these factors.MethodsThe 240 White Roman geese which were hatched and sex identified came from 3 commercial goose farms. They were randomly distributed to 24 pens depending on a completely random design. The study continued for 13 weeks and included 3 lines of commercial geese and 2 floor types (cement strip floor [CSF] or cement floor [CF]).ResultsThe day one gosling weight from A farm was lower than other two farms (96 g vs 107 and 115 g; p<0.001). Afterwards, the body weight, back length, keel length, chest girth and main wing feather length among 3 farms showed no significance difference prior to 12 weeks. The CF group showed heavier body weight, shorter back length, longer keel length, shorter chest girth and shorter main wing feather length than the CSF group prior to 12 weeks. The down weight in the CF was heavier than the CSF group (57.1 g vs 41.8 g; p<0.01) prior to 13 weeks.ConclusionThe body weight showed the positive relations for dry feather weight (r = 0.59), down weight (r = 0.69), percent of the down weight of live body weight prior to 13 weeks (r = 0.61).
Highlights
In accordance with the statistics of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the combined number of geese and guinea fowls in the world is 3.71 billion [1] and China’s share is 88.8%
Floor types on growth performance The body weight in the concrete floor (CF) group was heavier than the other CSF group (5.22 kg vs 4.82 kg; p
The main wing feather length in the CF group was shorter than the other CSF group (29.5 cm vs 31.8 cm; p
Summary
In accordance with the statistics of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the combined number of geese and guinea fowls in the world is 3.71 billion [1] and China’s share is 88.8%. Broilers raised on plastic floors are able to improve the air quality and cleanliness under a heat stress scenario [2]. On the contrary, they could be more susceptible to develop lesions in the breast, hock, and footpad. Liu et al [4] indicated that the geese from wire floor during 1 to days of age and move to the floor during to 70 days of age had higher feed conversion ratio than those systems. Geese reared of wire floor had greater on body weight and body weight gain, otherwise, which had lower feed conversion ratio than those of systems
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