Not as good as a goose for chickens and ducks
Chickens and ducks are one of the most common poultry in our daily lives, not only providing food for humans, but also for many other purposes. However, in addition to chickens and ducks, humans also tamed many other poultry, such as geese.
Compared with chickens and ducks, geese do not lay as many eggs as chickens, and they do not grow meat as fast as ducks.
Taking ordinary poultry as an example, an adult chicken can lay about 250-300 eggs per year; An adult duck can lay about 100-200 eggs per year. In contrast, an adult goose can only lay about 60-100 eggs per year. This is mainly because geese have a longer reproductive system development and require more time and nutrients before they reach sexual maturity.
In addition, the geese have a shorter egg-laying season. Generally, geese start laying eggs in the spring and stop laying eggs in the summer. Moreover, some breeds of geese can only lay eggs once a year, and there is only a brief peak period during egg production.
In terms of meat growth speed, ducks grow relatively quickly, and ducks reach the body size common on the market and reach a mature weight in about 50 days after coming out of the shell. It takes about 3-4 months for chickens to reach the body size common on the market and reach a mature weight.
In contrast, geese grow more slowly and take longer to reach a mature weight. Some breeds of geese take 10 months or more to reach optimal slaughter weight.
In addition, the price of goose meat is higher than that of chickens and ducks, because the dietary needs of geese are relatively high, and the body composition and growth of gooses require more protein and energy, so geese need more food to maintain growth and health.
Since nowhere is it as good as chickens and ducks, and the price is still expensive, why are geese still widely raised, and what is the significance of humans taming geese as poultry?
Domesticated geese
In the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, an article was published stating that archaeological evidence was found in the Hemudu cultural site about 7,000 years ago to prove that Chinese ancestors began to domesticate geese as geese.
The study, a collaboration between Chinese and Japanese scholars, investigated animal bones unearthed at the Hemudu cultural site in Deqing County, Zhejiang, China, and found evidence that geese had already been domesticated.
The site dates from about 7,000 years ago, in the late Neolithic period, and was one of the important places of ancient human settlement, agricultural and handicraft development.
In the Hemudu site, researchers found a large number of cultural relics such as pottery, stone tools and human bones, which reflected the production and life and cultural inheritance of human society at that time.
According to archaeologists' research, the Tianluoshan people found a large number of artifacts related to domesticated poultry in the Hemudu site, including some goose-shaped pottery and jade engraved with bird patterns.
In addition, some sunken stones have been found at the site, which are presumed to be used to fix the feet of wild geese. The excavation of these artifacts suggests that 7,000 years ago, the Tian Luoshan people began to domesticate wild geese and use them for food, tools or rituals. It is also one of the earliest cultural relics of domesticated geese in the world.
Specifically, a large number of goose bones have been found within the site, many of which have features on the bones that are often found in domesticated goose populations but not in wild populations.
For example, they have "protrusions" on their ribs, "tarsal crests" on their feet, etc. In addition, the researchers found some young geese inside the site, suggesting that people at the time may have hunted young geese and domesticated them as geese.
Why not chickens?
As one of the most common poultry in the world, the domestication history of chickens not only reflects the development of human agricultural civilization, but also reveals the mutual adaptation of animals and humans in the process of domestication.
A common theory is that humans began experimenting with domesticating chickens about 7,000 years ago and using them for food, medicinal herbs and rituals. And there is also a lot of archaeological evidence that the earliest egg fossils appeared in China and India.
But according to research published in the journal Ancient and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, chickens were domesticated 1500 years ago.
The chicken's ancestry can be traced back to the red junglefowl (Gallus gallus), a wild bird native to South Asia. Males of red junglefowl have brightly colored feathers that are used to attract females; Females have a protective color to allow for covert breeding in their habitat.
The habits of this bird adapt to forest life, such as climbing trees, galloping and running. It is these characteristics that make the red junglefowl an ideal object for human domestication.
According to research, the domestication of chickens began around 1500 BC. The domestication process is divided into two stages. In the first stage, humans select individuals with desirable characteristics from the red junglefowl, such as larger body size and higher egg production. This stage of domestication can be understood as a process of artificial selection, through the selection and breeding of excellent varieties, so that birds gradually adapt to human needs.
In the second stage, the chickens begin to adapt to poultry life. At this stage, the living habits of chickens undergo significant changes, such as increased adaptability to the environment and increased dependence on humans. At the same time, the reproductive capacity of chickens has also been improved, making it widely spread around the world.
That is to say, perhaps our ancestor domesticated the goose, not because he wanted to domesticate, but because there were not so many options at that time. Or to put it this way, domesticating the goose was the best way to solve the problems of life at that time.
Of course, geese are not as useless as they were at the beginning, so let's talk about the value of geese.
The value of the goose
In nature, wild geese mainly inhabit wetland ecosystems, where they can consume a large number of plants and small invertebrates, playing an important role in regulating the food chain.
At the same time, the feces excreted by geese are rich in nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, which can also promote the productivity and material cycle of wetlands. In addition, geese have a warning effect and are often used in places such as wildlife sanctuaries to protect other birds and their habitats.
In addition to wild geese, domestic geese can also perform certain ecological functions. For example, geese can eat weeds, pests, etc. in farmland, reducing dependence on fertilizers and pesticides, while also adding organic fertilizer to the soil. In addition, goose manure can also be used as farm fertilizer, which has a good ecological benefit.
In addition, goose meat, goose fat and foie gras are all high-quality food materials, delicious and nutritious, and are deeply loved by people. Goose fat also has great uses for industries such as cooking and pharmaceuticals, such as being used to make soaps, moisturizers, and other products.
Goose feathers are widely used in the production of down jackets, quilts, cushions and other products, and are one of the important textile raw materials. In addition, with the development of tourism in recent years, the ornamental value of geese has gradually been recognized and has become a new source of economic income.
Goose has a variety of symbolic meanings in traditional Chinese culture, such as auspiciousness, festivity and family reunion. For example, during the Spring Festival, people often eat goose meat and make dishes such as foie gras to symbolize the New Year; At the same time, goose feathers will be used to decorate houses, doors and windows, meaning "welcoming spring and blessings".
In Western culture, the goose is also one of the important cultural symbols. For example, the traditional French delicacy, foie gras, is famous all over the world and has become an important part of French food culture.
In general, geese are rich in ecological, economic and cultural values.
epilogue
In short, the history of the domestication of geese is a process full of miracles. From geese to poultry, geese have gradually adapted to a new way of life under the guidance of humans.
Today, geese are one of the most common poultry in the world, and their domestication history is a vivid illustration of the close connection and symbiosis between humans and the natural world.