title: Genetic-economic evaluation of traits in a goose meat enterprise.
abstract: 1. Goose can be considered as an additional and inexpensive meat source, provided that the marketing age does not exceed 8 weeks. Using the ability of geese to eat grass may reduce the intake of concentrated food up to 30%. 2. According to an equation developed, growth rate accounts for about 58% of the annual breeding gains, egg number 28%, feather yield 10%, fertility and mortality about 2%. These values are about the same for a wide range of food prices. 3. Employing realistic values for expected annual genetic gains reveals that the customary practice of keeping breeders for 5 to 6 years should be replaced by a much shorter cycle of 3 years because the economic gain from the shorter generation interval of selection exceeds the replacement costs.
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Tel-Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Shalev
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pasternak
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001947:Breeding / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D004531:Eggs; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian; D005241:Feathers; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility; D005777:Geese / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D007557:Israel; D008297:Male; D008460:Meat / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards*; D010058:Oviposition; D015430:Weight Gain