CHAPTER XIV

Fattening and Marketing Geese

_Classes of Geese Marketed._ The market geese consist principally of the surplus young ganders not required for breeding purposes and such of the old geese of either sex as it may be considered desirable to get rid of. Some young females, when the number raised is in excess of the number required for breeders also find their way to market. While these geese are marketed in the largest numbers during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season, particularly the latter, some geese of course find their way to market practically throughout the year. There is also a rather limited trade in "green geese" which corresponds to the trade in spring or "green" ducklings. Green geese are goslings about 12 to 16 weeks old, generally of the larger breeds, which are forced for rapid growth and are made to weigh in the neighborhood of 10 pounds at that age. These bring a good price and yield a good profit where there is demand for this class of geese.

_Markets and Prices._ As with most classes of poultry, the large cities offer the best market for geese. Especially the cities which have a large foreign population make good markets as many foreigners are more in the habit of using geese for a holiday dish than are native Americans. The most favorable market usually occurs at Christmas when roast goose and apple sauce is in considerable favor. Considerable numbers of geese are also used at Thanksgiving time and in recent years as the price of turkeys has steadily increased there has been an increasing tendency to substitute goose for turkey on that day. Following are prices paid for various classes of geese on the New York wholesale market from May 1920 to June 1921 as reported by the New York Produce Review. Quite a wide variation in price will be noted in many cases which reflects the difference in condition of the geese as received. In the case of express receipts of live geese where a wide variation in prices occurs the high quotations represent the receipt of especially fattened geese from nearby farms.

WESTERN GEESE, FROZEN

1920 May 5 25 @ 31c per lb. 12 25 @ 31c " " 19 25 @ 31c " " 26 25 @ 31c " " June 2 25 @ 31c " " 9 25 @ 31c " " 16 25 @ 31c " " 23 25 @ 31c " " 30 23 @ 29c " " July 7 23 @ 29c " " 14 21 @ 27c " " 21 21 @ 27c " " 28 21 @ 27c " " Aug. 4 20 @ 25c " "

1921 Jan. 26 26 @ 34c " " Feb. 2 26 @ 34c " " 9 26 @ 36c " " 16 26 @ 36c " " 23 26 @ 36c " " Mar. 2 26 @ 36c " " 9 25 @ 35c " " 16 25 @ 35c " " 23 25 @ 35c " " 30 25 @ 35c " " Apr. 6 25 @ 35c " " 13 25 @ 35c " " 20 25 @ 35c " " 27 25 @ 35c " " May 4 25 @ 35c " " 11 25 @ 35c " "

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

1920 May 5 18 @ 20c per lb. 12 22c " " 19 20 @ 22c " " 26 20 @ 22c " " June 2 20 @ 22c " " 9 20 @ 22c " " 16 20 @ 22c " " 23 18 @ 20c " " 30 18 @ 20c " " July 7 18 @ 20c " " 14 18 @ 20c " " 28 25c " " Aug 4 25c " " 18 25c " " 25 25c " " Sept. 1 25c " " 22 26c " " 29 26c " " Oct. 20 25 @ 28c " " 27 27 @ 30c " " Nov. 3 32c " " 10 32c " " 17 32c " " 24 28 @ 32c " " Dec. 1 28 @ 30c " " 8 30 @ 34c " " 15 28 @ 35c " " 22 25 @ 30c " " 29 27 @ 32c " "

1921 Jan. 5 26 @ 32c " " 12 26 @ 30c " " 19 25 @ 29c " " 26 25 @ 29c " " Feb. 2 27 @ 33c " " 9 28 @ 33c " " 16 26 @ 32c " " 23 25 @ 26c " "

LIVE GEESE--VIA FREIGHT

1921 Mar. 2 25c per lb. 9 18 @ 20c " " 16 18 @ 20c " " 23 20c " " 30 20c " " Apr. 6 15 @ 18c " " 13 15 @ 18c " " 20 15 @ 18c " " 27 15 @ 18c " " May 4 14 @ 16c " " 11 14 @ 16c " " 18 14 @ 16c " " 25 14 @ 16c " " June 1 14 @ 16c " "

LIVE GEESE--VIA EXPRESS

1920 Nov. 24 30 @ 33c per lb. Dec. 1 30 @ 32c " " 8 32 @ 35c " " 15 30c " " 22 30c " " 29 28 @ 35c " "

1921 Jan. 5 29 @ 38c " " 12 28 @ 38c " " 19 28 @ 36c " " 26 27 @ 37c " " Feb. 9 28 @ 40c " " 16 28 @ 42c " " 23 26 @ 28c " " Mar. 2 25 @ 28c " " 9 20 @ 23c " " 16 18 @ 22c " " 23 18 @ 22c " " 30 20 @ 23c " " Apr. 6 17 @ 20c " " 13 17 @ 20c " " 20 17 @ 21c " " 27 16 @ 20c " " May 4 15 @ 18c " " 11 15 @ 18c " " 18 15 @ 18c " " 25 15 @ 18c " "

_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.