Research Article

The influence of housing conditions on performance and welfare of White Kołuda geese

Teresa Bombik, Elżbieta Bombik, Barbara Biesiada-Drzazga, Agnieszka Polkowska, Janusz Zbytek

1. Acta Sci. Pol. Zootechnica, 13(1), 2014, 29‒38

Abstract. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of housing conditions on the reproduction and welfare of geese. Welfare evaluation was based on performance indices. The study was carried out in the spring in two farms (A and B), located in the south-eastern Podlasie, Poland. The goose houses in both farms were equipped with similar technical and technological solutions. Evaluation of the housing conditions was based on the indices of area and cubature of the houses and basic parameters of the microclimate (temperature, relative humidity, and lighting). Both farms raised 3-year-old White Kołuda geese. The study showed that housing conditions affect the reproductive performance and the welfare of geese. In farms A and B, most of the analyzed elements of the farming environment remained within the approved welfare standards, with more optimal values observed in farm A. Better conditions in farm A resulted in a higher number of eggs laid (73) and goslings born (40.3) per goose and in lower deaths and culling rates (1.8%). It should be stressed that both farms attained high productivity levels with very little deviation from the farming welfare requirements for geese.

Keywords: goose, management conditions, productivity, welfare