Geese of the Tula breed are bred not only as a source of meat delicacy, but also for the sake of entertainment, as they have excellent fighting qualities. Also, such birds are easy to maintain and breed.
Origin of breed
This breed belongs to fighting birds. It is believed that Tulsa appeared several centuries ago at the request of wealthy people who want to have fun, looking at the battles of birds. The most powerful and ardent "fighters" began to be selected for further breeding - and this breed was bred.
Where the name of these geese came from and why they are precisely “Tula” is not known for certain. There is an assumption that it was in Tula and in its neighboring regions that goose fights were widespread and enjoyed success.
Description and standards of the Tula geese
Visually, the bodies can be seen in the wide sternum and strong physique. Stable legs of these birds are spread in breadth, and strong and developed wings are pressed to the body. The head has a wide forehead and a massive but small beak. The neck of these birds is short and thick, and the eyes are steel or black.
The plumage of these birds can be gray, whitish or clay. The latter have a light brown head and the same neck, chest and back. The belly of the geese is whitish, and the tail is lighter than the rest of the body.
Gray Tula geese usually have a plumage of a bluish tint or shiny black. The feathery tail is grayish, sometimes whitish, and the lower part of the bird's body is white. Young gander and geese have a lighter plumage than adult individuals.
Poultry farmers during the breeding of these geese make sure that they do not have the following defects inherent in this breed:
- red eye;
- beak and eyelids of orange color;
- double folds in the abdomen;
- a hump on the back;
- eared wings;
- goiter right under the beak.
Varieties of geese in the form of a beak
Due to the presence of a nose with a hump, Tula birds are often called "humpbacked". In addition, the beak shape of these birds can be different, because of which there are three subspecies:
- upright - a rare type of Tula breed, in such birds the beak is even, without a hump;
- cramped (horned) - the upper contour of the bird's beak looks concave, and one-year-old individuals also have small horns near the beak;
- cool-nosed - the upper shape of the beak is convex, which gives the impression that the beak and head of the goose are located on the same level.
Characteristic qualities: pros and cons of the Tula breed
The undoubted advantages of fighting geese include:
- strong immunity;
- endurance;
- unpretentiousness in food;
- simple content;
- delicious meat;
- the ability to arrange "bloodless" bird fights (compared to the fights of roosters, goose slaughterhouses look quite harmless).
It is useful for those who want to grow Tula geese to learn the disadvantages of this breed:
- slow weight gain - geese mature only at 2 years of their life;
- small body size;
- low egg laying rates;
- warlike disposition, because of which it will be difficult for such geese to get along with other domestic inhabitants of the yard - males aged 4 years are considered especially dangerous.
Weight and Productivity
The largest mass of the male is 10-11 kg, and the female is 9 kg. The average weight of gander is 8-9 kg, and geese 6-7 kg. As for eggs, geese do not produce more than 25 eggs per year.
Appointment
Today, tultsy are most often used as poultry bred for slaughter for meat. But lovers of thrills and in our time arrange a variety of shows, including bird fights. The fighting breed of geese is great for this purpose.
For food
The meat obtained from the Tula geese is very tasty. It is tender, juicy and at the same time fatty layers are located evenly over the whole carcass of the bird, which is important for gourmets who are going to enjoy a meat delicacy.
Battle use
Those who wish to have fun can use the Tula geese to participate in bird fights. At the same time, looking at them is not as scary as at roosters, since geese fight without blood. And the support group can include both the owners themselves and the geese, which are in full view of the fighting gander.
The fight between the males occurs with the help of wings. It is with them that they can attack and defend themselves from the enemy. Capture of the wing by beak is allowed. It is forbidden to bite the head and legs of another gander several times in a row. If this happens, the goose fighting with such methods is removed from the competition.
Males aged 3 to 6 years are considered the most aggressive and strongest - at this time the wing max is very strong. As a rule, gander try to beat at the junction of the neck and torso of the enemy.
The fight time is usually from 20 to 40 minutes. The battle ends when one of the fighters surrenders, leaving the battlefield. The winner is a goose who has survived and fought off resistance. Often males win with a high tolerance for pain.
What conditions are required for maintenance?
These birds are not afraid of the cold and have a strong immunity to diseases. However, it is necessary to take care of a warm roof over the birds' heads and provide a spacious territory for their walking.
Observe the following conditions when keeping fighting geese:
- release geese daily for walks - for this purpose, nearby meadows, wetlands or ravines are suitable (start grazing already weekly chicks);
- if there are no natural pastures nearby - plant a variety of perennial grasses and cereals in an artificially created area for walking;
- waterfowl need ponds, but if they are not nearby, put a small trough with water in the yard so that the geese can take water procedures;
- provide the birds with a warm room with an internal temperature of at least +10 degrees - lay a straw-peat bedding on the floor of the room (sprinkle sand or sawdust on the floor in summer);
- in the autumn, before laying the flooring, treat the floor of the house with lime;
- change the litter at the place of feeding the birds once every 5 days and once every 10 days where they sleep;
- Build a separate caterpillar for the chicks - cover the slats of wood with a net and cover them with roofing material.
Calculate the yard area and the area of the room, based on the number of birds, as well as their age. Young birds need at least 1 square. m per goose, 2-month-old adolescents - 5 square meters. m, and adult birds - 15 square meters. m
Nutrition: features, norms and diet
Fighting geese are undemanding to food. During daily walks or swimming in ponds, birds can feed themselves, getting food. However, they also need to be fed at home.
Features nutrition Tula birds:
- feed the birds three times a day (in winter, reduce food intake to 2 times), change the water once a day;
- feed feathered crops with cereals - millet, corn, oats (young growth is about 100-150 g, and adult geese - 80 g);
- make up for the lack of vitamins in the winter with wet mixtures of grated beets or carrots, cabbage leaves - give young geese 200 g of these products per day, increase the daily norm for adults to 500 g;
- add shells and chalk to the food (young goslings need 5 g per day, the norm gradually increases with age), table salt (1 g per day), as well as vitamins and minerals (20 g for young people and 30 g for adult birds);
- if the birds are not released into the wild, feed them with wet mixtures, adding bone or fish meal there (about 2 g for young people and 3 g for adults), feed the birds with fresh small fish and other food, which contains animal protein.
Be careful with wheat. Give it to the birds moderately, since an overdose of this product will entail the rapid obesity of geese, as well as reduce the hatching of chicks. Do not feed geese with rye and vetch.
Give the chicks boiled egg yolks, finely chopped greens of young onions. Then gradually introduce grass, cereals from wheat or corn flour with grated potatoes into their diet.
Breeding Tula geese
Follow these guidelines when growing fighting geese:
- form goose families from the moment the birds turn 8-10 months old - at the same time choose the most healthy geese based on the calculation of 1 gander for 2-3 geese;
- maintain a temperature of about +20 degrees indoors while laying eggs and provide access to fresh air there;
- adult females begin to rush in the last days of winter, and young females a little later for several weeks (if you need to postpone the laying of eggs, artificially limit the geese to daylight hours);
- leave for hatching no more than 13 eggs in one goose so that it does not accidentally crush them;
- after a week, remove all empty eggs, and instead put eggs with embryos from other females - this will make it possible to free part of the geese from hatching;
- after another 7 days, egg laying begins again - it is important to isolate the males from the females, otherwise the geese may stop laying eggs;
- chicks begin to hatch after about 28 days - transplant them immediately separately and only bring them to the mother in the evening (one goose can take no more than 20 chicks);
- maintain temperature + 20 ... + 22 degrees for chicks;
- when the goslings are a week old, start letting them out onto the street - at first you can no more than 30 minutes, then increase the time (at the same time, make sure that the kids do not walk along the dew and do not get too cold).
The average price of an adult Tula bird, its goslings and eggs
Tults can be purchased both individually and as a batch. At the same time, it is better to buy birds at farms or nurseries, where the most comfortable conditions for the cultivation of Tula birds are created.
Average prices are:
- adult goose - 2-3 thousand rubles;
- goslings at the age of 2 months. - 300-360 rubles .;
- eggs from the incubator - from 70 rub. a piece.
Reviews
Irina, 36 years old, economist, Pskov. Trying to breed Tula geese. True, the eggs used incubator. At first there were many unsuccessful attempts - either the eggs were empty, the goslings were too weak and did not survive. As a result, managed to bring out only 7 goslings. I hope that it will be possible to grow them.
Igor, 44 years old, farmer, Petrovsk-Zabaykalsky. I am engaged in the cultivation of fighting (Tula) geese. I noticed that if you use eggs from an incubator, you almost always have to help geese hatch. They themselves come out very badly, since the shell of the eggs is very thick. But if you breed naturally, then you can count on a good offspring.
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Tula geese are loved for their delicious meat and excellent fighting qualities. In addition, poultry farmers in these birds appreciate not picky food and a strong immunity to diseases, which makes them especially beneficial in terms of keeping and breeding.